Joy invited me to attend this month’s luncheon meeting of the Old Pueblo Women’s Club, which took place at the Lodge at Ventana Canyon. The speaker was Dave Fitzsimmons, a recently retired internationally knownjournalist/cartoonist. At one point in his amusing presentation, he walked over to our table and said, “Isn’t this a woke organization, and your name is Ms.” We went up to his drawing pad, took one look at me and said,
“The passage into mystery always refreshes. If, when we work, we can look once a day upon the face of mystery, then our labor satisfies. We are lightened when our gifts rise from pools we cannot fathom. Then we know they are not a solitary egotism and they are inexhaustible.”
Lower Ventana Canyon (02/20/15) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
The Bighorn Fire has been burning for days in Ventana Canyon.
I love hiking in this beautiful narrow canyon. The lower part of
this canyon contains a lot of desert plants, such as the saguaro cactus.
This Sonoran Desert signature cactus is not adaptive to fire.
Thousands have already been destroyed by the Bighorn Fire.
It may take hundreds of years to return, if at all. Sad, very sad.
— kenne
Ventana Canyon (Note Invasive Grass in the Foreground) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Ventana Canyon is where we first hiked in the Catalinas in ten years ago.
Since then, I’ve hiked the trail into the canyon a least twice a year.
This image was taken last night (June 19, 2020).
This image is what it looked like this morning. Before dawn, you could still see the fireline.
I decided to drive up Craycroft Road to get a closer look. As the sun got higher in the east
I was able to get this image. It’s a good thing I had a mask, the smoke and smell were pronounced.
(Because of COVID-19, the county has mandated everyone wear a mask in public.)
— Images by kenne
Hiking Ventana Canyon — December 13, 2019 — Photo-Essay by Kenne
Ventana Canyon is one of several narrow canyons in the southern front range of the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona. This hike is usually scheduled each fall and spring by the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists, which involves crossing water over a dozen times.
With the warmer days upon us, hiking lower canyon trials
like Ventana Canyon will be off our schedule till the fall.
Next stop, the higher elevation trials of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
The pleasure of hiking and adventure feeds our dreams
Bighorn Fire (Sabino Canyon Smoke) — Images by Marty Horowitz
Lower Ventana Canyon (02/20/15) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Ventana Canyon (Note Invasive Grass in the Foreground) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Smoke covers the Catalinas today. With the use of Photoshop and a Dehaze filter,
Ventana Canyon is where we first hiked in the Catalinas in ten years ago.
This image is what it looked like this morning. Before dawn, you could still see the fireline.
I decided to drive up Craycroft Road to get a closer look. As the sun got higher in the east
Ventana Canyon — Panorama by kenne
Hiking Ventana Canyon Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains — Images by kenne
Narrow Trail In The Canyon — Image by kenne
Hiking Ventana Canyon — December 13, 2019 — Photo-Essay by Kenne
Ventana Canyon — Panorama by kenne
Ragged Rock Flower (Crossosoma bigelovii) — Image by kenne
Ventana Canyon — Photo-Artistry by kenne
![Zographus regalis cuprea [Cameroon]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52783978513_e3da275118_s.jpg "Zographus regalis cuprea [Cameroon]")
Becoming is Superior to Being 