In October of 2015, shortly after I returned from my Alaska RoadTrip, my old friend Michael and I packed up my Jeep and drove it to the Yucatan. I’d wanted to see the Mayan ruins for as long as I could remember, but considering all the negative reports I’d been hearing about Mexico, I realized going into it that I’d have to take a few precautions. Recruiting Mike to ride along with me was one of them, because everything I’d been reading, including the Mexico Travel Advisory put out by the U.S. Department of State, advised against traveling alone. I took that to heart, and gladly, because it was a lot more fun that way. In my experience? Road trips with old friends are the best kind of fun that there is.

I rendezvoused with Michael in Austin, and we left from there. My research told me that the Eagle Pass/Agua Prieta border crossing was the easiest and least congested, but Laredo was 100 miles closer, which gave it the edge for the sake of convenience. (For details about the border, Mexican Customs, and the permits required for a Mexican Road Trip, see my previous post: Mexican Road Trip: How to Plan and Prepare for a Drive to the Yucatan.)

Austin to Laredo is a simple enough drive, 235 miles south/southwest on Interstate 35, a freeway that’s as straight and flat as any you’ll find. The trip takes about 4 hours if you don’t make any stops, and the city of Monterrey, where we planned to stay that first night, was another three hours south of Laredo. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at the border, or how long it would take, but the drive itself was only seven hours altogether, so I figured we were allowing plenty of time. We had a liesurely breakfast in Austin, then ran some last minute errands. All that took longer than I expected, so we didn’t get on the road until almost 10:00. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, that lack of urgency was a definite mistake.

We arrived in Laredo about 2:00 PM. I had not pre-purchased my Mexican auto insurance, but I saw signs advertising the service in the windows of at least half a dozen offices in the downtown area. All I had to do was park, but do you think I could find an empty parking space in that busy downtown? Oh, hell no! The traffic so near the border crossing was totally nuts, moving at a snail’s pace on confusing one-way streets. After at least half an hour of circling, I finally got lucky and snagged a spot, then rushed into the closest Insurance brokerage, where it took another half hour to fill out the paperwork and pay the fee. By the time we finished, it was after 3 PM, which was hardly ideal. I made a firm resolution, then and there, that the next time, I would A.) buy my insurance online, and B.) get an earlier start!  At that time, in 2015, thirty days of insurance coverage set me back about $160. The cost in 2023 is a little higher (naturally), but they give you six months of coverage for the same price as one month, so it isn’t all that bad. Once we had the insurance in hand, we were ready to cross, so I followed the signs that said “MEXICO.” And that’s where the adventure began:

 

DAY 1: THE HIGHWAY OF DEATH, FROM LAREDO TO MONTERREY

First day of travel, from Austin Texas to Laredo, and from Laredo to Monterrey, where we stayed our first night.

CLICK PHOTOS AND MAPS TO EXPAND

The Rio Grande runs smack through the middle of Laredo, separating the storied town in Texas from Nuevo Laredo, its’ Mexican counterpart. When you’re headed south from the U.S., there are three different bridges that will take you across the river, and each of them leads directly to a Mexican Customs facility. I’ve been told that the least congested of the three is the Colombia Crossing, the bridge that’s off by itself, 25 miles upriver from the other two. I didn’t know about the Colombia bridge when we crossed, so I chose the main bridge in the middle of the city, and that one was busy as the dickens.

We’d packed for a month-long trip through several climate zones, so we had a wide range of clothing, along with too many cameras, a laptop, and other assorted road-trip gear. The inspector asked where we were headed, and when I told him the Yucatan, he suddenly came on full alert. “Yucatan” wasn’t the usual answer, so he asked more questions as he dug through our luggage, paying special attention to the photo equipment. Michael had a drone that he’d brought along, hoping to get aerial shots of the Mayan ruins. It was in a box right on top, so it was the first thing the inspector came across. As it turned out, drones are prohibited practically everywhere in Mexico, so the mere fact that we had one made us that much more suspicious. The inspector had just started pawing through our stuff in earnest when there was a sudden flurry of activity and excited shouting in the next lane over. They apparently found some actual contraband in a minivan full of college students, so our guy abruptly wrapped up our inspection, wished us a “Buen viaje,” and rushed off to assist with the bust. Feeling a bit like I’d just dodged a bullet, I closed up my Jeep and skedaddled the heck out of there.

When you cross the border into Mexico, there are differences that are immediately apparent. The signs are suddenly all in Spanish, the streets and sidewalks swell with crowds of pedestrians, most of them selling one thing or another, and everything, from the pavement to the buildings to the window displays in the shops, it’s all a little bit funky, outdated, and crumbling around the edges. Some of that is the natural ambience that goes along with the border towns; the rest is Puro Mexico. You get used to it. You might even learn to love it!

Our next stop was Immigration, but I didn’t see any signs, so I ended up driving away from the border area, deeper into the city on one-way streets. By the time I got my bearings, we were already on the highway headed south. I found a place to make a U-turn, which was a lot harder than it should have been, and we ended up back at the Customs area. I still didn’t see Immigration, so I parked and started messing with my phone, hoping Google Maps might be of service. Just then, a guy came up to the Jeep and rapped on my window.

“Are you guys lost?” he asked in English. “I saw you drive away, and now you’re back.”

“Which way is Immigration?” I replied, leaving my window rolled up.

“My name is Jose,” he said, smiling, and giving us a friendly wave. “I work as a tour guide. For ten bucks, I’ll take you there myself.”

Mike and I exchanged a glance. “Why don’t you just point the way?” I replied.

“Ten bucks,” Jose repeated, holding out his hand.

I’d already wasted too much time driving in circles, so I extracted a ten from my wallet, lowered my window, and gave it to him.

He tucked the bill in his pocket, then pointed at the building across the street. “That’s Immigration.”

“No way!” I protested. “That’s customs! We’ve already been there!”

“Immigration, Customs, same building, different parts. You have to go up the ramp to that glass door, and get in line.”  He had me, fair and square, and I felt like an idiot.  We weren’t even officially in Mexico yet, and we’d already been hustled!

Inside the building, there was a row of service windows, and each one had a long line in front of it.  After waiting half an hour for our turn at the Immigration window, we paid the fee of $30 apiece for our tourist cards (FMM Visas) and got them stamped. Next, we got into the line for the Vehicle Import Permits, where we waited another half an hour, only to be told, when we finally got to the front, that we were doing things out of sequence! We were supposed to go to the Banjercito Window first, to pay the required deposit! So we got into the third line, a bank teller’s window, and waited yet another 30 minutes. I put a $400 charge on my Visa card that would serve as a deposit for the Vehicle Permit; the teller explained to me that when I left the country again and properly cancelled the permit, they would simply reverse the $400 charge, back onto the same credit card. We got back into the Vehicle Permit line once again, and we waited, once again. This time, fortunately, we had everything we needed. They went outside with us to visually inspect my Jeep and compare the VIN number, then they affixed a holographic sticker to the inside of my windshield.

It was already after 5 PM at this point, and we still had a three hour drive to Monterrey. I realized, with a sinking feeling in my gut, that there was no way in hell we were going to make it before dark.  Monterrey is a big city of well over a million people, a relatively sophisticated center of industry and commerce anchoring the third largest metropolitan area in the entire country. Monterrey itself is generally considered safe, and is often referred to as one of the most liveable cities in Mexico. Under the surface, however, the Cartels are unreasonably active, using the city as a base for a broad range of criminal activity, and one of the areas where they are MOST active is on the highway between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo. The press refers to that 137 mile stretch of MX 85 as the “Highway of Death,” in reference to all the shootouts, mass kidnappings, and murders that have taken place along that road. I didn’t know any of that at the time. What I did know was the simple fact that driving it at night was a bad idea.

I already knew the way out of town, and we already had a full tank of gas, so we got straight to it. MX 85 was a divided highway with a fair bit of traffic. We’d no sooner gotten up to cruising speed when we ran into what appeared to be a military road block, a lot of trucks and troops, stopping everyone passing in either direction. When it was our turn, soldiers in SWAT gear surrounded my Jeep, and an officer with a machine gun gestured for me to roll down my window. He asked me where we were going. I’d learned my lesson in customs, and knew better than to mention the Yucatan. “We’re going to Monterrey,” I said, without elaborating.

