US Route 89 On-line Magazine

Read articles about places to visit and find information to help you plan your road trip. Use the search box to find specific places or select from a category for related articles.

Seeing Through Time at the Grand Canyon

Seeing Through Time at the Grand Canyon

When I stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon, I sense the flow of time. As a photographer, I have spent many hours studying the depths of the canyon, watching the changing light bring color and form to the rocks and buttes. Invariably my thoughts turn to how time is...

Making the Connection: Arizona’s Historic Highway 89

Making the Connection: Arizona’s Historic Highway 89

Two historic major east-west highways cross Arizona, and each played a role in the westward migrations of the early 20th century. US Route 66 carried people across northern Arizona from Chicago to Santa Monica. US Route 80 linked Savannah to San Diego through southern...

Visitors Guide: Tumacácori National Historical Park

Visitors Guide: Tumacácori National Historical Park

What you see:Tumacácori National Historical Park preserves the ruin of the Franciscan mission San José de Tumacácori. The embellished front of the church stands in front of thick adobe walls that rise to a flat roof over the nave. To the right of the main entrance, a...

Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area

Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area

Add the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area in southern Arizona to your must-see places along Historic US Route 89. The heritage area brings together the cultural, historical, and natural resources of the Santa Cruz River watershed to provide visitors with a...

2023 US Route 89 Calendar

2023 US Route 89 Calendar

The 2023 US Route 89 calendar features photographs of the seven national parks along the highway. I have chosen photos that are intimate views. These images emphasize details of plants and geologic formations that characterize each of the parks. I hope that for the...

Tourists, Tourists Everywhere

Tourists, Tourists Everywhere

As we slowly reopen from our pandemic lock down, people are hitting the road to visit the national parks. Although I haven’t experienced it first hand yet, I hear that the parks are getting crowded with tourists. This got me to thinking about the photographs I have...

Celebrating Grand Canyon National Park’s Centennial

Celebrating Grand Canyon National Park’s Centennial

...and My 42 Years of Photographing It by James Cowlin I went to the Grand Canyon to photograph for the first time in 1977. I had been shooting landscapes in Arizona for a few years but had avoided the Grand Canyon. I told myself that every photographer went there and...

Arizona Copper Art Museum

Arizona Copper Art Museum

Precious metals have been mined in Arizona since the first people arrived thousands of years ago. Gold, silver and copper were used by indigenous people for pigments, ornaments and tools. Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century came to Southwest looking for...

A Western Journey by Thomas Wolfe

A Western Journey by Thomas Wolfe

Thomas Wolfe was an acclaimed author best know for Look Homeward, Angel. In early 1938, he had just delivered two lengthy manuscripts to his publisher. He was 38 and needed a break from writing so he decided to make a trip out west to a part of the country he had...

Two Alternative 89 Routes

Two Alternative 89 Routes

There are two parts of highway 89 that are designated as alternatives. One is an Arizona State Route and the other is a Federal US Route. To add to the confusion both are in Arizona. I get a lot of questions about driving conditions on these roads especially from...

Painting Water—The Art of Barbara Kemp Cowlin

Painting Water—The Art of Barbara Kemp Cowlin

On many of our trips on US Route 89, Barbara and I have found ourselves camping and hiking near water. From Peña Blanca Lake near the Mexican border to the lakes of Glacier National Park, water in its many natural forms has been a part of our journey. So it was almost...

Getting to Page, Arizona, on US 89T

Getting to Page, Arizona, on US 89T

UPDATE: As of March 2015, US Route 89 between Bitter Springs and Page has reopened with the completion of repairs to the highway as it ascends the Echo Cliffs. US 89T is now Navajo Route 20 and is a possible alternative. Heavy trucks and vehicles...

The Painted Desert Project

The Painted Desert Project

The last place you would expect to find street art is along US Route 89 on the Navajo Reservation. But there it is. You can’t miss it as you head north from Flagstaff. It’s on tanks and roadside jewelry stands. Big black and white photographs pasted up there for all...

Spanish Settlements in Southern Arizona

Spanish Settlements in Southern Arizona

In this day of Google maps and GPS everywhere, it is hard to imagine how the world looked to the Spanish explorers when they arrived in the region we now call Arizona. Early explorers had mistakenly believed that California was an island and that the territory between...

