Grand Canyon Arizona April 2025

Here is my video of our recent visit to the Grand Canyon!

"Over the Edge: Death In Grand Canyon" by Michael P. Ghiglieri and Thomas M. Myers

I am sure I have mentioned "Over the Edge:  Death in Grand Canyon" by Michael P. Ghiglieri and Thomas M. Myers before.  This is a fascinating book- it literally covers all of the known deaths in the legendary site.

I read the 2nd edition of this volume over a decade and a half ago, in between our previous visits to Arizona.  Well, I found the NEW, 2024 third edition while we were in Flagstaff, and I grabbed it!  I read Over the Edge again....  but this 3rd edition is a couple hundred pages bigger now.

Chapters cover murder, suicide, natural disasters, airplane accidents, etc, etc.  Each section has the authors telling various stories that are appropriate for the section.  They include, in this part, stories where people die but there are also survival stories.  A chart at the end of each chapter gives a chronological account of each event.

If you appreciate true crime, and just strange stories, this is a great volume for your bookshelf.  Some stories that stand out are the authors telling about how people attempting to launch into the Canyon in a car went up after the release of the movie "Thelma and Louise".  They also make some observations about accidents at Grand Canyon- testosterone is a definite factor when it comes to falls.

The book gives a good account of a crazy manhunt at the National Park.  The bad guy evaded police for some time while he was right under the nose of authorities.  He spent a night in the El Tovar Hotel AND he was even questioned by authorities who let him go, since he looked different from the picture they had.

The book goes on and on with unbelievable stories.  Some entitled campers make an emergency call (actually several) for obviously non-emergency issues (their water tasted funny).  Also very darkly, a couple of sad stories involve earlier editions of the book being found in the belongings of those who died.

This is one of the most fascinating books around- it gets my highest possible recommendation!

 

Kings Island Train Ride in Ohio

Check out the train ride at King's Island in Ohio!

Coca Cola Grand Canyon Trading Card

Here is a cool old trading card I found recently.
 

Diablo Burger Flagstaff Arizona

Check out the legendary "Diablo Burger" in Flagstaff Arizona!

"Flagstaff's Walkup Family Murders- A Shocking Tragedy" by Susan Johnson

Before our trip to Arizona, I picked up Susan Johnson's book on haunted Flagstaff.  She has a section about the Walkup murders in that book.  I was curious and found her full volume book on the strange event.

I know this is weird, but before taking a trip somewhere new, I try to read at least a couple of books on the area- usually some sort of haunted history book, and a true crime book.  Susan Johnson had me covered for Flagstaff.

This very sad story from the mid 1930s is a real enigma.  A mother murders her four children before driving to a local golf course to take her own life.  The family father/husband does go on to live a full life, but, for the most part, the crime is forgotten.
 

Devouring newspapers from that time, the information Johnson finds is...  well, nil.  The social sections barely mention the mother and the children are reduced to no mention.

The author speculates about the reasons and she has some interesting theories, but that is strictly speculation.

This is a fascinating read about a strange event that happened in the still very young town of Flagstaff.

Zane Grey- "The Call of the Canyon"

With our recent Arizona tip, I wanted to take a book with me to read relating to the area.  I always try to do this.  I feel like it makes the adventure even more special.

I googled around and found that Zane Grey's "The Call of the Canyon" was exactly what I was looking for.  Plus, if you look around, you can find old Zane Grey books for just a couple of bucks each at any used bookstore.

This one was written just over a hundred years ago, and set in the same time period.  It is a story about an upper-class young lady in New York, going to find her boyfriend who has moved out to the Arizona territory after the War.  Dealing with injuries and what would now be called PTSD, he sets up shop living a very rustic lifestyle.  His girlfriend tries to appreciate this, but she cannot.  She breaks things off and goes back to the big city.

She does go to visit an injured friend of her Arizona boy, who is recovering in a local hospital.  He admires her for sticking with her guy after his change from military service.  She feels ashamed to tell him that she broke up with him.  

The story goes on, and things do sort themselves out.  During the story, a lot of Northern Arizona landscape is described.  Also, Grey wrote the book while hanging out at a historic hotel in Flagstaff, where we were.