He checked our ID’s and our travel documents, then handed them back. “Don’t stop along the way,” he advised. “You need to get off this road and to a safe place as quickly as you can.” As if I needed to be told!

At the halfway point, MX 85 changed to MX 85D, a toll road. There was another checkpoint by the toll booths, this time the National Police, and they were even more heavily armed and armored than the soldiers. We had no license plate on the front of the Jeep; Arizona is one of several states that no longer issues front plates. The Federales saw us coming and pulled us out of line, demanding an explanation for the missing plate, wanting to know what we’d done with it. My rusty Spanish was coming back surprisingly well, so I was able to explain that my home state was “too cheap” to give us two license plates. They actually thought that was pretty funny, so we all had a good laugh, and they waved us on, after cautioning us not to dawdle along the way. While we were talking to them, I noticed a carload of young Mexican guys getting yanked out of their vehicle. Half a dozen cops in full SWAT gear had them spread-eagled on the ground, while another half dozen cops literally tore their car apart, even ripping open the upholstery on the seats.  Michael watched all that for a moment, then turned toward me, raising one eyebrow quizzically. “Welcome to Mexico,” I said with a smile.

We fairly flew down that highway, not slowing down for anything other than the roadblocks and toll booths, and we rolled into Monterrey just after 7:30. The sun had long-since set, but the city was lit like a Christmas tree, with crazy traffic zooming along wide boulevards. We knew nothing about the place and had no idea where to stay, but we were so rattled by the tense drive south from Laredo, we would have been fine with just about anything. I spotted a La Quinta Inn. It was new, fancy, and undoubtedly expensive, but I really didn’t care; I was desperate to stop driving! I whipped in, we checked in, and got a room with a great view, all the way up on the 10th floor. We’d made it, and that felt  like a victory!

Maps of Monterrey, and views of the city from the 10th floor of La Quinta Inn.

DAY 2:  FROM MONTERREY TO QUERETARO

That first morning, we took advantage of the complimentary breakfast at our hotel. There were a few other travelers in the dining room, but most of the guests were Mexican businessmen, and if it wasn’t for that, we could easily have been at a La Quinta Inn across the border in Texas, or anywhere else in the U.S. Mike and I made a pact over our scrambled eggs: from that point forward, we were going to scrupulously AVOID American chain hotels and restaurants. We were in Mexico, after all, and it made no sense to settle for homogenized lodging that was the exactly same as what we would have found at home.

We checked out and hit the road a little after 8:00, anxious to get moving, and hopefully cover some distance. Unfortunately, the City of Monterrey had other ideas. It was rush hour, and the traffic was packed so tightly together it was nearly impossible to change lanes. We kept missing our exits, and before long it was obvious that we were driving in circles. There were mountains behind the skyline to the south, so I kept one eye on on the tallest peak, and the other eye on the compass on my dash board. That got me going in the right direction until I finally saw signs for Saltillo, the next big town along our line of travel.

I’d mapped out a route that stuck to the toll roads, using an App provided by Mexico’s Secretary of Transportation: <<Traza de Ruta: Toll Calculator and Route Planner>>. The tolls are actually a bit expensive, but well worth it; the toll roads, known as Cuotas, save time, because they bypass all the small towns. They’re also better maintained, and safer, since they’re more frequently patrolled.

Our plan for the day was to take MX 40-D to Saltillo, then MX 57-D south from there, to San Luis Potosi and Queretaro. I wasn’t really sure how far we’d  get that day. I figured we’d just play it by ear, and see where we were when the sunset hour approached.

Second day of travel, from Monterrey to Queretaro; checking my “Traza de Ruta” printout of the toll roads.

This was strictly a driving day. I hadn’t planned to make any stops, focused instead on putting as many miles as possible between us and the border. We were clearly still in the danger zone, because the army was everywhere, with more of the mobile roadblocks and truckloads of soldiers on the highways.  There were camo-painted Jeeps with 50 Caliber machine guns mounted in the back, and even a few armored personnel carriers. It reminded me of the years I spent driving around in Colombia, back in the early ’70’s, when that country was under martial law, and in the throes of an ongoing civil war. Mexico clearly has a war going on as well. Hearing about it was one thing. Seeing it in person was something else again!

Scenes along the road: Saltillo to San Luis Potosi. There was a heavy police and military presence along this stretch.

The Cuotas are expressways, in the sense that they are divided roads with limited access and no intersections.  In and around the big cities like Monterrey and Queretaro, they’re built to modern standards, and carry high volumes of traffic, just like the expressways in the U.S. and Canada. Once you get away from the cities, little differences creep in, the most obvious being the presence of unexpected hazards in the roadway that require an added level of vigilance.

It’s not uncommon to see pedestrians in unlikely places, not to mention burros, goats, and chickens, as well as potholes large enough to damage your car if you hit them straight on. You’re not supposed to stop along these roads, much less park, but that doesn’t stop vendors from setting up stands along the shoulder selling everything from lemons and strawberries to homemade “licor de café,” (a concoction that’s presumably similar to Kahlua). The more rural the area, the more prevalent these distractions, so it definitely  behooves you to hold down your speed, and keep your eyes peeled.

That afternoon, I realized that we’d be passing within 25 miles or so of San Miguel de Allende, a charming colonial city I’d always wanted to visit. I figured that might be the perfect place to pull up for the night, so I made a slight detour off the main highway, and we drove to San Miguel. As it turned out, our timing couldn’t have been worse. There were roadblocks manned by Federales on all the roads in or out of the town, and the central plaza was completely cordoned off by the police. It seems there was a celebrity wedding going on, and they’d taken over the whole place! I started checking hotels, but everything in the area was booked solid. 

Appreciating the scenery in San Miguel de Allende. Every hotel in town was booked, so we had to move on!

What little we saw of the town truly was charming, with steep cobblestone streets, and beautiful colonial architecture. “We’ll just have to come back here,” I said to Michael. “Maybe at the end of the month, on our way back north.” 

Queretaro, a much larger city, was only an hour away. I figured we’d have unlimited options for lodging in a place that size, so off we went, arriving there just as the afternoon faded into evening. Queretaro turned out to be almost as confusing as Monterrey. We cruised around searching for hotels, and simply weren’t seeing any, not until we turned down a road on the perimeter of the city, where we found a half dozen possibilities, lined up in a row. They looked more like villas than hotels, but there were neon signs advertising rooms at remarkably low prices, only $450 Pesos (about $25).

I pulled in to one of them, but didn’t see an office, just a gate that seemed to be locked. There was a call box on the wall, so I pushed the button, and a charming female voice asked what she could do for me. I inquired about rooms, and she said that they had one. I asked if the price on the sign was correct: $450 Pesos for the night? The woman giggled. “No,” she said. “It’s $450 for an hour, but that’s only if you bring your own companion. It would be more, of course, if you use our other services.” My eyes went a little wide, and I busted out laughing, no help for it. We’d stumbled into a whole neighborhood full of drive-in bordellos! I made our excuses, still laughing, and we drove back down the hill.

Making our way through the city, I spotted a Staybridge Suites, right alongside the freeway, so I took the next exit, and after a bit of confusion involving one-way streets, we parked in front of the lobby. What was it we’d said to ourselves about American chain hotels? This was part of the same chain as the Holiday Inn, but after our adventure up on the hill, we just wanted a bed for the night, so we swallowed our pride and went for it. The hotel was clean, and well appointed, but it was a boring clone of every business class property I’ve ever stayed in. Somehow, we were going to have to do a better job of finding hotels!