Camping in State Parks on US Route 89

Camping in State Parks on US Route 89

Campgrounds in the national parks, monuments and forests along US Route 89 are not the only options. Campgrounds established by the states are a possibility and often not as crowded. Arizona and Utah in particular have many parks that offer modern facilities for both...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: C. M. Russell Museum

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: C. M. Russell Museum

My first interest in US Route 89 was the landscape, particularly the seven national parks along the road. As I traveled on 89, I realized that it was more than beautiful scenery. It was also a road that led me into the history and culture of what is known in as The...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Catalina State Park

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Catalina State Park

The Santa Catalina Mountains dominate the horizon as you approach Tucson from any direction. The tallest peak is Mount Lemon at over 9,100 feet, some 6,900 feet above the surrounding valley. The whole range covers 200 square miles and is one of the largest of the...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Spring City

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Spring City

As we entered Spring City, Utah, for the first time, a small brick building with a bright yellow sign reading Horseshoe Mountain Pottery caught our eyes. Always on the lookout for local arts and crafts along US Route 89, we stopped to investigate. There appeared to be...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: String Lake Trail

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: String Lake Trail

We were fortunate on our first visit to Grand Teton National Park to be there in the fall when the leaves were turning. After a couple of days of exploring the park, we discovered the String Lake Trail. It proved ideal for viewing the trees in fall dress from up close...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Running Eagle Falls

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Running Eagle Falls

Glacier National Park is best know for rugged Rocky Mountain peaks and large sparkling lakes all of which can be seen along the park’s roads. However, there are many hidden gems that require a little effort to experience. One of the easiet is Running Eagle Falls. On...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Lonely Dell Ranch

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Lonely Dell Ranch

The first time I saw Lonely Dell Ranch at Lee’s Ferry was at the end of a five-day backpack through Paria Canyon. It was a welcome sight, a green oasis among the red rocks. My fellow hikers and I sat at picnic tables in the shade of tall cottonwoods eating lunch and...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Temple Square

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Temple Square

Historically US 89 wrapped around Temple Square in Salt Lake City as State Street on the west side and North Temple Street on the north. The route has been changed in recent years so if you stay on the marked route you will pass a couple of blocks to the west of the...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Livingston Depot Center

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Livingston Depot Center

Livingston, Montana, was the original gateway to Yellowstone National Park. The Northern Pacific Railroad promoted tourism from eastern cities to this city on the banks of the Yellowstone River. From Livingston, a 60-mile spur line carried tourist to Gardiner at the...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Navajo Bridge

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Navajo Bridge

The most unusual, not to mention scary, assignment I had as an industrial photographer was working with an engineering firm inspecting Navajo Bridge. The bridge had been completed in 1929 and by the 1989 was showing its age. The inspection consisted of crawling around...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Big Rock Candy Mountain

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Big Rock Candy Mountain

When Harry McClintock wrote the lyrics to Big Rock Candy Mountain, he didn’t have a specific place in mind. His song, first recorded in 1928, is about a hobo’s idea of paradise. Every child who grew up in the 1950s remembers Burl Ives singing the chorus: Oh the...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Jackson Town Square

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Jackson Town Square

Although it is called Town Square by the locals, it is officially the George Washington Memorial Park. The park in the middle of Jackson, Wyoming, got that designation on the 200th anniversary of America’s first president’s birth in 1932. However Jackson Town Square...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Sluice Boxes State Park

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Sluice Boxes State Park

Belt Creek races down through a limestone canyon as it flows out of the Little Belt Mountains on its way to the Missouri River. The narrow canyon reminded early-day miners of the sluice boxes used by prospectors to separate gold from gravel. Seven and a half miles of...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: West Fork of Oak Creek

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: West Fork of Oak Creek

Towering above you as you hike up the West Fork of Oak Creek are red and white limestone and sandstone canyon walls. At your feet is the gentle burble of the creek surrounded by wildflowers. The descending notes of the Canyon Wren’s song echos against the rocks. It is...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Fremont Indian State Park

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Fremont Indian State Park

The people we call the Fremont Indians flourished across north and central Utah and adjacent parts of Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada. Inhabiting that area from about 400 to 1300 AD, they were contemporary with the Ancestral Puebloan people of southern Utah and northern...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Artists Paintpots

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Artists Paintpots

I think it is the name that keeps drawing us back to this small geyser basin. Artists Paintpots implies colorful displays and that is certainly true. Each time we have visited Yellowstone National Park, we have managed to walk the short trail that circles the basin....

