… exploration of the planet we live on expands our appreciation for all that this wonderful world has to offer. When I was a kid, I was introduced to the beauty of the outdoors, nature and airplanes; growing up on Diamond Lake in Minneapolis provided us with endless opportunities to spend time in nature with wildlife … and there was the slough a block away that provided us with a place to build forts and tree houses. We lived under the approach to Wold Chamberlain Airport (MSP) and were continually fascinated by all the airplanes that flew over us. We…
Author: Sedona Best
The Flagstaff Area National Monuments will host a birding event from February 18th-21st, 2022 in conjunction with the 25th annual Great Backyard Bird Count. The Great Backyard Bird Count was started in 1998 by the Cornell Ornithology Lab and the Audubon Society and is the oldest citizen science event focused on wild birds. More information about the project is available at www.birdcount.org. Birders of all ages and experience levels are invited to visit Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater Volcano, and/or Wupatki National Monuments. Visitor centers will have bird lists and identification materials available, answer questions, and provide helpful information. Participants spend…
A United States Forest Service Agent was violently assaulted this morning at approximately 10:30 am near the Palatki Ruins off Forest Service Rd. 525D.Jonathan Kip Medford has been named a person of interest in this investigation. Medford has an existing felony warrant with the Yavapai County Superior Court. He was last seen fleeing on foot on FS Rd. 525D.Medford is a 33-year-old male, weighing approximately 185lbs with long blonde hair and blue eyes, last seen wearing a long sleeve gray shirt and blue jeans. He should be considered dangerous, and we urge you not to approach him.If you see him,…
The Arizona Community Foundation and its donors are pleased to announce grant and scholarship distributions for the third quarter of its fiscal year. Between October 1 and December 31, 2021, a total of $62,361,379 was awarded from funds of the Arizona Community Foundation and its six statewide affiliates in Cochise, Flagstaff, the Gila Valley, Sedona, Yavapai County, and Yuma.The $62.4 million in both discretionary and advised grants and scholarships were awarded in five strategic priority areas: Health Innovations, Community Improvement & Development, Environment & Sustainability, Arts & Culture, and Quality Education. Over $12.4 million of that total was dedicated to…
By Amaya Gayle GregorySacred. Authentic. Enlightened. It doesn’t matter what you call it, it doesn’t mean always being happy. It doesn’t even mean being nice or positive, having the answers or being unfailingly at peace. We humans, and not just mystical metaphysical folk, strive towards the Holy Grail, the pinnacle of spirituality, the great awakening, not realizing we could never be anything other than sacred, could not be inauthentic if we tried, are nothing but This That Is, awareness itself.The sacred is at home in negativity, in boredom and anger, in frustration and doubt, in the traditional, in the alternative.…
… what a treat it was to find a pod of White Pelicans on Lake Roosevelt last week … they are massive with average weights in the 15 to 20 pound range and 30 pounds is not uncommon. Wing spans can reach 10 feet, so when looking at the photo above, from wing tip to wingtip is about two thirds of the length of my boat (14′). They take off with both webbed feet pushing off at the same time as they head down the watery runway, reaching for the sky and they are excellent soaring machines too! Below is…
Join us on Thursday, February 24th from 5:30-7:00 pm in Camp Verde Community Library’s Fireside Room for our next free Music in the Stacks Special Concert Series featuring Hambone. Music in the Stacks Special Concert Series is a showcase of local and national musicians who entertain regularly in Northern Arizona. There will be one band or solo artist that plays for the duration of the concert with a different artist playing each month, on the 4th Thursday. February’s concert features local favorite Hambone. Hambone performs original folk and Americana songs with three-part harmony, for a sound that is timeless, yet…
… every Valentines Day I send out a photograph of Sunset Crater … from the air and looking from the west to the east, the crater top appears to be a big beautiful valentine. So to you and yours from Mother Nature, One and myself, a very Happy Valentines Day and we’re wishing you every joy and blessing it is possible to have. The photo below I call “Fish Hooks” and it shows the talons of an Osprey that we got close to whilst at Theodore Roosevelt Lake, NE of Phoenix last Friday … many great shots and worth the…
Health First Foundation is teaming up with the 2022 Sedona International Film Festival to present “Conservation Legacy: An Afternoon with Bruce Babbitt” Feb. 20 in Sedona. The former Arizona governor and U.S. Secretary of the Interior will be on hand for a screening and discussion of the Red Rock State Park documentary, a project produced by the Benefactors of Red Rock State Park and narrated by Babbitt. During his time as governor 1978-1987, Babbitt was instrumental in establishing the 286-acre nature preserve and environmental education center on the outskirts of Sedona. The Red Rock State Park film takes viewers through…