Uxmal, (pronounced, oosh-mahl), is the most aesthetically spectacular of all the Mayan cities. The beautiful setting, the quality of the architecture, the state of preservation, the wonderful plazas replete with flowering trees. This place has it all, and it’s not even isolated–it’s a mere hour south of Merida, a city of a million people, and the capital of the state of Yucatan. You’d think it would be crawling with tourists! But that is absolutely not the case, because the vast majority of the tourists in the Yucatan are concentrated in Cancun, on the opposite side of the peninsula. Chichen Itza and Tulum, both closer to Cancun, get as many as two million visitors in a year, while Uxmal gets less than 300,000. It has nothing to do with the quality of the site; it’s a matter of convenience. Uxmal is just a little bit too far from Margaritaville for an easy day trip. 

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The location of Uxmal, relative to Chichen Itza and Cancun. Click for expanded view.

HISTORY OF UXMAL

The name Uxmal is thought to be derived from the Mayan oxmal, which means “thrice built,” a reference to the various stages of construction–often separated by centuries–that are common to Mayan cities. Investigations at the site have confirmed that the city was actually rebuilt five times, with distinctive layers representing each phase. New buildings and larger pyramids were built atop existing structures, a perfect way for each new dynasty of kings to put their stamp on the place, by making everything taller, broader, and ever more impressive. 

Pyramid of the Magician: five temples built one atop the other

The final version of Uxmal was one of the most important Mayan ceremonial centers of the late classic period, from 850 AD to about 925 AD. To put that in perspective, Uxmal was just starting to boom about the time Palenque began to fade. (See my previous post: Palenque: Mayan City in the Hills of Chiapas.) The two cities are separated by a significant distance, more than 500 km. While they may belong to the same tree (the sacred ceiba tree that supports the universe) they represent entirely different branches. Palenque is classic, old school, while Uxmal is thought to be at the pinnacle of post-classic Mayan art and architecture. Built in the Puuc style, which is characterized by buildings with smooth, lower walls built of precisely fitted blocks, devoid of decoration, topped by ornate cornices with elaborate friezes of carved stone, these structures display a perfection that is unmatched in the Mayan world. The facade on the Governor’s Palace at Uxmal is 300 meters long, the second longest frieze in all of ancient Central America. The complex as a whole is considered the best preserved of all Mayan ruins; in 1996, the Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site

The Governor’s Palace, considered one of the greatest architectural achievements of all time

The Legend of the Dwarf

According to legend, the ruler of Uxmal entered a competition with a dwarf, a trial of strength and magic involving a series of challenges. The dwarf bested the king in the second challenge by building the big pyramid in a single night–aided by his mother, a witch with magical powers. The legend is the source of the common name for this structure: the Pyramid of the Magician, or the Pyramid of the Dwarf. In reality, the massive, 115 foot tall structure, which rises from a unique eliptical base, consists of five temples built one atop the other, with construction ongoing throughout most of the city’s history.

Uxmal’s earliest structures have been dated somewhere around the sixth century A.D. Construction and expansion continued sporadically for the next five hundred years as the city rose in stature, ultimately becoming the dominant political force in the Puuc region. The land was fertile and the rains were predictable, producing bountiful harvests that supported a population of as many as 25,000 people. All of their water came from rain, which they collected and stored in underground cisterns that were carefully managed to provide their needs during dry spells. An extended drought late in the 11th century exhausted all of those resources, leading to the abandonment of the city by its original inhabitants. When the rains returned, Toltec invaders from central Mexico moved in, and the new rulers of Uxmal joined forces with with the lords of Chichen Itza and Mayapan to form a powerful confederation that ruled the northern Yucatan through the 14th century, almost up to the time of the Spanish Conquest.

After the Conquest, Mexico became a colony of Spain, and the grandees divided the country into vast estates for their own enrichment. In 1700, that portion of the Yucatan that included the ruins of Uxmal was granted to the Peon family, for whom these “casas de piedra,” stone houses, were little more than a curiosity: buildings in ruins, overgrown by trees and shrubs so thick you could scarcely see what was beneath them.