 

Matador Coffee Flagstaff Arizona

We enjoyed some Matador Coffee while we were in Flagstaff!

"Haunted Flagstaff" by Susan Johnson

As we planned our trip to Arizona (specifically Flagstaff) I wanted to read a good ghost book on the area.  I found that in Susan Johnson's "Haunted Flagstaff".

I found some fun general facts about Arizona early in the book.  There was a cool bit of info about the state's connection to Valentine's Day.  Also, though a far distance away geographically from the Confederate State of America during the Civil War, there was a definite link.

Johnson quickly gets to some interesting stories about Flagstaff.  A strange murder/suicide involving a school janitor gets the action going quickly.  In fact, its not the only murder/suicide covered in the volume.

Legendary author of cowboy books, Zane Grey is forever linked to TWO hotels here, even writing one of his famous books while staying at one site.

The author does admit that some stories are not verifiable (I appreciated her honesty) but the legends make the stories pop for sure.
 

Kings Island Ohio August 2025

We had a nice visit to King's Island in 2025!

Hoover (Boulder) Dam, Lake Meade and Lower Colorado River

Hoover (Boulder) Dam, one of the great engineering feats of man has transformed the once mighty Colorado into a placid blue lake.  This is Lake Mead, now a playground of the Southwest, famous for fun and beauty.

Sent in 1951 from Boulder City.

Antique Cars at Kings Island Ohio

We enjoyed an antique car ride at King's Island!

Twin Arrows Arizona April 2025

Check out the abandoned Twin Arrows in Arizona!

Pass Thru Guadalupe Mts, El Paso- Carlsbad Caverns Highway

Carlsbad Caverns Highway in El Paso.  The postcard is note postmarked.

Eiffel Tower Kings Island Ohio August 2025

Check out the Eiffel Tower at Kings Island in southern Ohio!

View From El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon

This great card was sent in 1951. The sender saw the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest, but planned to see the Canyon the following day.

Woodland Art Fair Lexington Kentucky August 2025

Check out the annual Woodland Art Fair in Lexington Kentucky!

Fort Lowell Ruins, near Tucson, Arizona

Bird's Eye View of Tucson, Arizona

This gorgeous postcard shows Tucson sometime around 1945, when it went through the mail!

World's Largest Kokopelli Camp Verdi Arizona

We visited the World's Largest Kokopelli!

Colossal Cave near Tucson, Arizona

"Twenty seven miles southeast from Tucson, lies one of Pima County's most unique wonders, the Colossal Cave. The true interest in Colossal Cave lies in its delicate colorings and exquisite formations. The action of air and water from eons ago, has resulted in a veritable lace-like fairyland of stone."

Grand Canyon of Arizona From Near Hopi Point

"It is impossible to resist feeling the grandeur, the beauty, the weird magnificence of the walls and precipices and mountains in the scene around and below; although penetrating, yet one is impressed none the less by the infinite laziness of it all.  While all the rest of the world has been steadily at work painting scenery and chiseling history with the great earth forces, 'this little corner for ten thousand centuries and more has rested in the sun'."

I am not sure if I really understand the wordy description on the back of this postcard.  Still, the front is great.  It was postmarked from Grand Canyon in 1915, sent to a friend in Pennsylvania.

Oreganos Italian Restaurant Flagstaff Arizona

We found a great Italian Restaurant, Oregano's, in Flagstaff!

"Images of America: Northern Arizona Space Training" by Kevin Schindler and William Sheehan with Forward by Carolyn Shoemaker

I have been so hung up on Arizona after getting back from our visit.  The state has so much going for it.  I love it.

I have picked up some books to read after coming back from that trip.  The "Images of America" volume "Northern Arizona Space Training" was a great one to flip through after our return home.

I loved that the Apollo astronauts trained at places we have visited- the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater and Sunset Crater.

I still get goosebumps thinking about all that happened with Apollo.  What they accomplished, even half a century later has not been matched.

This book, like most of the Images of America entries, is just a nice collection of photos and it is a quick and easy read.  Of course you are going to want to go through it slowly, and enjoy the adventure.

 

Meteor Crater Arizona

This was our second visit to Meteor Crater in Arizona.  It was a lot of fun, and we took a guided tour!  THis is one of my more favorite roadside attractions anywhere!