Renting an RV for a One-Way Road Trip on US Route 89

Renting an RV for a One-Way Road Trip on US Route 89

A logical way to see all of US Route 89 is to start at one end and drive to other. If you are driving your own vehicle and live in the western United States, that is the best way to see it all. But what about folks who are traveling a long distance from the eastern US...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Two Medicine Lake

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Two Medicine Lake

Our two times camping at Two Medicine Lake could not have been more different. Out first visit to Glacier National Park was in late August and we choose Two Medicine because it was the closest campground to where we entered the park from US Route 89. We stayed there...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Sanpitch Dragon

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Sanpitch Dragon

I don’t remember where I first heard about the dragon. It may have been from reading a fading notice on the old Casino Star Theater. It read, “Under the bridge where highway 89 crosses the Sanpitch River, a benevolent dragon resides and gently roars.” I knew I had to...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Yellowstone Buffalo

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Yellowstone Buffalo

Yellowstone National Park is famous for many things among which is the wildlife. It is quite common to be driving on one of the park roads and all of a sudden find the road completely block with cars and people standing around looking at a bear or a wolf. One of the...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Old Trail Museum

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Old Trail Museum

One of the joys of driving through the small towns along US Route 89 is discovering the local museums. Unlike their big city counterparts, these museums are a reflection of the unique people and culture of the region they represent. Often run on a shoestring and...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Palisade State Park

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Palisade State Park

We discovered Palisade State Park in Utah late one day. We were on our way from Arizona to Glacier National Park in Montana and needed a place to park our teardrop, make dinner and rest up for the next days long drive. I got out the road atlas and looked for a little...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: West Thumb Geyser Basin

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: West Thumb Geyser Basin

We arrived at West Thumb late on an August afternoon. The weather had been steadily deteriorating all day. Barbara exclaimed, “It’s snowing!” Not exactly. It was sleet but it seemed cold enough for snow—perfect weather for photographing in Yellowstone. Yellowstone...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Thunder Jack

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Thunder Jack

One of the most mythic figures in American history is the mountain man. In the first half of the 19th century, an estimated 3,000 men worked as trappers in the wilderness of the West. To survive many of them adopted the ways of the Indians, wearing buckskin clothing,...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Tom Mix Memorial

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Tom Mix Memorial

Before Hopalong Cassidy and the Lone Ranger became cowboy heroes, Tom Mix had won the hearts of American children. In a career that started in 1909 and lasted until 1940, he made hundreds of films. His performances were famous for showmanship featuring action over...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Thistle

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Thistle

When the route for a federal highway with the number 89 was first proposed in 1924 it’s southern end was Flagstaff, Arizona, and the northern terminus was Thistle, Utah. However, when I searched a map of Utah, Thistle was nowhere to be found. Therein lies a tale of...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Schwabacher’s Landing

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Schwabacher’s Landing

US Route 89 in Grand Teton National Park parallels the Snake River to the east and offers spectacular views of the Tetons. There are several turnouts along the road from which to photograph the mountains with the river in the foreground. However there are only a...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Horseshoe Bend Overlook

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Horseshoe Bend Overlook

When water slowly flows across a flood plain it tends to curve back and forth or meander. Meandering rivers erode sediment from the outer curve of each meander bend and deposit it on an inner curve further down stream. This causes individual meanders to grow larger...

What Drives Volcanism Near Yellowstone National Park?

What Drives Volcanism Near Yellowstone National Park?

by Wayne Ranney Anyone who has visited Yellowstone National Park knows that volcanism is the primary shaper of the landscape there. Volcanic processes drive the numerous geysers and mud pots, are responsible for much of the earthquake activity, and have created many...