In the 1830’s, French explorer and cartographer Jean Frederick Waldeck visited the area, and described the ruined city in a lavishly illustrated book about the Maya that was published in 1838. After that, the landowner ordered the ruins cleared, at least in part, so that any future visitors could get a better look at them.

STEPHENS AND CATHERWOOD

An early drawing of the Pyramid of the Dwarf, rendered by Frederick Catherwood, the artist who traveled with writer John Lloyd Stephens

In 1840, the American writer John Lloyd Stephens and his illustrator, Frederick Catherwood traveled through Central America and southern Mexico, documenting previously unreported Mayan cities. When they reached the Yucatan, they were personally invited to the Peon Hacienda by the owner, who described the ruins on his land in glowing terms. They’d learned to be skeptical of such claims, so they weren’t expecting all that much–until they saw the site for themselves. In his book, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, first published in 1841, Stephens describes their first view of the ruins of Uxmal as follows:

“The place of which I am now speaking was beyond all doubt once a large, populous, and highly civilized city, and the reader can nowhere find one word of it on any page of history. Who built it, why was it located on that spot, away from water or any of those natural advantages which have determined the sites of cities whose histories are known, what led to its abandonment and destruction, no man can tell. The only name by which it is known is that of the Hacienda on which it stands.”

Rendering of the Uxmal ruins by Federick Catherwood, 1840, from the book “Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan”

Frederick Catherwood was quite taken by the extraordinary ruins, and over the course of two extended visits, he made countless drawings of the site. It’s said that his renderings were so precise, they could have been used as blueprints to reconstruct the entire city from scratch. Most of those drawings were burned in a tragic fire, but those that survived are enormously important. It was Catherwoods’ remarkable illustrations that turned Stephens’ two-volume travel book into a widely acclaimed best seller. By the middle of the 19th century, the ancient Maya, and the city of Uxmal, previously unheard of, were suddenly all the rage.

The back side of the Pyramid of the Magician, a Catherwood rendering done in 1840. There’s no doubt that it looked just as you see it in his drawing: a pyramid with an impossibly steep staircase, all the way to the top, overgrown by trees and shrubs, which the landowners had just begun to clear.

The back side of the pyramid as it appears today, cleared and largely restored. Set on an eliptical base, the 115 foot tall structure is among the most famous buildings in the Mayan World. The steps that you see rise at an angle of 60 degrees. Climbing on any part of the pyramid is prohibited, to avoid damage to the centuries-old structure.

Located just off the main road between Merida and Campeche, Uxmal has always been easily accessible, and it has attracted visitors from every corner of the globe for most of the last 200 years. In all that time, there have been surprisingly few serious studies of the site, so while Uxmal is one of the Mayan cities that is best known to the outside world, at least, by reputation, the science of archaeology has barely scratched the surface. Sylvanus Morley created the first map of Uxmal in 1909, and conducted preliminary studies at that time. In 1927, the Mexican government began a program of repair and restoration, to stabilize the most important buildings. These efforts have been ongoing, and quite successful. The erstwhile Count de Waldeck would scarcely recognize the place as the same overgrown ruin he first encountered in the 1830’s.

 

House of the Turtles, a Catherwood rendering from 1840. Prior to early restoration efforts, the forest was actively devouring these ruins, and had almost finished the task.

VISITING UXMAL

From the parking lot, the entrance to Uxmal looks like the entrance to a shopping mall, or a movie theater. In reality, this unassuming doorway is a portal into the world of the Ancient Maya, a world that transcends time.

On my own trip to Mexico back in 2015, we drove to Uxmal from Merida early in the morning. We had a reservation at a great hotel called the Uxmal Resort Maya that was just minutes away from the ruins; relatively new, quite clean, and reasonably priced. They actually let us check in early, and once that was done, we headed straight over to the archeological park, arriving just as they opened the gates at 8:00.