DAY 3:  FROM QUERETARO TO VILLAHERMOSA

Over breakfast the next morning, we took a hard look at our maps. We’d driven 600 miles since crossing the border, and we still had almost 700 miles more to go before we’d reach our first real stop: the ancient Mayan city known as Palenque, all the way down in Chiapas, the southernmost of the Mexican states. We didn’t have any fixed itinerary beyond that. Mayan ruins were going to be a major focus of our Road Trip, and I knew which sites I most wanted to visit, but at that point, I was playing everything by ear. We were considering pushing on into Belize, possibly even Guatemala, but a lot depended on how well things went for us, and it was too early in the trip to make those decisions.

Nuevo Laredo to Palenque: From the Rio Grande to the Lacandon Jungle in a mere 24 hours of driving!

One of my biggest concerns on that 3rd day was Mexico City. I’d recently learned about a law that was in force in Mexico’s Capital, and in the surrounding State of Mexico. Called “Hoy No Circula,” (Don’t Drive Today), the law requires all drivers to leave their vehicle parked one day per week, as a way to reduce vehicle emissions. Air quality in Mexico City is literally the worst in the world, so they’re serious about enforcement, and anyone caught driving on a day when they’re not supposed to gets a citation and a significant fine. Every vehicle on the road is subject to these regulations, even tourists, like us, who are just passing through.

Residents have special holographic decals on their license plates, and they all know perfectly well which days and hours are restricted for their vehicle. The restrictions for visitors are determined by the last digit on their license plate. There is a web application, sponsored by the Mexico City Government, which drivers with foreign plates can use to figure out their schedule: <<¿Que Dias No Circulo?>>  (Which Days Don’t Drive?) In my case, the last digit on my Jeep’s plate was a  “4.” Under “Hologram” I select “Autos Foraneos,” (Foreign Auto), and under “Ultimo Digito” I select #4. 

With these choices, the App tells us we won’t be allowed to drive anywhere in the D.F. (Federal District), or in the State of Mexico, between the hours of 5 AM and 10 PM on Wednesdays or Saturdays, nor could we be on the road between 5 AM and 11 AM on any weekday!

There’s a workaround for tourists who plan ahead: every six months, vehicles that are model year 2008 or newer are allowed a 14 day exemption, known as a Pase Turistico. (Either 14 continuous days, or two 7 day blocks). You have to apply for the Pass in advance, and carry it with you at all times.

I figured I could avoid the whole business by driving directly to Puebla, and steering well clear of the capital. The only problem with that was the zig-zagging border of the State of Mexico: the most direct route between Queretaro and Puebla crossed in and out of the State of Mexico three times, and since we had no Pase Turistico, every time it did that, we’d be at the mercy of any cop who felt like pulling us over. Sitting there at breakfast, I very carefully plotted out a route that stayed to the east of the problem area. It was really close, so we’d have to be extremely careful not to miss any turns.

Route from Queretaro to Puebla that avoids entering the State of Mexico (the area delineated by the dotted red line)

Open manhole in Puebla, marked by makeshift barricade

We made it to Puebla without incident, so I’d have to say that my plan worked out for us. One strange thing that we noticed when we got to Puebla was the open manholes. All over the city there were manholes missing their covers, and there were no warning barricades, so drivers were veering all over the road to avoid hitting one of the holes straight on and breaking an axle. I found out later that local thieves made a practice of stealing the covers for the value of the metal, snatching them almost as fast as they can be replaced. Frustrated local residents have taken to putting up their own makeshift barricades, to avoid serious accidents. Apparently, this has been going on for years!

Day 3: Queretaro to Villahermosa, avoiding Mexico City!

After Puebla, we turned east toward Orizaba, making our way down out of the mountains, heading toward Mexico’s Gulf Coast. This was a fantastic drive, zooming downhill on wide, smooth highways. The mountains were green, tropical, reminding me so much of the Andes that they put a nostalgic tear in my eye. Picturesque villages nestled in the folds of the valleys, little changed since the Colonial era. Mike and I traded off on the driving and made excellent time. We couldn’t decide where to stop, so we kept going, all the way to Villahermosa, a total distance of almost 600 miles.

That was really too much for a single day, but it felt great to have covered so much distance. Villahermosa was just two hours from Palenque! The town of Villahermosa most certainly has its charms, but we arrived there too late and too tired to appreciate any of that. What mattered most to us was the fact that there were plenty of hotels to choose from. We found ourselves a moderately-priced room, had a quick dinner at a nearby restaurant, and went straight to bed.

The photo collage below features additional pictures taken on the road in Mexico by my inestimable shotgun rider, Michael Fritz. Click any image to expand them to full screen:

(Unless otherwise noted, all images are my (or Michael’s) original work, and are protected by copyright. They may not be duplicated for commercial purposes.)

Click any photo to expand the image to full screen

Michael Fritz, “Elmo,” 1949-2025

READ MORE LIKE THIS:

This is an interactive Table of Contents. Click the thumbnails to open the pages.

ON THE ROAD IN MEXICO

MEXICAN ROAD TRIP: HOW TO PLAN AND PREPARE FOR A DRIVE TO THE YUCATAN

The published threat levels are a “full-stop” deal breaker for the average tourist. That’s unfortunate, because Mexican road trips are fantastic! Yes, there are risks, but all you have to do to reduce those risks to to an acceptable level is follow a few simple guidelines.  

 <<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Heading South, From Laredo to Villahermosa

When it was our turn, soldiers in SWAT gear surrounded my Jeep, and an officer with a machine gun gestured for me to roll down my window. He asked me where we were going. I’d learned my lesson in customs, and knew better than to mention the Yucatan. “We’re going to Monterrey,” I said, without elaborating.

He checked our ID’s and our travel documents, then handed them back. “Don’t stop along the way,” he advised. “You need to get off this road and to a safe place as quickly as you can!”

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Zapatista Road Blocks in Chiapas

“Good morning,” I said. “We’re driving to Palenque. Will you allow us to pass?”

The leader of the group, a young Mayan lad, walked up beside my Jeep, and fixed me with a menacing glare. “The road is closed,” he said, keeping his hand on the hilt of his machete. “By order of the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional!”

“Is it closed to everyone?” I asked innocently. “How about if we pay a toll? How much would the toll be?”

He gave me an even more menacing glare. “That will cost you everything you’ve got,” he said gruffly, brandishing his machete, while his companions did the same.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Mayan Ruins and Waterfalls in the Lacandon Jungle

The next morning, we were waiting at the entrance to the Archaeological Park a half hour before they opened for the day. We were the only ones there, so they let us through early, and I had the glorious privelege of photographing that wonderful ruin in the golden light of early morning, without a single fellow tourist cluttering my view.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Merida and the Meridanos 

Merida is the largest city in southern Mexico, with a population of almost a million. Statistically, Yucatan is the safest of Mexico’s states, and Merida is widely considered the safest of all Mexico’s cities.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Cancún, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya

The millions of tourists who fly directly to Cancún from the U.S. or Canada are seeing the place out of context. They can’t possibly appreciate the fact that they’re 2,000 miles south of the border; a whole country, a whole culture, a whole history away from the U.S.A. Just looking around, on the surface? The second largest city in southern Mexico could easily pass for a beach town in Florida.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Circling the Yucatan, from Quintana Roo to Campeche

The Castillo at Muyil isn't huge, as Mayan pyramids go, topping out at just over 50 feet, but it’s definitely imposing. Try to imagine: the equivalent of a five story building, with a three story grand staircase, just appearing, out in the middle of nowhere? Boo-yah!