Using a Compact Digital Camera for Travel Photography

Using a Compact Digital Camera for Travel Photography

Barbara and I went to Ohio a couple of years ago for our son, Mathew’s, college graduation. I knew I wanted to take pictures of the occasion and the rest of the trip, but I didn’t want to lug my DSLR kit. When I pick up that camera, I go pro. That is, I knew I would...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Paris Tabernacle

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Paris Tabernacle

Ever been to Paris? If you have driven US 89 through Idaho, you have. And the one thing you can’t miss in Paris is the historic Mormon Tabernacle. Resting on a perfectly manicured green lawn, the 110-foot tall spire draws your attention to the red sandstone church in...

US Route 89 Attraction: Salt River Pass

US Route 89 Attraction: Salt River Pass

In today’s world of high speed automobile travel it is hard to imagine how important mountain passes were to to the pioneers who crossed the Rocky Mountains during the westward migration of the 19th century. In southwestern Wyoming, US Route 89 crosses between the...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Memorial Falls

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Memorial Falls

If you are not looking for it, the turn off to the parking area for the Memorial Falls trail is easy to miss. It is located in the Kings Hill National Scenic Byway section of US Route 89 between White Sulphur Springs and Great Falls, Montana. Look for it on the east...

The Ideal Road Trip

What are the qualities of a road trip that make it memorable? Since starting the US Route 89 project some ten years ago, Barbara and I have spent many hours and covered thousands of miles together. In reflecting on these trips, I have been trying to identify the...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Shrine of St. Joseph

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Shrine of St. Joseph

No matter what your religious persuasion or non-persuasion, you will find the Shrine of St. Joseph of the Mountains worth a stop. The shrine is in Yarnell, Arizona, in the mountainous transition zone between the desert and the Colorado Plateau. Look for the small sign...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: The Toadstools

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: The Toadstools

Hoodoos are among the strangest geological formations found on earth. They occur when a thick layer of soft rock is capped by a thin layer of harder rock. As the land erodes, the soft rock washes away faster leaving a thin column protect by a hard rock cap. Nowhere...

Is Flagstaff the Craft Brew Hub of the Southwest?

According to Steele Wotkyns, one of the founders of the Flagstaff Ale Trail, it is. He has some convincing evidence to back that up. There are now six craft beer brewers in Flagstaff ranging from the well-established Flagstaff Brewing Company to the newest start-up,...

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Afton’s Elkhorn Arch

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Afton’s Elkhorn Arch

You don’t need any complicated directions to find the Elkhorn Arch in Afton, Wyoming. Drive into town on US Route 89 and there it is spanning Washington Street in the middle of town. According to a nearby sign, the arch is 75 feet long and 18 feet high. It is composed...

Four Peaks Brewery

Four Peaks Brewery

As soon as we turned onto Old 8th Street in Tempe, Arizona, it was apparent that we had arrived at someplace special. The street was lined with cars on both sides and it was only 4:30 in the afternoon. I drove past the building, made a quick u-turn and grabbed the...

The Easiest Way to Make the Best Cup of Coffee Anywhere

I love a good cup of coffee first thing in the morning. For years I used the standard electric drip coffee maker with freshly ground coffee. It was not bad and satisfied my caffeine needs. Unfortunately, it also often left me with jangly nerves and a sour stomach....

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Rocky the Frog

US Route 89 Roadside Attraction: Rocky the Frog

On Highway 89 between the towns of Yarnell and Congress there is a frog. Well, it’s not actually on the road. It sits on top of a pile of boulders on the west side of the road. It has been sitting there in all of its green splendor since 1928 when Sara Perkins spotted...

Eight Resources to Help You Plan a Memorable Road Trip

Summer is fast approaching. It will soon be road trip season. It’s time to start making plans for your driving vacation and I hope you’ll be heading for US Route 89. We’ve got plenty of information on our website and you can order the US Route 89 Road Trip Map Book to...

Where Is US Route 89 in Arizona?

Where Is US Route 89 in Arizona?

When you look at a map of Arizona, US 89 is hard to find. In fact, it only exists from Flagstaff to Page and into Utah. So what happened to our border to border highway? A little background—when the federal highway system came into existence in the late 1920s, US...

