Father Paul Gabor, S.J., the vice director of the Vatican Observatory Research Group, looks to the heavens outside the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) building. Gabor calls the observatory atop Mount Graham “a very standard scientific institution.” | Bill Hatcher
For Heaven's Sake
Shortly after dawn, the sky swirled with the pink remnants of Hurricane Odile as Father Paul Gabor, S.J., and I headed east from Tucson along Interstate 10. Our journey, first to Safford and then up…
The Villalobos family enjoys the glow from a responsible campfire at Tusayan-Montane campground, near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. | Dawn Kish
Love At First Site
Imagine most people who are headed for the Grand Canyon don't stop driving north on U.S. Highway 180 until they reach the South Rim and its stupendous views. But I'm on a quest for 24 hours of cozy…
A coyote in thick vegetation just south of Florence surveys its surroundings. | Eirini Pajak
They're Wily, All Right
It seemed like the perfect strategy for hiking Sedona’s scenic trails while avoiding the crowds and parking hassles. I planned my visit for mid-December, during the off-season, and rented an Airbnb…
Fog lingers over a stand of golden aspens in Lockett Meadow, in the San Francisco Peaks. | CLAIRE CURRAN
Golden Opportunities
Enter caption here A waterfall spills into Fossil Creek, flanked by fall foliage.THERESA ROSE DITSON NIKON D810, 1/10 SEC, F/13, ISO 160, 24-70 MM LENS   Enter caption here In Oak Creek Canyon,…
In the United States, Arizona, with 29 bat species, is second only to Texas. Last year, the state cut that deficit by one when the endangered Mexican long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis, pictured here), a nectar-eating species, was officially confirmed in Southeastern Arizona. | JOSÉ MARTÍNEZ-FONSECA
Coming In For A Landing
In the world of Arizona pollinators, there are the four “B’s”: the birds and the bees, and the butterflies and the bats. Pollinating birds are beloved, whether for the shimmering iridescence of…
Autumn Clothes the High Country appeared in the October 1957 issue of Arizona Highways. “Scene taken near the San Francisco Peaks in the early part of October in 1954,” wrote our editor. “Venturing off the main roads, one will sometimes find a spot where light and subject matter meets with the approval of a nature photographer.” 
Winds in the Mountains
THERE ARE WINDS IN THE MOUNTAINS NOW, COLDER AND MORE brisk than those of summer, telling of the change in seasons. Autumn is here. The clouds above the mountain are in a greater hurry, and from the…
Photograph by Bruce D. Taubert
Bringing Wolves Back to the Grand Canyon
In Episode 34 of the Arizona Highways podcast, host Steve Goldstein and Arizona Highways editor Robert Stieve talk with Claire Musser, the executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project…
A color image shows the aftermath of flash flooding in the grand canyon and includes muddy water, debris and the remnants of a foot bridge.
Flash Flooding at the Grand Canyon
News Release Date: August 30, 2026Contact: Grand Canyon Office of Communications A significant flash-flood event occurred in Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area on August 29, beginning at…