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Edzná, and Campeche, Where They Dance La Guaranducha

La Guaranducha, a traditional dance from Campeche, is a celebration of life, community, and the joy of existence. On stage, there was a group of young men and women in traditional dress, but it was clear that the guys were little more than props, because all eyes were on the girls. So colorful, and so elegant, hiding coyly behind their pleated, folding hand fans.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Adventures Along the Puuc Route

All of these communities in the Puuc region were allied, politically, culturally, economically, and socially. The Puuc was the cradle of the Golden Age of the Maya. Labna and Sayil were among the brightest jewels in the crown of a realm that never quite coalesced into an empire.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: The Road to Bonampak

Rainwater seeping through the limestone walls of the temple soaked the Bonampak Murals with a mineral-rich solution that, each time it dried, left behind a sheen of translucent calcite. The built-up coating protected the paintings for more than 1200 years. As a result, we're left with the finest examples of ancient art from the Americas to have survived into our modern era.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Crossing the Chiapas Highlands, to San Cristobal de las Casas

MX 199 crosses the Chiapas Highlands from Palenque to San Cristobal de las Casas. The distance is only 132 miles, but it's 132 miles of curvy mountain roads with switchbacks, steep grades, slow trucks, and villages chock-a-block with topes and bloqueos, unofficial road blocks. Everything I read, and everything I heard, described the drive as alternatively spectacular, dangerous, and fascinating, in seemingly equal measure.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Cruising the Sierra Madre, from San Cristobal to Oaxaca

Today, we’d be driving as far as the city of Oaxaca, 380 miles of curves, switchbacks, and rolling hills that would require at least ten hours of our full attention, crossing the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, and entering the rugged, agave-studded landscape of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca. If you’d like to know what that was like, read on! 

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Flashing Lights in the Rear View: Officer Plata and La Mordida

As we drove away from the toll plaza, a State Police car that had been parked off to one side made a fast U-Turn and started following me. A moment later, he turned on his flashers and gave me a short blast on his siren, motioning for me to pull over. Two uniformed policemen got out, and approached me on the driver's side. One of them hung back, apparently checking out my license plate before making a phone call.

I wasn't sure if I was being stopped for some infraction, or if these guys were just fishing...

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Three Days of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende

By mid-afternoon, the Jardin was beginning to fill with people. Painted faces were literally everywhere! It was like a costume party, but the venue wasn’t some hall or other indoor space, it was the whole entire town! Mike and I were definitely getting into the spirit of the thing–but we still drew the line at the notion of painting our beards...

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Mexican Road Trip: Back to the Border: San Miguel de Allende to Eagle Pass

Saltillo was our crossroads: if we turned east here, we’d be retracing our previous route to the border at Nuevo Laredo--along the Highway of Death! This time, we knew better, so we turned north, toward Monclova, and Piedras Negras.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Southern Colonials: Merida, Campeche, and San Cristobal

Visiting the Spanish Colonial cities of Mexico is almost like traveling back in time. Narrow cobblestone streets wind between buildings, facades, and stately old mansions that date back three hundred years or more, along with beautiful plazas, parks, and soaring cathedrals, all of similar vintage.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico's Colonial Gem

If you include the chilangos, (escapees from Mexico City), close to 20% of the population of San Miguel de Allende is from somewhere else, a figure that includes several thousand American retirees.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Day of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende

In San Miguel de Allende, they've adopted a variation on the American version of Halloween and made it a part of their Day of the Dead celebration. Costumed children circle the square seeking candy hand-outs from the crowd of onlookers. It's a wonderful, colorful parade that's all about the treats, with no tricks!

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: A GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHS

IN THE LAND OF THE MAYA

Palenque: Mayan City in the Hills of Chiapas

Palenque! Just hearing the name conjures images of crumbling limestone pyramids rising up out of the jungle, of palaces and temples cloaked in mist, ornate stone carvings, colorful parrots and toucans flitting from tree to tree in the dense forest that constantly encroaches, threatening to swallow the place whole.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Uxmal: Architectural Perfection in the Land of the Maya

The Pyramid of the Magician is one of the most impressive monuments I've ever seen. There's a powerful energy in that spot--maybe something to do with all the blood that was spilled on the altars of human sacrifice at the top of those impossibly steep steps--but more than any building or other structure at any ancient ruin I've ever visited, more than any demonic ancient sculpture I've ever seen, that pyramid at Uxmal quite frankly scared the hell out of me!

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

The Mayan City of Edzná: First House of the Itzás

The Mayan Edzná is nothing less than epic, lyrical poetry, an extraordinary sonnet comprised of temples and palaces carved in stone that have stood, in regal grandeur, for more than a thousand years.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Photographer's Assignment: Chichén Itzá

To get the best photos, arrive at the park before it opens at 8 AM. There will only be a handful of other visitors, and you’ll have the place practically all to yourself for as much as two hours! Take your time composing your perfect shot.There won’t be a single selfie stick in sight.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Chichén Itzá: Requiem for the Feathered Serpent

The feathered serpent with the unquenchable thirst for blood may be gone now, or at least fallen out of favor, but as long as the ruins of this ancient city remain standing, he won’t be forgotten.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Tulum: The City that Greets the Dawn

Tulum is not all that large, as Mayan sites go, but its spectacular location, right on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, makes it one of the best known, and definitely one of the most picturesque. 

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Cobá and Muyil: Mayan Cities in Quintana Roo

Cobá was a trading hub, positioned at the nexus of a network of raised stone and plaster causeways known as the sacbeob, the white roads, some of which extended for as much as 100 kilometers, connecting far-flung Mayan communities and helping to cement the influence of this powerful city.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

Becan and Chicanná: Mayan Cities in the Rio Bec Style

Much about the Rio Bec architectural style was based on illusion: common elements include staircases that go nowhere and serve no function, false doorways into alcoves that end in blank walls, and buildings that appear to be temples, but are actually solid structures with no interior space.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

The Puuc Hills: Apex of Mayan Architecture

The Puuc style was a whole new way of building. The craftsmanship was unsurpassed, and some of the monumental structures created in this period, most notably the Governor’s Palace at Uxmal, rank among the greatest architectural achievements of all time.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

The Amazing Mayan Murals of Bonampak

Out of that handful of Mayan sites where mural paintings have survived, there is one in particular that stands head and shoulders above the rest. One very special place. Down by the Guatemalan border, in a remote corner of the Mexican State of Chiapas: a small Mayan ruin known as Bonampak.

<<CLICK to Read More!>>

This series of posts is dedicated to my old friend Mike Fritz (aka Mr. Whiskers), my shotgun rider on my Mexican Road Trip. "Drive to the Yucatan and See Mayan Ruins" was at the top of my post-retirement bucket list, right after "Drive the Alaska Highway and see Denali." We checked off the whole Yucatan thing in a major way, and Mike was a heck of a good sport about it.

Michael passed away in February of 2025, after 75 years of a life well-lived. He was unique, and he'll be missed.

Michael Fritz ("Elmo") 1949-2025

There's nothing like a good road trip. Whether you're flying solo or with your family, on a motorcycle or in an RV, across your state or across the country, the important thing is that you're out there, away from your town, your work, your routine, meeting new people, seeing new sights, building the best kind of memories while living your life to the fullest.

Are you a veteran road tripper who loves grand vistas, or someone who's never done it, but would love to give it a try? Either way, you should consider making the Southwestern U.S. the scene of your own next adventure.

A few years ago I wrote a book about road trips in Arizona and New Mexico that's a lot like this website, packed with interesting information, and illustrated with beautiful photographs. Check it out! You can find it on Amazon, and at all other major booksellers.

ALASKA ROAD TRIP:

Alaska Road Trip: Driving to the Top of the World

The rough dirt road gave way to a newly paved modern highway. This was it, the Top of the World, and right on cue, the haze peeled back, just enough to give me a glimpse of the beauty my friends assured me would be there…

Alaska Road Trip: The Grand Circle: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

So, just exactly how big is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park? You could combine Yellowstone with Yosemite, throw in the entire country of Switzerland, and you still wouldn’t match it in terms of size.

Alaska Road Trip: The Grand Circle: Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula

The massive ice field in the park’s wild interior has spawned dozens of glaciers which, over the course of many millenia, have carved the landscape into fjords so heart-breakingly beautiful, humpback whales swim all the way from Hawaii just to cavort in the deep blue water.

Alaska Road Trip: The Grand Circle: From Tok to Denali

There are no icy mountains looming on the horizon, and Fairbanks is nowhere near Alaska’s ruggedly beautiful coast. The true beauty in Alaska’s second city is found below the surface, in the spirit and resiliance of the people who make the place their home.