The Slow Road Movement

I had just begun photographing along US Route 89 when an article appeared in the New York Times Magazine that changed my thinking about the project. It was entitled A Slow-Road Movement? and was written by Robert Sullivan on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the...

El Charro Café Serves Great Mexican Food in Tucson, Arizona

El Charro Café Serves Great Mexican Food in Tucson, Arizona

I have a passion for Mexican food. In Arizona that means Sonoran-style featuring tacos, tostadas, burros, enchiladas, chimichangas, fajitas, red and green chile, chile rellenos, and tamales. I love them all and always have a hard time deciding what I want most when we...

Wildflowers

Moving to Oracle, Arizona, three years ago has had a profound effect on my photography. For the first time in my life, I am in the ecosystem that surrounds me. I don’t have to get in the car and drive for miles to find natural places to shoot. I walk out my door and...

A Photographer’s Guide to America’s Most Scenic Highway

A Photographer’s Guide to America’s Most Scenic Highway

Learn Where and How to Photograph the Scenic Beauty of the American West US Route 89 is called America’s most scenic highway for good reasons. National parks and monuments are just the beginning. Miles and miles of two-lane highway pass through landscapes ranging from...

The Craft Beer Brewers of US Route 89

If given a choice at the end of a day on the road, I prefer to visit a local brew pub to sample whatever is on tap and enjoy a meal. Fortunately, there are ample opportunities on US Route 89 for such simple pleasures. By my count, there are at least twenty-eight...

89 or 89A: That is the Question

89 or 89A: That is the Question

Of all of the questions I am asked about traveling on US Route 89, one of the most frequent is about the two possible drives between Bitter Springs, Arizona and Kanab, Utah. Since both US 89 and 89A are about the same length and take the same time to drive, neither...

Getting the Most Out of a Visit to Saguaro National Park

Getting the Most Out of a Visit to Saguaro National Park

The image that comes to mind with the word ‘desert’ is of a desolate, dry place of sand dunes and little else. When you visit Saguaro (pronounced “sah WAH row”) National Park you will enter a lush world filled with plants and animals that have evolved to live in a...

Glacier National Park Webcams

Glacier National Park Webcams

Glacier National Park at the northern end of US Route 89 has perhaps the most beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains in the U. S. Thanks to a series of webcams you can enjoy the scenery all year ‘round. The park has set up nine cameras that broadcast continuously over...

The Perfect Photograph-Who Decides?

The Perfect Photograph-Who Decides?

Every photographer knows the feeling. You are sorting through your images after a trip looking for that one shot that had you excited when you tripped the shutter. And there it is and it still excites you. The color is right. The composition is the way you wanted it....

Butterflies and a Digital Dilemna

Last Saturday, son Mathew and I visited the Tucson Botanical Gardens for the first time. I knew there was a Tucson Botanical Gardens, but didn't know where it was. As it turns out, I'd been by it a number of times, but simply didn't notice it. For one thing, the sign...

Grand Teton Panoramas

The first time I saw the Grand Tetons was in 1998. That was before the US Route 89 project was born. We arrived on a July aftermoon with the naive idea that we would find a campsite in the national park which of course was full. After consulting a map, we found a...

Five Outstanding Scenic Drives on US Route 89

Five Outstanding Scenic Drives on US Route 89

National Geographic selected US Route 89 as the #1 Drivers’ Drive in the world in its recently published book, Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Spectacular Trips. Having driven over 20,000 miles on Highway 89, I couldn’t agree more. I have my favorite...

From Mars Colony to Earth Lab-Biosphere2

From Mars Colony to Earth Lab-Biosphere2

When Biosphere 2 was completed in 1991, it’s purpose was to simulate conditions in a completely sealed environment such as would be necessary for colonizing Mars. The intention was for crews of Biospherians to live in the glass roofed buildings for two years at a...

Cutting the Corner of Idaho on US Route 89

Cutting the Corner of Idaho on US Route 89

We have done three border to border road trips on US Route 89 which means we have passed through Idaho five times (our first trip was one-way beginning at the Canadian border). US 89 cuts across the southeastern corner of the state for about 40 miles. I think of it as...

