Two years ago, we rented a motor home and took a trip over the Christmas Holidays. Our ultimate goal was to see Grand Canyon in the winter and, hopefully, with snow.

We stayed the first night in Twentynine Palms near Joshua Tree National Park. In the morning, we drove through the park toward Intestate 10 and then to Wickenburg, AZ.

When we stayed at the Horsepitality RV park in Wickenburg on Christmas Eve, we had no idea that we would have a house there in two years. We will likely be there over the Christmas weekend this year too.

On Christmas Day, we drove over to Interstate 17 to head to a campground in Flagstaff. By the time we got to the campground, there was about a foot and a half of snow on the ground.

We drove up to the Canyon the next morning. We stayed in the campground in the park and there was plenty of snow there too. As a matter of fact, we got stuck in snow for a couple of hours while we waited for Triple A to pull us out. Quite an adventure.

Other than the little mishap, the highways and roads were all quite well plowed. I took this image as we passed a southbound snowplow on US 180 as we were going northbound toward Grand Canyon. Click on the image to enlarge.

On our way back from Arizona last May, we stopped in Twenty Nine Palms so we could spend a couple of days visiting Joshua Tree National Park.

On the last day going through the park, I snapped a 3D picture pair of images of the Cholla Garden. This anaglyph image is the result. There are hundreds of cholla growing at this particular location. Click on the 3D image to enlarge.

You will need your free 3D glasses to view the anaglyph but just in case you don’t have your pair yet, I uploaded a 2D version here.

I took this photo in October of 2009 while we were on Vacation in Tombstone, Arizona. Click on the image to see full sized.

This is a panoramic image of the canyon seen from Lookout Point on the South Rim of Grand Canyon. I took this image in 2008 during our winter vacation. Lookout Studio, with all the icicles, is on the right. Just right of center, you can see the tower atop the El Tovar Hotel. This is much different than summer conditions at the Canyon.

I took this photo from Interstate 17 just north of the Phoenix Metro area near Lake Pleasant. It was Christmas Day 2008 and we were on our way to the Grand Canyon via Flagstaff.

Image: Saguaro Cactus along I-17 - click to enlarge.

We stayed in Wickenburg on Christmas Eve and drove down US 60 to get gas in Surprise. We drove on the north loop 101 over to I-17 and headed north from there. The further north we went, the more snow we saw on the ground. By the time we got to Flagstaff, everything was covered in snow.

Wickenburg is five thousand feet lower than Flagstaff, so while there may be a snow dusting or two in the winter, it will be nothing like the snow we saw at Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

I photographed this picturesque Arizona sunset during our summer 2008 vacation near Chinle, AZ, in the heart of Navajo country. Chinle is the gateway to Canyon De Chelly National Park. Click on the image to enlarge.

One year ago today, we were in Tombstone, AZ. I took this photo of the famous OK Corral and Allen Street.

Other than a few anachronisms, this is pretty much how Allen Street looked in the days when Doc Holliday Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp got into it at the OK Corral, seen on the left. Click on the panorama below for a closer look.

WikiPedia says:

Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday fought Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Claiborne, Ike Clanton, and Billy Clanton. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne (who later claimed that he had been unarmed, though some reports credit him with shooting one or more times) ran away from the fight, unharmed. Both McLaurys and Billy Clanton were killed; Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday were wounded.