Alaska Road Trip: Driving Alaska’s Grand Circle

Most of the major towns in Alaska, as well as three of the state’s incredible National Parks, can all be reached by driving Alaska’s Grand Circle: a loop route beginning in Tok that utilizes all four segments (1082 miles) of Alaska’s Interstate Highway system.

Kenai Fjords National Park: Exit Glacier: Up Close and Personal

Compared to the huge tidewater glaciers that flow directly into the sea along the coast of Kenai Fjords, Exit Glacier is just a baby–a baby that’s getting smaller every year–but it’s still big enough to permanently alter the landscape through which it passes.

Kenai Fjords National Park: Seabirds, Glaciers, and Whales on the Wild Coast of Alaska

As the tremendous weight of the moving glacier pushes forward, the pressure buckles the ice into fantastic pillars and columns, like frozen fairy castles gleaming translucent blue as the suspended glacial sediment refracts the sunlight.

Two-Foot High Kick: World Eskimo Indian Olympics

Contestants take a running leap, then they make this crazy jackknife move, touch the ball suspended high above the floor with both feet, then come back down and stick the landing. If that sounds difficult? You have no idea.

Dreaming of Denali

When I drove my Jeep to Alaska that first summer after I retired, my primary goal, the single most important thing I wanted to do, was to see Denali, the biggest mountain in North America.

Chena Hot Springs: A Fairbanks Original

The Chena hot spring puts out steaming water at a temperature of 150 degrees, producing enough power to meet all the needs of the resort, as well as filling the hot springs pools used by the guests. In addition to the lodge and restaurant, they offered camping and horseback riding, and they had exhibits featuring sled dogs, greenhouses, ice sculptures, and geothermal energy.

The Alaska Highway: Day 4: Beaver Creek to Fairbanks

Delta Junction, the end of the Al-Can, was only 200 miles away, and the border? Twenty miles, maybe half an hour, and I was finally going to cross into Alaska! I’d been on the road more than three weeks, and in just half a day more, I’d be in Fairbanks.

The Alaska Highway: Day 3: Whitehorse to Beaver Creek

Approaching the mountains, I started pulling over with serious frequency, taking LOTS of photos! Mountains, clouds, lakes, flowers—I was pretty sure I must have died and gone to heaven, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember the fiery crash.

The Alaska Highway: Day 2: Fort Nelson to Whitehorse

Every time I rounded a curve in the road there was another stupendous vista; it was nothing short of astonishing! I was literally yipping out loud, and a couple of times I actually pulled over and stopped while I pounded on my chest to “re-start” my heart!

The Alaska Highway: Day 1: Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

Past Fort St. John, the terrain got a lot wilder. No more towns, very few people, and very little traffic. Saw a few U.S. license plates, Michigan, California, Oregon, South Carolina; people that were obviously headed to Alaska!

The Alaska Highway: Prelude: The Road to Dawson Creek

Even if you start in Seattle, the closest American city, it’s still more than 800 miles to Dawson Creek, wending your way that much further north, so far north that there will be a noticeable change in the hours of daylight. It’s the latitude that distinguishes the north country, including every bit of Alaska. Dawson Creek is where it all begins.

Follow the Fireweed

Visualize a summertime journey through that part of the world, a world filled with mountains and glaciers and boreal forests, ice blue rivers, turquoise lakes, and billowing clouds that fill the sky. Imagine your vision as a beautiful piece of music. The fundamental, underlying theme of that symphony would be a gently rising swell of perfect harmony, pinkish lavender in its hue.

MEXICAN ROAD TRIP (IN THE LAND OF THE MAYA):

Mexican Road Trip: Back to the Border: San Miguel de Allende to Eagle Pass

Saltillo was our crossroads: if we turned east here, we’d be retracing our previous route to the border at Nuevo Laredo (along the Highway of Death). This time, we knew better, so we turned north, toward Monclova, and Piedras Negras.

Mexican Road Trip: Three Days of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende

By mid-afternoon, the Jardin was beginning to fill with people. Painted faces were literally everywhere! It was like a costume party, but the venue wasn’t some hall or other indoor space, it was the whole entire town! Mike and I were definitely getting into the spirit of the thing–but we still drew the line at the notion of painting our beards…

Dia de Los Muertos: A Gallery of Photographs

A smorgasbord of colorful images, capturing the essence of the vibrant festival known as the Dia de Los Muertos, in the charming colonial city of San Miguel de Allende.

Mexican Road Trip: Flashing Lights in the Rear View: Officer Plata and La Mordida

As we drove away from the toll plaza, a State Police car that had been parked off to one side made a fast U-Turn and started following me. A moment later, he turned on his flashers and gave me a short blast on his siren, motioning for me to pull over. Two uniformed policemen got out, and approached me on the driver’s side. One of them hung back, apparently checking out my license plate before making a phone call.

I wasn’t sure if I was being stopped for some infraction, or if these guys were just fishing…

Mexican Road Trip: Cruising the Sierra Madre, from San Cristobal to Oaxaca

Today, we’d be driving as far as the city of Oaxaca, 380 miles of curves, switchbacks, and rolling hills that would require at least ten hours of our full attention, crossing the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, and entering the rugged, agave studded landscape of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca. If you’d like to know what that was like, read on!

Mexican Road Trip: Crossing the Chiapas Highlands, to San Cristobal de las Casas

MX 199 crosses the Chiapas Highlands from Palenque to San Cristobal de las Casas. The distance is only 132 miles, but it’s 132 miles of curvy mountain roads with switchbacks, steep grades, slow trucks, and villages chock-a-block with topes and bloqueos, unofficial road blocks. Everything I read, and everything I heard, described the drive as  alternatively spectacular, dangerous, and fascinating, in seemingly equal measure.

Mexican Road Trip: The Road to Bonampak

Rainwater seeping through the limestone walls of the temple soaked the Bonampak Murals with a mineral-rich solution that, each time it dried, left behind a sheen of translucent calcite. The built-up coating protected the paintings for more than 1200 years. As a result, we’re left with the finest examples of ancient art from the Americas to have survived into our modern era.

Mexican Road Trip: Adventures along the Puuc Route

All of these communities in the Puuc region were allied, politically, culturally, economically, and socially. The Puuc was the cradle of the Golden Age of the Maya. Labna and Sayil were among the brightest jewels in the crown of a realm that never quite coalesced into an empire.

Mexican Road Trip: Edzná, and Campeche, Where They Dance La Guaranducha!

La Guaranducha, a traditional dance from Campeche, is a celebration of life, community, and the joy of existence. On stage, there was a group of young men and women in traditional dress, but it was clear that the guys were little more than props, because all eyes were on the girls. So colorful, and so elegant, hiding coyly behind their pleated, folding hand fans.

Mexican Road Trip: Circling the Yucatan, from Quintana Roo to Campeche

The Castillo at Muyil isn’t huge, as Mayan pyramids go, topping out at just over 50 feet, but it’s definitely imposing. Try to imagine: the equivalent of a five story building, with a three story grand staircase, just appearing, out in the middle of nowhere? Boo-yah!

Mexican Road Trip: Cancun, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya

The millions of tourists who fly directly to Cancun from the U.S. or Canada are seeing the place out of context. They can’t possibly appreciate the fact that they’re 2,000 miles south of the border; a whole country, a whole culture, a whole history away from the U.S.A. Just looking around, on the surface? The second largest city in southern Mexico could easily pass for a beach town in Florida.

Mexican Road Trip: Uxmal vs Chichén Itzá

From the parking lot, the building where they sell the tickets to Uxmal looks a bit like the entrance to a shopping mall, or a multiplex, but the moment you step through the door, you’ll discover that it’s actually a time machine. That entryway is a portal to the world of the ancient Maya, a thousand years into the past. 

Mexican Road Trip: Merida and the Meridanos

Merida is the largest city in southern Mexico, with a population of almost a million. Statistically, Yucatan is the safest of Mexico’s states, and Merida is widely considered the safest of all Mexico’s cities.

Mexican Road Trip: Mayan Ruins and Waterfalls in the Lacandon Jungle

The next morning, we were waiting at the entrance to the Archaeological Park a half hour before they opened for the day. We were the only ones there, so they let us through early, and I had the glorious privelege of photographing that wonderful ruin in the golden light of early morning, without a single fellow tourist cluttering my view.