Native American Music Fest at Casa Grande Ruins

I think of Sunday as my day to laze about the house, so it was with some reluctance that I allowed Jim to talk me into making the one hour drive to the Casa Grande Ruins for the 2011 American Indian Music Fest. The promise of Cheetos and a diet Coke on the drive back...

A Night Out in Tucson

We live close to Tucson. A short drive from sleepy Oracle gets us to a vibrant city with plenty of interesting cultural opportunities. All located on US Route 89! Jim and I had an afternoon and evening on the town a couple of weeks ago. We don't go to concerts often,...

Traveling to Montana? The One Book to Read Before You Go

Traveling to Montana? The One Book to Read Before You Go

Reading This House of Sky by Ivan Doig will make your trip to Montana a richer and more rewarding experience. Doig’s memoir of growing up in the Smith River Valley on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains captures the essence of what it means to be a Westerner and...

Panoramic Photograph of the Week-Spiral Petroglyph

Panoramic Photograph of the Week-Spiral Petroglyph

From now until early summer is the best time to visit Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. The weather is pleasant with warm days and cool evenings. Cactus will be blooming and wildflowers may appear depending on the amount of rainfall. The majestic saguaro...

How to Find Up-To-The-Minute Driving Conditions on US 89

I have received several phone calls and emails in the last couple of weeks asking me about driving conditions on US Route 89. These inquiries have come from as close as Prescott, Arizona, and as far away as Brisbane, Australia. I am pretty knowledgeable about the...

What makes life so fine on Route 89?—Larry Schnebly

What makes life so fine on Route 89?—Larry Schnebly

Larry Schnebly is the grandson of Sedona Schnebly for whom the town of Sedona was named. He is also a member of the US Route 89 Appreciation Society. Larry emaied me a couple of months ago and I arranged to record an interview. I knew he would have some great US 89...

Vegetable Crate Labels

Vegetable Crate Labels

The connection between US Route 89 and commercial graphic art ephemera may seem tenuous at first. But we can learn an important piece of the history of highway 89 from the lowly vegetable crate label. In the early 20th century, agriculture was an important part of the...

US Route 89 Project Included in Best of ASMP

Every year the American Society of Media Photographers asks its members to submit their most interesting photography projects for inclusion in the Best of ASMP. From the couple of hundred submissions they pick twenty which illustrate the quality and diversity of...

Sunflowers, sunflowers, sunflowers

Sunflowers, sunflowers, sunflowers

We turned the corner at Ash Fork from I-40 to Arizona 89. What caught our eyes immediately was the flash of yellow along the road ahead. It is early fall and I hadn’t expected such an extravagant display along the shoulders and in the fields as far as we could see....

Sweetgrass Documents the Last Sheep Drive in Montana

Sweetgrass Documents the Last Sheep Drive in Montana

The documentary film, Sweetgrass, by Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, captures a year in the life of a sheepherding family in the Rocky Mountains of southern Montana. The film is a tribute to a way of life that has passed into history. After four generations...

Just Lounging About Doing Nothing?

Well, despite being rather silent lately, I haven't been idle. In fact, one of my pet peeves is the comments people make when I tell them I'm an artist and they tell me about how much fun I must be having and wish they could be having such a luxurious life, too. The...

Road Trip Sponsors’ Portfolio

I have finally finished editing the over 2,000 photographs I made on our road trip. I have selected 30 of my favorites to be included in a special portfolio for the sponsors. Here is a slide show of the portfolio from my photography website: [photoshelter-gallery...

Panoramic Photography

I have been making panoramic photographs for about 25 years. Until recently, I shot panoramas with a special camera that exposed a piece of film that is 2.25 inches by 6.75 inches and an angle of view of about 90 degrees. I love that format and the richness of detail...

What makes life so fine on Route 89 by Wayne Ranney

What makes life so fine on Route 89 by Wayne Ranney

On the last day of our Spring 2010 Road Trip we had breakfast with Wayne Ranney in Flagstaff. Wayne was an early supporter of the US Route 89 project; in fact he is Member #2 of the US Route 89 Appreciation Society (Barbara is #1). He and his wife, Helen, are sponsors...