A tip for photographers: arriving early is critical. 90% of the visitors come on tour buses that start rolling in an hour or so after opening. That first hour, before the buses arrive, is your best, often your only opportunity to take your pictures without a crowd of your fellow tourists in the frame.

The Uxmal Archeaological Park as it exists today. It is estimated that there are at least 500 buildings associated with this magnificent ceremonial complex. The vast majority of these are still buried by the surrounding forest. (Click map to expand)

Whether you’re coming from Merida, 50 miles to the north, or from Campeche, 100 miles to the south, you’ll arrive at Uxmal off MX 261. When driving in Mexico, it’s recommended that you stay on the Cuotas, the toll roads, which are better maintained and considered safer for travelers. MX 261 is NOT a Cuota, but in this case, you have no other choice. State highways are slower than the toll roads because there is more traffic, and they travel through the middle of all the tiny towns. More picturesque, but most definitely more dangerous, with livestock and numerous other hazards in the middle of the highway, and brutal concrete speed bumps (topes) serving as passive traffic enforcement. On the back roads of Mexico, every journey is an adventure!

For more tips on driving in Mexico, see my post: Mexican Road Trip

Easy, reasonably secure parking, right by the entrance, for a nominal charge

At Uxmal, there’s a parking lot with plenty of spaces.  The charge was just 22 Pesos for the whole day, and unlike Palenque, there were no hustlers offering to watch, or wash, my Jeep. The entry fee to the ruins was steep, compared to Palenque: 254 Pesos, about 16 bucks each, but it turned out to be well worth it. There were no more than two dozen other visitors at the time we were there, so it was almost like having the place to ourselves. This was mid-October, still the rainy season, so still the off-season for tourist destinations, very much to our advantage.

(Note: prices quoted were correct in 2015; they’ve all gone up a bit.)

Pay your fees at the entrance, and if you’d like to join a tour, there are options available right there at the park. If you don’t feel you need a guide, follow the paved walkway, down the rabbit hole, and into the fabled city of Uxmal, wonderland of the ancient Maya.

EXPLORING THE RUINS

The first thing you’ll see is the back side of the Pyramid of the Magician, rather plain from this angle, but at 115 feet in height, it’s imposing nonetheless. When you walk around to the front, that’s where the real power of the structure reveals itself. Whatever name you call it by, that thing is one of the most impressive monuments I’ve ever seen anywhere. 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 sculpture I’ve ever seen, that pyramid at Uxmal–let’s just say it gave me the creeps, all the down to the marrow. They won’t let you climb it anymore, because the steps are deteriorating, but even if it was allowed, I don’t think I would have tried, out of respect for all those lost, tortured souls who died there. A pyramid such as this, built entirely by manual labor, is an incomprehensibly expensive undertaking, and the cost is far greater than the value of the materials, or the man hours required. The true cost of a pyramid such as this has to be measured in human lives, all the lives that are given, taken, or simply used up, before, during, and after the interminable construction of the beastly thing.

Several views of the west side of the Pyramid of the Magician, including a closeup of the doorway to Temple IV, which represents the open mouth of Chac, the rain god, the most important deity in the Mayan pantheon. During ceremonies, Mayan priests in their elaborate feathered robes would emerge from that doorway, a grand spectacle meant to intimidate their audience.

Plaza on the west side of the Pyramid of the Magician, facing the Quadrangle of the Birds

There is a spacious plaza in front of the pyramid on the west side, the space where crowds once gathered to watch the brutal spectacles that played out at the top of those steps.  Captives were taken in war and utilized as slaves, with a certain number reserved for the priests to use as grist for their mill of human sacrifice. Victims were tied down, and their still-beating hearts were cut from their chests as an offering to bloodhirsty gods.

QUADRANGLE OF THE BIRDS

On the opposite side of the plaza in front of the Pyramid of the Magician you’ll find the Quadrangle of the Birds, so called for the carvings of birds that adorn the upper walls of the buildings. Birds are a common element in the decorative friezes surrounding these Puuc style buildings. Birds were important to the Maya as a source of food, as well as a source of valuable feathers, but their real significance was religious. Birds were vessels of the gods, and played an important part in a variety of religious rites.

