WhatFinger


John Treadwell Dunbar

John Treadwell Dunbar is a freelance writer

Most Recent Articles by John Treadwell Dunbar:

Murder on Main Street

imageI flinched. The gunshot was much louder than expected and launched a sharp echo careening off the ancient wood buildings that line main street in this craggy old town. I did not know the man who fell dead right before my eyes. Middle-aged, tall and sporting a dirty-white flowing beard, he dropped with a stunned, graceless kerplunk. And then another shot ripped through the quiet, and a second man lay sprawled on the asphalt face down in the dusty, sun-drenched afternoon. An awkward silence fell over the crowd of onlookers. No one called the police, no one interfered with righteous indignation. We just stood there, staring.
- Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Bandelier National Monument

imageOne of the most unusual and highly-popular archeological attractions in New Mexico is the 33,000 acre Bandelier National Monument about an hour's drive northwest of Santa Fe and a mere 15 miles from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where they developed the nuclear bomb. You've probably heard of Bandelier and have most likely seen images on television of the towering columns of smoke associated with it because the monument nearly burned to the ground in 2000 during the infamous 48,000-acre Cerro Grande fire.
- Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Sedona Arizona

imageAs things go in a subjective world, the editors of USA Weekend Magazine might have hit the nail on the head when they named Sedona the most beautiful place in America. But this crowning was no doubt a bittersweet accolade for some of the 16,000 residents of this picturesque Arizona town who probably let out a collective groan at the prospect of even more tourists descending on their squeaky-clean fair haven.
- Friday, January 29, 2010

Death Valley California

imageDon't let the name stop you from visiting one of the most remarkable desert wilderness parks in North America. From soaring snow-covered peaks down to the blinding-white barren salt flats at Badwater 282' (86m) feet below sea level, this vast 3 million acre heritage epitomizes the most rugged terrain that the American southwest deserts have to offer. This is a land of contrasts with extremes of light and color, wet and dry, the vertical and the horizontal.
- Thursday, January 14, 2010

Joshua Tree National Park California

A welcome reprieve from the urban insanity of southern California, Joshua Tree National Park is a sprawling and remote high desert anomaly full of delightful surprises.
- Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Jerome, Arizona

Perched on Cleopatra Hill 2,000 feet above the Verde Valley floor with grand vistas of Sedona's red rock country 35 miles distant, Jerome reminds me of the old country, Europe.
- Saturday, December 12, 2009

The Alabama Hills

No, the Alabama Hills are not in Alabama but are sprawled at the foot of the eastern Sierra Nevadas in California; large rounded boulders clustered like a spilled sack of potatoes at the foot of jagged Mt. Whitney (14,505') and Lone Pine Peak. A perfect complement of mountain and desert landscapes, this hidden geologic wonderland begs for purple prose because the scenery will drop you to your knees and take your breath away.
- Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wupatki National Monument

imageIn the long run maybe it’s good fortune that the Wupatki National Monument northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona resides in relative obscurity, never given a second thought by the millions who race north on 89 to crowd shoulder-to-shoulder and stare into the Grand Canyon. Their loss is our gain because infrequent visitors means peace and quiet out on the wide open desert expanses and allows you to stroll unhurried through the splendidly preserved 800 year-old ruins that once marked a cultural hub, a melting pot of ancient Sinagua and Kayenta Anasazi, and to a lesser extent Cohonina and Hohokam peoples.
- Friday, November 6, 2009

Ghost Town Sleeps in the Shadow of Zion National Park

imageMost visitors lured to Zion National Park in southwestern Utah by the sheer towering walls of red sandstone, narrow slot canyons and shady cottonwoods that line the Virgin River have never heard of Grafton. They are unaware that a few miles before the park’s southern entrance, on the south side of the river tucked behind the trim and proper rural enclave of Rockville lie the remnants of an historical gem that has earned its place on the National Register of Historic Sites, and for good reason. Not only is it one of the most photogenic relics of pioneer heritage, but its history and the sweat and tear-soaked tale of struggle that Grafton’s hearty settlers endured is the stuff of Hollywood movies.
- Thursday, October 22, 2009

Close Encounters

imageAmong my life's fondest memories are hiking innumerable miles through alpine tundra and deep evergreens of the Rocky Mountain high country. Usually it was just me, the love of my life, Maya, and day dreams that mountain meandering invariably conjures up.
- Saturday, October 17, 2009

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