The Honeymooners in Jackson, Wyoming

The Honeymooners in Jackson, Wyoming

I first heard from Terry Moon a couple of years ago when he contacted me for information about US 89 and he became a member of the US Route 89 Appreciation Society. When he and Terra got married, they took a two and a half month honeymoon road trip mostly on highway...

Yellowstone Sunset

Yellowstone Sunset

We camped three nights in Yellowstone National Park and drove around the park to take pictures in weather that ranged from total overcast to a bright blue sky. Just about the time I would give up and say let's quit for the day, mother nature would throw something new...

The Buffalo Incident

The Buffalo Incident

I love this flyer. I got one last fall when we were at Yellowstone National Park, and somehow misplaced it. It was a thrill to get it again as we came through the Park entrance yesterday. Something about it just tickles me. Is the illustration from some old...

A Face Lift for the Teardrop

Our teardrop trailer, fondly known as The Pod, had birch plywood sides. They were beautiful until two years in the hot and dry Arizona desert caused some unsightly wrinkles and cracks in her skin. We talked to her maker, Preston, in Logan, Utah, at  Teardrop 72 about...

Road Trip Eating in Salt Lake City

Road Trip Eating in Salt Lake City

What’s a road trip without food. I mean when we travel we enjoy discovering new places to eat as well as returning to places we know from previous trips. Take our meals from a couple of days ago in Salt Lake City for example. Breakfast at Parrish Place, the B&B...

BUGS, BUGS, BUGS

BUGS, BUGS, BUGS

We've been through and stayed in Salt Lake City many times. We've skirted the Great Salt Lake. But we've never spent any time camping around the lake, so we headed out to Antelope Island State Park. By the time we arrived at Antelope Island, it was getting close to...

Kanab to Ephraim on US Route 89

Kanab to Ephraim on US Route 89

We have been camped at Palisade State Park in Sanpete County, Utah, for the last three days. We will be moving on to the Salt Lake valley later today. Here is a summary in photographs of what we have been seen and done between Kanab and Ephraim. We spent Thursday...

Cliffs, Monoclines and Hogback Ridges

Cliffs, Monoclines and Hogback Ridges

Yesterday we drove the House Rock Road which runs north/south about 30 miles between US 89A in Arizona and US 89 in Utah. The landforms along the road our a geology lesson in how the earth reacts to pressures from within. Here are a series of photos that demonstrate...

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

It has been several years since I have been to the Grand Canyon to photograph. For about 15 years in the 80's and 90's I spent as much time as I could in the canyon including raft trips, rim to river hikes and photographing from nearly every view point on both rims. I...

Discoveries on Highway 89-Wickenburg to Prescott

Discoveries on Highway 89-Wickenburg to Prescott

It has been at least a year since we’ve been through Congress Junction, an old mining town north of Wickenburg. Congress Junction was once the most important town in the center of a rich silver and gold mining boom. Even President Taft has visited there at the opening...

Printing Photographs

While Barbara has been working out the design and construction of the book for the Salt Lake City office of Snell & Wilmer, I have been printing the photographs. Many of them I have printed before, so I have worked through the corrections to the digital files that...

Our Teardrop Trailer

I spent part of yesterday working on our teardrop trailer getting it ready for our upcoming road trip. Mostly I was taking care of things that we have learned will come loose when we hit a bump in the road. I like things to be tight and not scattered all over the...

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US Route 89 Road Trip Map Book

All of the US Route 89 road trip maps in one convenient book including driving directions and Wayne Ranney’s introductory essays. QR codes link to website for more information
Print Edition 32-page magazine to take along on your trip. Click below to order from Magcloud—$15 plus shipping.


E-book designed for planning your road trip with link to 170 websites for places to visit along US 89. Download immediately for $5 by clicking on the Buy Now button.
 

Download the table of contents and a sample page for free.

Photographer’s Guide to America’s Most Scenic Highway

Learn where and how to photograph the scenic beauty of the American West with this e-book by James Cowlin.

Border to Border on US Route 89: A Photographer’s Guide to America’s Most Scenic Highway is ready for you to download for just $7. To secure your copy, simply click the Buy Now button below. You’ll be taken to a page where you can make your payment via PayPal or credit card and get immediate access for download.