Mexican Road Trip: Zapatista Road Blocks in Chiapas

“Good morning,” I said. “We’re driving to Palenque. Will you allow us to pass?”

The leader of the group, a young Mayan lad, walked up beside my Jeep, and fixed me with a menacing glare. “The road is closed,” he said, keeping his hand on the hilt of his machete. “By order of the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional!”

“Is it closed to everyone?” I asked innocently. “How about if we pay a toll? How much would the toll be?”

He gave me an even more menacing glare. “That will cost you everything you’ve got,” he said gruffly, brandishing his machete, while his companions did the same.

Mexican Road Trip: How to Plan and Prepare for a Drive to the Yucatan

The published threat levels are a “full-stop” deal breaker for the average tourist. That’s unfortunate, because Mexican road trips are fantastic! Yes, there are risks, but all you have to do to reduce those risks to to an acceptable level is follow a few simple guidelines.

Day of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende

In San Miguel de Allende, they’ve adopted a variation on the American version of Halloween and made it a part of their Day of the Dead celebration. Costumed children circle the square seeking candy hand-outs from the crowd of onlookers. It’s a wonderful, colorful parade that’s all about the treats, with no tricks!

Chichén Itzá: Requiem for the Feathered Serpent

The feathered serpent with the unquenchable thirst for blood may be gone now, or at least fallen out of favor, but as long as the ruins of this ancient city remain standing, he won’t be forgotten.

Tulum: The City that Greets the Dawn

Tulum is not all that large, as Mayan cities go, but its spectacular location, right on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, makes it one of the best known, and definitely one of the most picturesque. 

The Mayan City of Edzná, First House of the Itzás

The Mayan city of Edzná is nothing less than epic, lyrical poetry, an extraordinary sonnet comprised of temples and palaces carved in stone that have stood, in regal grandeur, for more than a thousand years.

Uxmal: Architectural Perfection in the Land of the Maya

The Pyramid of the Magician is the most impressive monument I’ve ever seen. There’s a powerful energy in that spot–something to do with all the blood that was spilled on the altars of human sacrifice at the top of those impossibly steep steps. More than any ancient ruin I’ve ever visited, more than any demonic ancient sculpture I’ve ever seen, that pyramid at Uxmal flat scared the hell out of me!

The Amazing Mayan Murals of Bonampak

Out of that handful of Mayan sites where mural paintings have survived, there is one in particular that stands head and shoulders above the rest. One very special place. Down by the Guatemalan border, in a remote corner of the Mexican State of Chiapas: a small Mayan ruin known as Bonampak.

Palenque: Mayan City in the Hills of Chiapas

Palenque! Just hearing the name conjures images of crumbling limestone pyramids rising up out of the the jungle, of palaces and temples cloaked in mist, ornate stone carvings, colorful parrots and toucans flitting from tree to tree in the dense forest that constantly encroaches, threatening to swallow the place whole.

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico’s Colonial Gem

If you include the chilangos, (escapees from Mexico City), close to 20% of the population of San Miguel de Allende is from somewhere else, a figure that includes several thousand American retirees.

Southern Colonials: Merida, Campeche, and San Cristobal

Visiting the Spanish Colonial cities of Mexico is almost like traveling back in time. Narrow cobblestone streets wind between buildings, facades, and stately old mansions that date back three hundred years or more, along with beautiful plazas, parks, and soaring cathedrals, all of similar vintage.

The Puuc Hills: Apex of Mayan Architecture

The Puuc style was a whole new way of building. The craftsmanship was unsurpassed, and some of the monumental structures created in this period, most notably the Governor’s Palace at Uxmal, rank among the greatest architectural achievements of all time.

Becan and Chicanna: Mayan Cities in the Rio Bec Style

Much about the Rio Bec architectural style was based on illusion: common elements include staircases that go nowhere and serve no function, false doorways into alcoves that end in blank walls, and buildings that appear to be temples, but are actually solid structures with no interior space.

Coba and Muyil: Mayan Cities in Quintana Roo

Coba was a trading hub, positioned at the nexus of a network of raised stone and plaster causeways known as the sacbeob, the white roads, some of which extended for as much as 100 kilometers, connecting far-flung Mayan communities and helping to cement the influence of this powerful city.

Photographer’s Assignment: Chichen Itza

To get the best photos, arrive at the park before it opens at 8 AM. There will only be a handful of other visitors, and you’ll have the place practically all to yourself for as much as two hours! Take your time composing your perfect shot.There won’t be a single selfie stick in sight.

Mexican Road Trip, circa 2015

There are truckloads of soldiers on the highways, as well as roving pickup trucks with 50 Caliber machine guns mounted in their beds, and of course there are the checkpoints, where you’ll be stopped and surrounded by armed men in SWAT gear. It can be intimidating, to say the least, if you’ve never experienced that sort of thing before.

ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO:

San Xavier del Bac: The White Dove of the Desert

San Xavier has all of the traditional elements of a Spanish Colonial church, along with many others that are quite unique. The craftsmanship of the original building is superb, and features many fascinating details.

Granada Park: An Avian Oasis in the Heart of Phoenix

Granada Park is a City Park that’s adjacent to a Mountain Preserve. Its location, along with certain other advantages, make it unique in some very specal ways.

A Sunset at White Sands

Dropping down out of the Sacramento Mountains near Alamogordo, the sky was filled with the colors of the widest rainbow I’ve ever seen. Down on the flat, another rainbow came spearing down through the clouds before setting out in pursuit of a downpour, off in the middle distance.

New Mexico’s Golden Autumn

When you think of autumn foliage, the list of places that comes to mind is much more likely to include New England than New Mexico–but the Land of Enchantment is full of fall surprises!

Grand Canyon Rafting

You find a rope, any rope, and you grab on with both hands for all you’re worth. The river boils like the North Sea in a gale, great, rolling green waves and troughs. The raft plummets sideways into a hole fifteen feet deep, the outboard motor shrieks, a monster wave towering ten feet above your head comes crashing down across the deck, pummeling the passengers like a gigantic liquid fist that takes your breath away, leaving you suspended, time stopped, frozen in mid-scream.

Grand Canyon Rafting Expedition: Day One

The two rafts were shoved away from the beach until they floated free, and the boat drivers eased them into the middle of the channel.  We were mostly moving with the current, but the beach dropped behind us pretty quickly, and in a matter of minutes we were out there, rafting down the Colorado River, heading squarely into the enchanted depths of the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon Rafting Expedition: Day Two

The cliffs and buttes were a perfect composition, the different colored layers of stone were all but glowing in the afternoon light, and we had this incredible world all to ourselves, not another boat in sight. 

Grand Canyon Rafting Expedition: Day Three

The waters of the Little Colorado are a turquoise blue that is so startlingly bright it doesn’t even look real.  There’s a well-defined spot where that warm, turquoise blue water from the small river collides with the cold, deep green water flowing upstream from the big river. The two dramatically different colors mix, forming a shifting, swirling line of chartreuse.  That spot is the confluence. It’s magical, and utterly unique.

Grand Canyon Rafting Expedition: Day Four

I was still a little dazed by the whole thing, scenes of frothing, churning whitewater playing over and over in my head.  Fleecy white clouds were piling up above the canyon rim, nearly filling the narrow patch of sky, until the lowering sun set them afire, a Grand Canyon sunset display that was the finest we’d seen, worthy of the spectacular setting.  A fitting end to one of the most amazing days of my life.

Grand Canyon Rafting Expedition: Day Five

The trail meandered for a mile or so, finally giving us access to a series of perfect swimming holes.  There’s something about that exotic turquoise water that welcomes swimmers; the creek was cool, but far from cold, and a welcome change from the icy water in the river.  We stopped at an inviting spot to swim, relax, and eat our lunch. Sitting beside that creek, with our simple repast–it was like having a picnic in the Garden of Eden. 