NUNNERY QUADRANGLE

Just beyond the Quadrangle of the Birds is another group of buildings surrounding a courtyard. The original purpose of these structures is unknown, but they have long been referred to as the Nunnery, because the early Spanish explorers thought that the small rooms in the buildings resembled Nun’s cells in a convent. The buildings are classic examples of the Puuc architectural style, featuring smooth, lower walls topped by ornate cornices. The carved stones in the walls form a precisely fitted veneer, set into a structural core of built up concrete. This building technique was an innovation developed by the Mayan stone masons to reduce the thickness of the outer walls, allowing much more spacious interiors.

Perfectly geometrical stone lattice surrounding three Chac masks, stacked one atop the other

Well-executed carving of a plump bird with stubby wings, one of many representations of birds at Uxmal

A snake, slithering his way through the complex design, the rattles at the end of his tail clearly depicted

The stone friezes surrounding the tops of these buildings are comprised of complex geometric designs that incorporate elements of the Mayan religion. Chac, the big-nosed rain god is an important theme that is frequently repeated, with Chac masks stacked one atop another at every corner, and above most doorways. Birds are another common element, and there is even a rattlesnake, with its rattles plainly visible in carved relief.

Designs were created by mass producing the components and assembling them in place like pieces of a puzzle. In some areas, cut stone still litters the ground.

THE BALL COURT

South of the Nunnery Quadrangle there is a ball court that was used in a ceremonial game of skill. Contestants had to keep a hard rubber ball in play, not letting it touch the ground, using only their hips, elbows and knees, never their hands or feet. Thick leather armor was required to protect them from the ball, which was 30 cm in diameter and quite heavy. They’d score points by knocking the ball through a stone ring attached to the sloping side of the court, which was finished with smooth stucco. The game was deadly serious: the losing team was usually sacrificed to the gods.

Several views of the Ball Court. The original stone goal rings were deteriorating from exposure to the elements, so they were removed, and replaced with the reproductions seen in these photographs.

THE PALACE OF THE GOVERNOR

The building known as the Palace of the Governor is one of Uxmal’s most well known features. Like everything else in the city, it was built directly above older structures, including passageways and staircases that have been sealed off from above. The Palace actually consists of three buildings, all level with one another, joined by walkways featuring corbelled arches, and the entire five acre complex is elevated atop a triple terrace fifty feet high. There are 24 interior rooms that may have been used for administrative or religious functions, or perhaps as a royal residence. The building is massive, 320 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 26 feet high. The mosaic frieze surrounding the upper section is 300 meters long, and was assembled from twenty thousand individually carved elements. When we think of a mosaic, we imagine a picture or a decoration made of small pieces of stone or glass. There is nothing about this Mayan mosaic that could be considered “small”. Many of the thousands of “individual components” are as much as a yard long, carved from solid stone weighing hundreds of pounds.

There is perfection here, architectural perfection, to be sure, in the purity of the design, but to bring such concepts to fruition required much more than intellect. The palace is a marvel of engineering and a consummate display of artistry, executed on a grand scale, and built in perfect alignment with important celestial events. There’s nothing to match it in the Mayan world–or in any other world.

JAGUAR THRONE

In the plaza below the Palace of the Governor is a carved stone seat, featuring the head of a jaguar on each side, facing in opposite directions. It is widely believed that Uxmal’s rulers used the seat as a throne during  ceremonies. That’s what you might call a “best guess,” since there’s no way to prove it, one way or the other. The jaguar was an important deity for the Maya, and for most other cultures in the tropical latitudes of the Americas. He was by far the most powerful animal in the forest, so his spirit was an important ally.

THE PILLORY STONE

Near the Jaguar Throne, in the same plaza, there is another carved stone, mounted at an angle on a square base. As it appears today, devoid of any ornamentation, it’s easy to see why the Spaniards likened it to a pillory, a support for tying down prisoners undergoing a flogging. Try to imagine the stone as it may have appeared back in the day, stuccoed, painted, and adorned with glyphs. It’s just as easy to see it as the Ya’axche Cab, the base of the sacred tree that supports the Mayan universe. Personally, I like that much better.

