Several years ago I spotted the remains of an old bicycle along the trail into Waterhole Canyon, about eight miles south of Page, Arizona, on the east side of Highway 89. Everyone in my photo workshop groups enjoyed photographing this rusty relic in the sand. It has probably been removed by now but things like this are often seen if you keep your eyes open for the unusual.

You will find more information on the Southwest Deserts in Issue #77 of Photograph America Newsletter.

One of the first sites you come to entering the Chaco Historical Park from the North entrance is the Far View Ruins.  Look through the two door openings facing south. There are more openings to inner rooms that can be lined up to recede into the distance. Move in close with a 20mm lens and the rooms appear much larger. Back off with a 200mm and line up the openings to make an interesting pattern. In mid-morning and in the middle of the afternoon, diagonal shadows are cast across the openings. This ruin is exposed to the open sky and it doesn’t make much difference what time of day you arrive. Climb the short ladder to the top of the wall. Move to either side of the ladder and include it in a wide-angle composition of the large kiva just beyond. A 17mm lens will include both the ladder and the kiva. This is only one of thousands of Kivas spread over miles of New Mexico desert. The roads are not paved. Avoid driving here during the rainy season.

You will find more information on Cliff Dwellings of the Southwest Issue #32 of Photograph America Newsletter.

The only route to the ghost town called Nelson is south of Henderson, Nevada, on U.S.Highway 95 past a ten-mile-long dry lake where you can often see motorcycles, quads, and every type of car trying for a personal speed record. Lots of dust is usually blowing out there so I kept my cameras wrapped up and stayed off the playa. Rusting pickups, Plymouths, Packards, and a large collection of rusty cab-over trucks are scattered everywhere along with rusting bikes, antique gas pumps and an airplane resting nose-down into the canyon wall. The interior of the General Store is a museum covered wall-to-wall with dust-covered treasures, someone’s vision of the area’s gold mining days of long ago.

You will find more information on the wilder side of Reno, Nevada in Issue #155 of Photograph America Newsletter.

Three miles north of Fort Bragg on California’s North Coast is the entrance to MacKerricher Beach State Park. This eight-mile stretch of beaches, dunes and rocky shoreline extends north from Glass Beach to Ten Mile River. Turn left at the entrance sign and drive to the end of the road, past all the campgrounds, and park at the last parking spot. Walk past the restrooms and follow wooden boardwalks beyond the cypress groves to some of California’s best accessible tide pools. Long stairways lead down to small sandy beaches at the edge of rocky tide pools extending out to sea, especially during the lowest tides of the year. This spot is on my list of Ten Best Tide Pools on the California Coast. Arrive here ready for some tide pool photography sometime in December or January during a low tide of minus one-foot or lower. Pack a long macro lens of 100 - 200 mm or a short telephoto zoom with close focusing. You’ll want a polarizing filter, too. Because of the rough and rocky terrain a monopod is easier to maneuver than a tripod. Rubber boots and wool socks are better than going bare foot and freezing your toes.

You will find more information on the Northern California Coast in Issue #133 of Photograph America Newsletter.