Grand Canyon Rafting Expedition: Day Six

“Two Hander!” John called out, and we all clung to the ropes for dear life as the raft picked up speed.  We were headed straight for the boil of Lava Falls, roaring like a freight train, bearing down. We entered the churning whitewater dead center, then moved hard to the right to avoid the standing waves and the big holes in the middle of the channel.  We got good and drenched, almost like running under a series of waterfalls, bucking and lurching like crazy, but the whole thing was over in less than a minute. 

Grand Canyon Rafting Expedition: Day Seven

Immediately below that beach we hit Diamond Creek Rapid, then Travertine Rapid, where we pulled over to the bank at Travertine Canyon.  The creek that entered the river here flowed across huge, slippery boulders in a series of small waterfalls, and we had great fun taking turns standing in the flow, almost like a natural shower.

Grand Canyon Rafting Expedition: Day Eight

The river broadened as we approached Lake Mead, and at mile 278 we entered the lake itself.  Pearce Ferry was right there, and we were all pretty quiet as the rafts pulled in to shore for the last time. “Thrill of a lifetime” is a pretty strong statement, but it’s appropriate for this journey.  There’s nothing else like it.

SOUTH AMERICA:

Magnificent Monoliths: The Enigmatic Idols of San Agustin

At least 200 monolithic statues are preserved within the boundaries of the San Agustin Archaeological Park, along with 20 monumental burial mounds. Each statue is unique, but taken as a group they provide a fascinating overview of the rituals and beliefs of one of the earliest complex societies in the Americas. The enigmatic idols of San Agustin are truly unmatched among the world’s ancient monuments.

An Overabundance of Bowlers: A Brief History of the Headgear on the High Plateau

Andean natives have adapted to the intensity of the high altitude sun by taking a very simple precaution: everyone, almost without exception, wears a hat when they venture outdoors. From infants to ancients, everyone covers their head with something, ranging from shawls to leather helmets to proper English bowlers.

Chinchero: The Place Where Rainbows are Born

Candid portraits of villagers in traditional dress, taken in Chinchero, Peru in 1971, before the outside world intruded.

Children of the Altiplano

Candid portraits of Andean villagers taken in Peru and Bolivia in 1971. This set of photographs focuses on the children: their joy, and their innocence.

Puno Day Festival: A Centuries-Old Tradition on the Shores of Lake Titicaca

Historic photos of Peru’s Puno Day festival, taken in 1971. Included is the reenactment of the birth of the Inca empire on the shore of Lake Titicaca, with costumed dancers lining the streets of Puno.

Portraits of a People, Lost in Time

50 year old portraits of Andean natives in their traditional dress, taken in mountain villages not yet tainted by outside influences.

In the Vale of the Stone Monkeys: Peril and Petroglyphs in the Colombian Jungle

El Manco was easy to spot; he had a right arm that had been severed above the elbow, and that wasn’t his only problem. He was also missing his right eye, nothing there but an ugly knot of scar tissue. “Tough old bird” doesn’t begin to describe a hardscrabble character like Manco; he had a face with creases like a roadmap straight to his own personal version of hell.

Tumaco: The Arhuaco Connection

What we really know of history is like an ancient tapestry, worn, and threadbare, with missing patches confusing the grand design. When we make a new connection, we restore a missing thread, and little by little, thread by thread, we fill in those troublesome blanks.

Tairona Gold: The Curse of the Coiled Serpent

Paul dug with his hands then, finally sticking his arm into a hollow space, pulling out a dark object. Grinning at me from the bottom of his hole, he handed up what he’d found. A round blackware vessel representing a coiled serpent, open in the middle, with a spout at the top of the head. I’d seen a lot of Tairona artifacts, but I’d never seen anything remotely like that one.

Tairona Gold: The Rape of Bahia Concha

It was the Tairona gold that triggered a blood lust in the Spanish invaders, ultimately causing the destruction of the entire Tairona civilization. That cycle was repeated in modern times, when the lust for Tairona gold infected the guaqueros, causing the destruction of the last refuge of the Tairona ancestors, in one final humiliation, one last indignity: the RAPE of Bahia Concha!

Machu Picchu Sunrise

The five of us had Machu Picchu entirely to ourselves for at least twelve hours. It was like a dream, and a very fine dream, at that.

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Photographer’s Assignment: Mount Rainier

The road to Sunrise Park climbs into the foothills of Mount Rainier on the eastern side. The volcano is the biggest mountain around, and the treeless upper slopes, cloaked in glacial ice, catch and reflect the full brunt of the rising sun’s bright rays; a spectacle well worth the long drive, and the early wake-up call.

Photographer’s Assignment: Crater Lake

It simply isn’t possible to gaze upon Crater Lake and not be awed by the view. It’s like staring into the eye of the Creator, a heavenly vision reflected by water so clear, and so deep, and so intensely BLUE, you’ll find yourself neglecting to breathe.

Granada Park: An Avian Oasis in the Heart of Phoenix

Granada Park is a City Park that’s adjacent to a Mountain Preserve. Its location, along with certain other advantages, make it unique in some very specal ways.

Kenai Fjords National Park: Seabirds, Glaciers, and Whales on the Wild Coast of Alaska

As the tremendous weight of the moving glacier pushes forward, the pressure buckles the ice into fantastic pillars and columns, like frozen fairy castles gleaming translucent blue as the suspended glacial sediment refracts the sunlight.

Dreaming of Denali

When I drove my Jeep to Alaska that first summer after I retired, my primary goal, the single most important thing I wanted to do, was to see Denali, the biggest mountain in North America.

A Sunset at White Sands

Dropping down out of the Sacramento Mountains near Alamogordo, the sky was filled with the colors of the widest rainbow I’ve ever seen. Down on the flat, another rainbow came spearing down through the clouds before setting out in pursuit of a downpour, off in the middle distance.

Photographing the Sunrise at the Lincoln Memorial

The slightly elevated position of the Lincoln Memorial gives photographers a clear line of sight from every vantage point, with a multitude of options for interesting compositions. But if you want the very best light, and the smallest crowds, you’re going to have to get out there at sunrise!

The Many Moods of the Jefferson Memorial

As a subject for photographers, the Jefferson has it all: columns and curves, sculpture, carved inscriptions, a dome! The Tidal Basin serves as a reflecting pool, and, for a couple of weeks every spring, the whole business is surrounded by flowering cherry trees.

Washington D.C., By the Dawn’s Early Light

Each weekend I’d focus on a different monument, and I’d shoot them from every conceivable angle, before, during, and after the golden hour of the sunrise. Why the weekend? Because, grasshopper, on weekend mornings, there are no commuters, so there is no traffic, no parked cars, no people in the way of your photo shoot!

New Mexico’s Golden Autumn

When you think of autumn foliage, the list of places that comes to mind is much more likely to include New England than New Mexico–but the Land of Enchantment is full of fall surprises!

Blossoms by the Billions: Photographing the Cherry Blossoms in Washington D.C.

Shoot the flower buds when they first emerge, shoot them again when they’re in full florescence, and if you can swing it, one last time when they start to drop, and you have pink petals falling around you like rain…

Follow the Fireweed

Visualize a summertime journey through that part of the world, a world filled with mountains and glaciers and boreal forests, ice blue rivers, turquoise lakes, and billowing clouds that fill the sky. Imagine your vision as a beautiful piece of music. The fundamental, underlying theme of that symphony would be a gently rising swell of perfect harmony, pinkish lavender in its hue.

Antelope Canyon: Conjuring a Beam of Light: Take 2

Today, thanks to Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and all the other photo sharing sites out there, every human on the face of the earth knows about Antelope Canyon, and the volume of visitors has mushroomed into the millions. Instagram, alas, is its own worst enemy,

Buffalo Sunrise: Grand Teton National Park

We could have planned our photo shoot, set up for it, and no doubt we would have gotten even BETTER pictures. But if we’d done that? We would have missed out on the jaw-dropping surprise of a completely unexpected herd of wild buffalo! At sunrise! In the Grand Tetons! That kind of a surprise? It’s almost enough to make your eyeballs explode. It’s just about the very best feeling there is, in this whole big beautiful world!