Extensive work has been done to stabilize and restore the city of Uxmal, but the ruins are so well preserved, relatively little actual reconstruction was required. Uxmal is by far the best example of a Mayan city that still appears much as it did when it was built, with at least one important difference. In their heyday, the buildings, including the decorative frieze, would have been painted, with a lot of red, blue, yellow, and black. We can only imagine how that would have looked. 

THE GREAT PYRAMID

Beyond the Governor’s Palace is a truncated step pyramid, 90 feet high and more than 300 feet wide, with a small temple at the top. Known as the Great Pyramid, this one is only partially excavated; if you walk around to the back side of the sructure, you’ll get an idea of how these ruins looked before they were cleared. The steps on the front side, on the other hand, are in such good condition that visitors are still allowed to climb them.

There’s a technique to climbing a Mayan pyramid: the steps are very narrow, and the risers are quite tall, which makes the pitch of the stairs dangerously steep. For safety’s sake, and as a purely practical consideration, it’s best to stay parallel to the stairs, to keep your feet sideways on the steps, and to move diagonally upward as you climb. Your feet get a better purchase, and you’re less likely to slip. You don’t want to slip on one of those staircases. A fall down those steep stone steps could be a disaster.

HOUSE OF THE PIGEONS

Just west of the Great Pyramid is another well known structure called the House of the Pigeons. There is a crumbling wall with dozens of small openings, bringing to mind a dovecote for housing birds. No doubt there were more than a few birds nesting in those spaces when the ruins were cleared, but that’s not likely to have  been their original purpose. Part of the south temple complex, these are among the oldest structures at Uxmal, pre-dating the Palace of the Governor by several hundred years.

Every crack in every wall contains enough windblown, time-worn soil to provide nourishment for a seedling. Before you know it, you have trees sprouting from the tops of walls, and wild house plants growing sideways in the most unlikely places.

Maintenance of the grounds at all the Mayan archeological parks is an ongoing battle against a forest that is constantly encroaching. Major sites like Uxmal, Chichen Itza, and Palenque stay in pretty good shape, as they have more funding and more staff, but as you can see in these photos, the vegetation is relentless.

Some of the encroaching plant life actually improves the ambience. At these tropical latitudes, most flowering trees and shrubs produce beautiful blooms all year around, adding a welcome splash of color to the scene (below).

Click any photo to stop the slides from advancing, and expand the images to full screen.

Uxmal is a place that should be savored, so if you visit the ruins, don’t settle for the two hour tour. It took the Maya 500 years to build the place, so the least you can do is take a full day to appreciate their efforts. Of all the Mayan cities I’ve visited myself, Uxmal is my favorite, without any doubt. We can only imagine what it would have been like when it was still in use, with all the sights, sounds, and smells of a living city teeming with people, with the kings and nobles in their palaces, and the priests in their temples. What a different world that was, and not so very long ago.

Click any photo to expand the image

Click the link to launch a Full Screen slide show featuring an assortment of my favorite photos from Uxmal. These super-sized slides are best viewed on a full sized monitor or a tablet. They’re not properly configured for a Mobile browser.

Note: This is a revised and expanded version of a previous post on this website that was titled: Uxmal: The Most Perfectly Preserved Mayan City

Unless otherwise noted, all of these photographs are my original work, and are protected by copyright. They may not be duplicated for commercial purposes.

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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.  

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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!”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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! 

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

This post is a work in progress. Anticipated publication in February, 2025.

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

This post is a work in progress. Anticipated publication in February, 2025.

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

This post is a work in progress. Anticipated publication in March, 2025.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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 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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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A shout out 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.

Road trips with old friends are the absolute best. We laugh and we laugh until we run out of breath, and laughter is good for the soul!

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: 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!”

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.

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.