By Robert Samuelsen ‘If a tree falls in the forest, does it make sound?’, is the age-old riddle of challenge. Some years ago in northern Ontario, I had just portaged my canoe 3 miles over “the pig” from one lake to the next. It was a brutal day so when night fell, I embraced a nice fire, relaxed with hot cocoa, and bragged about the day’s...
By Robert Samuelsen Pale and shaking, he stood there holding the “stop” sign at the beginning of the road construction site on this remote section of highway. As I stopped, the flagman approached me to show me a bullet hole in his sign, shot by the vehicle’s passenger immediately before me. The shooter had stuck his head and rifle out the window...
By Robert Samuelsen There are hundreds of non-descript sandy arroyos scattered across southern Arizona. Many of them have no names, and the ones that do are typically called “a wash.” Ironically, because of how devoid of moisture they are, they should probably be called a “dry cleaner” rather than a “wash!” About the only time they carry surface...
By Robert Samuelsen Besides blisters, there are so many things that can happen in the outdoors that require some degree of medical assistance. In some cases, it’s best to seek professional help. For this reason, I carry a satellite phone whenever I’m in remote locations. In most other cases, I’ve had to make do with the resources I had. Here are...
By Robert Samuelsen The desert is binary, survive or perish, depending on one critical factor – the presence of water! If you have it, you survive, if you don’t, you perish. For centuries, the early O’odham, explorers, and missionaries safely traversed through the harsh western Sonoran Desert because they knew where to find the six strategic water...
By Rob Samuelsen Before Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon was settled by homesteaders because of its abundant water and mild climate. Although the impressive red rock was noted, tourism had little to do with the growth along Oak Creek. It was water and historic native gardens that attracted Midwesterners to the area – enough water and soil to prosper...
By Robert Samuelsen Time and travel have a unique relationship. Before the airplane, trains were the main mode of long-distance transportation – roomy, luxurious, and fast compared to a Conestoga wagon! It was the way to travel – and still is if you have the time. As crazy as it seems today, prior to the rail, each town had its own time zone. The...
By Robert Samuelsen It’s hard to think about Arizona’s beautiful Town of Sedona without thinking about shopping, resorts, and hiking. Nestled on the edge of the Mogollon Rim, it’s red rocks with forested backdrops and volcanic caps make it an outdoorsman’s paradise. It’s this same scenery that defines it as a spiritual place – a place that a...
By Rob Samuelsen The noise woke me up in the middle of a dark summer night – the scratching and shuffling noise right underneath my cot. I was sleeping in an old style two-person wall tent with two cots and a wooden plank walkway in between the beds. My tired body tried to ignore it but the noise was moving around underneath me. Annoyed, I finally...
By Robert Samuelsen Nestled in the Tularosa valley in central New Mexico is the largest gypsum dunefield in the world! White Sands National Park includes 275 square miles of gypsum granules piled up in wind-blown dunes. While gypsum is plentiful, gypsum fields like White Sands are rare. To imagine bright white gypsum deposits 30 feet thick and up...