Photographer’s Assignment: Chichen Itza

To get the best photos, arrive at the park before it opens at 8 AM. There will only be a handful of other visitors, and you’ll have the place practically all to yourself for as much as two hours! Take your time composing your perfect shot.There won’t be a single selfie stick in sight.

Antelope Canyon: Conjuring a Beam of Light

Ephemeral “God beams” appear like magic in the confined space, slanting across the canyon floor like spotlights on a theater stage, only to disappear after a few minutes as the earth spins another fraction of a degree, breaking the perfect alignment.

Antelope Canyon: Part 1

Slot canyons are formed, over the course of many thousands of years, when torrents of rainwater borne from the monsoon storms of summer sluice through channels and cracks in the soft sandstone. Powerful floods strike repeatedly, carving narrow, twisting pathways into the cross-bedded layers of rock, sculpting swirling formations that look like petrified waves.

TRIBAL LANDS:

Canyon de Chelly: The Oldest White House

At the center of the upper section is a large room, 12 by 20 feet, with a front wall that is 12 feet high and made of stone that is two feet thick. This wall was coated in white plaster, decorated with a yellow band, and it is this white wall, which can still be seen, that inspired the name La Casa Blanca, the White House, to this ancient dwelling that has endured in this place for nearly a thousand years.

Canyon de Chelly: Riding the Rainbow to the Universe: The Legend of Spider Woman

Viewing Spider Rock from below provides a dramatically different perspective on this extraordinary formation. From above, you’re looking down on the whole tableau, and Spider Rock, shorter than the soaring canyon walls, appears as one small part of the larger scene. From below, from the floor of the canyon looking up at it, you can see just how BIG the danged thing is. At 800 feet in height, it’s a good bit taller than your average 50 story sky scraper, and it completely dominates the landscape.

Canyon de Chelly: Part 4: The Road to Spider Rock

The twin pillars of Spider Rock were left behind, like a pair of stubborn hold-outs, when everything else around them slowly weathered away. To me, these are fingers of cosmic proportions, thrusting from the earth, pointing toward the heavens in a gesture of unity. When you view these monolithic towers, you will be captivated by their majesty, and by the sheer insolence of their improbable existence.

Canyon de Chelly: Blue Bull and Mummy Cave

300 feet above the canyon floor, there are two deep alcoves filled with ruins, and on a wide ledge between them, a large, multi-story pueblo, partially reconstructed, and quite impressive. The setting is a natural amphitheater, and the overall aspect of the place is simply stunning.

Canyon de Chelly: Standing Cow: A Home Among the Ruins

The hogan, much newer than the other structures, was built using sandstone bricks recycled from the surrounding ruins. Today, even though it’s not really ancient, Standing Cow is on all the maps, as much a part of the human landscape of Canyon de Chelly as the White House and the Mummy Cave.

Canyon de Chelly: Antelope House Ruin

Of all the ruins and other archaeological sites in Canyon de Chelly, Antelope House is the most thoroughly investigated. That’s at least partially due to simple ease of access: unlike most of the ruins in the canyon, all the primary structures at this site are at ground level. Researchers have found the remains of several different cultures in the stratified soil beneath the ruins, each group contributing to the timeline of an area that’s exceptionally rich in history.

Canyon de Chelly: Ruins and Rock Art

We got out, and walked through the trees to a place where a thirty-foot long segment of the sandstone cliff had crumbled away near the base, leaving a section of wall that was set back a couple of feet, protected by an overhang. We could see black pictographs of horses and riders filling that rough stone canvas from left to right.

Canyon de Chelly: Part 3: Canyon del Muerto

The left hand fork is the spectacular work of nature known as Canyon del Muerto. The star attraction of this route is the Mummy Cave Ruin, the largest in the area, built on a ledge between a pair of deep caves, high on the face of a cliff in an extraordinary natural amphitheater.

Canyon de Chelly: Where Canyons Collide

“First Ruin is right over there!” Sylvia pointed to our left, where segments of ancient adobe walls filled a natural alcove halfway up the side of the cliff.

“First Ruin. Wait, don’t tell me. Do they call it that because it’s the oldest?”

“No,” she said with a chuckle. “They call it First Ruin, because it’s the first ruin that we see!”

Canyon de Chelly: Kokopelli and the Lightning Spear

I was probably getting a bit starry-eyed at that point. Barely three miles into the canyon, we’d traveled a thousand years in just under a hundred minutes, and we were barely even underway!

Canyon de Chelly: Ancient Stories Etched in Stone

The petroglyphs we’d just seen, and those we were about to see, were an artistic expression of the highest order, representing the hopes, the dreams, and the spiritual quest of the ancients who created them. These symbols, laboriously etched in stone, were left there for our benefit, and if there are lessons to be learned, we’d be well advised to take heed.

Canyon de Chelly: A Timeless Journey into the Heart of the Navajo Nation

Our first stop was a prehistoric bulletin board Sylvia called Newspaper Rock. A smooth segment of cliff face coated with dark desert varnish, featuring an area at least forty feet wide filled hundreds of petroglyphs. The intriguing symbols were created hundreds of year ago by artists who pecked away the dark varnish, exposing the lighter colored rock underneath.

Canyon de Chelly: Part 2: Chinle Wash to the Junction

A Navajo guide can take you into the canyon in their SUV, or, if you prefer, you can join a guided hike, or a trail ride on horseback. The standard Jeep tours, which are the most popular, range from three to six hours in length. The longer tours cover the highlights of both Canyon De Chelly, and Canyon del Muerto.

Canyon de Chelly: The North Rim Drive

The payoff at the Overlook is a fabulous bird’s-eye view of a quite wonderful Anasazi ruin known as the Antelope House. You can still see the crumbling foundations of dozens of rooms, a tower, and at least four circular kivas, special rooms used by the Ancestral Pueblo people for religious ceremonies.

Canyon de Chelly: Overlooking the White House

The White House Overlook offers a fabulous panorama of the Canyon, and an unobstructed view of the White House, one of the best preserved ruins in the National Monument. Set into a sheer cliff striped with desert varnish, the tableau is instantly recognizable as one of the best-known photographs of Ansel Adams, who once described Canyon de Chelly as “the most beautiful place on earth.” He shot some of his favorite images from the canyon rim.

Canyon de Chelly: The South Rim Drive

The canyon is filled with fascinating contrasts between the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi and the archaic way of life of the Navajo. These views into the canyon literally transcend time.

Canyon de Chelly: Part 1: The Rim Drives

Canyon de Chelly is so much more interesting than the Grand Canyon, because it also has a history, a fascinating history that actually comes alive when you view it up close. Native people have lived in this canyon for almost 5,000 years, which is a very long time indeed, by any standard. What those ancients left behind is the most extraordinary concentration of cliff dwellings and rock art panels to be found anywhere in the desert southwest.

A Serendipitous Sunset at Shiprock

I noticed an odd rock formation coming up fast on the left side of the road, almost like a wall built of angular blocks. Shiprock was close, but hidden from view by the wall as I zoomed toward it. After I passed the odd formation, I stole a quick glance in my rearview mirror, and what I saw was a scene so other-wordly, it literally stopped me in my tracks:

Antelope Canyon: Conjuring a Beam of Light: Take 2

Today, thanks to Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and all the other photo sharing sites out there, every human on the face of the earth knows about Antelope Canyon, and the volume of visitors has mushroomed into the millions. Instagram, alas, is its own worst enemy,

Antelope Canyon: Conjuring a Beam of Light

Ephemeral “God beams” appear like magic in the confined space, slanting across the canyon floor like spotlights on a theater stage, only to disappear after a few minutes as the earth spins another fraction of a degree, breaking the perfect alignment.

Antelope Canyon: Part 1

Slot canyons are formed, over the course of many thousands of years, when torrents of rainwater borne from the monsoon storms of summer sluice through channels and cracks in the soft sandstone. Powerful floods strike repeatedly, carving narrow, twisting pathways into the cross-bedded layers of rock, sculpting swirling formations that look like petrified waves.