Grand Falls Arizona has to be one of my favorite hidden destinations in my state. Though many folks do know about this magical place and how to get here, I still feel Grand Falls is generally unknown to most visitors to the state.
I had no idea this place existed until I spotted a very small photo of it near the back of an Arizona Highways magazine long ago. The photograph was a subscriber-submitted photo and simply said that Grand Falls would be flowing soon due to lots of snowfall in the area. I immediately put on my Google hat and went to work finding this unique place. That next weekend I set off to find it.
Placed along the Little Colorado River, Grand Falls drops 185 feet (a little taller than Niagra Falls) in a series of tiers into a canyon. Many folks call this Chocolate Falls as it resembles, chocolate! The mighty river churns up dirt combined with snowfall and rain to make a lovely chocolaty concoction reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Not many Arizonans have any idea that a waterfall higher than Niagra exists in our state. I certainly did not, until I was thumbing through the back pages of an Arizona Highways magazine and spotted a section photos taken by amateur readers. Amongst the photos of saguaros and canyons, I spotted a photo of this amazing place… Grand Falls.
I did an honest double take when I saw the member-submitted photo in the magazine. “That’s… HERE?” I said out loud to myself. I immediately dashed to Google, typed in “Grand Falls” and was blown away at some of the photos I saw. Then it was off to Google Maps to find where the heck it was located and how long it’d take to get there.
That next weekend my RAV4 was pointed north driving as fast as the law allowed toward Grand Falls, just a bit east of Flagstaff. I will never forget arriving at the rim and seeing the waterfall for the first time that day. Even after looking at many photos, I was still not prepared for the sheer size of this place.
The Phoenix skyline glows early in the night against a beautiful pink sunset. This particular part of the Phoenix skyline is known as Midtown or the Central Avenue Corridor. Some even call it Uptown. Here you can find some of Phoenix’s great mid-century modern architecture as well as art galleries and awesome new restaurants. Midtown Phoenix has become quite a hub for modern living and nightlife which is great to see. At least I think so.
This is one of my favorite and most popular photos of downtown Phoenix. I was fortunate to catch the last bit of sun reflecting on the buildings before it finally set behind the White Tank mountains. There was also something unique about the shelf of clouds hovering over the west valley.
This photo of the Phoenix skyline was taken from the roof of the Optima Biltmore Towers at 24th Street at Camelback. A good friend once lived at this condominium complex and I loved photographing downtown Phoenix from this vantage point. From there I could see an unobstructed view from the Superstition Mountains in the east to the White Tanks in the west. Getting up high to photograph in Phoenix is difficult unless you hike or are trespassing. So I was very fortunate and have been able to shoot from this place while I was able.
Two Medicine Lake is located in Montana’s Glacier National Park at the base of Sinopah Mountain. After a full day exploring this beautiful park, it ended here on the calm shore near a canoe rental. For a while, the lake was nice and still while I was here but eventually some children arrived and immediately began throwing rocks. No worries, it was still a beautiful place and a beautiful time.
It’s so nice to see water coming from this fountain. Growing up in Spokane in the 80s, I mostly saw it dry and sometimes vandalized. It does my heart so good to see downtown Spokane getting better each time I visit.
This aluminum sculpture was made in 1974 by Seattle’s George Tsutakawa. It stands by the Opera House on Washington and Spokane Falls Boulevard.
The Parkade in my hometown of Spokane Washington was built to handle the influx of people for Expo ’74. Today it stands in the center of the city above many buildings as an architectural masterpiece… well I think so anyway. Its spiraling ramps, color-coded floors, arched yellow awnings and towering PARKADE sign are immediately noticeable and scream “Spokane”. Remarkably it’s never been renovated, and I like that.
The abandoned Grass Valley Methodist Church in Grass Valley Oregon has to be one of my all-time favorite finds. I was on a spectacular road trip from Spokane to Phoenix using only small highways, no interstates. On my way through north central Oregon on Highway 97, I decided to pull over for some lunch in the small town of Grass Valley. I wasn't even looking for this little church, I feel like it found me instead. When I pulled up and got out, two deer were also having lunch right in front. After they scurried away, I broke out the camera and began shooting this awesome place.
I nicknamed this place the “snake farm” because a small snake scared me as I was walking around the main house. This is a photo from the second story up some very creaky stairs.
This golden meadow in Lassen Volcanic National Park is simply called, Upper Meadow. Despite the uninteresting name, this little meadow was absolutely gorgeous as you can see.
Vidae Falls is a lovely waterfall located in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. This spring-fed waterfall cascades down a total of 100 feet.
My wife and I took the Senator Highway from Prescott to Crown King today. I’ve taken this road a few times in my RAV4 and it’s been just fine. However this time, since the massive rains of winter 2009/10, the road was not fun. My goal was to reach Crown King before dark. We almost made it. I might’ve made it on time if not for taking this photo. Couldn’t pass this beautiful shot of the Bradshaw Mountains and surrounding area to the southwest. God bless Arizona.
Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles is located in Cartago, Costa Rica. It was built in 1639. We stopped here to visit the town of Cartago and spent about an hour in this basilica taking photos, observing the memorials of fallen World War II soldiers and general people-watching. You don’t see much of this kind of architecture in the US. At least not in the western US where I am from. My wide-angle lens was perfect for capturing the mammoth interior of this church.
