The San Francisco Peaks are the most photographed site in the region of Flagstaff. But do you ever wonder when the first photograph of the Peaks was taken, what it showed, and how that same view looks today?
To answer this, we need to go back 157 years to a mid-December day in 1867 and join a survey party led by Army General William J. Palmer. The group was assigned to examine possible railroad routes from Kansas to the Pacific Coast. The party included Alexander Gardner, who had served as the official photographer for the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War.
John Vankat is an ecologist, educator, writer, photographer and former ranger. Since 2015 he has precisely repeated 125 historical photographs on and around the San Francisco Peaks dating to 1867–1910. His recent, prize-winning book of these photographs, “The San Francisco Peaks and Flagstaff Through the Lens of Time” (Soulstice Publishing, Flagstaff) caps, if not crowns, his love for this region and his seven decades devoted to studying changes in nature.
The NPS/USFS Roving Rangers volunteer through a unique agreement between the Flagstaff Area National Monuments and the Coconino National Forest to provide Interpretive Ranger walks and talks in the Flagstaff area each summer.
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BEACON UU SUNDAY SERVICE: "Who Are We Remembering? And Why?" May 25 â€� Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 510 N. Leroux St., Flagstaff. (928) 779-4492. 10-11 a.m., ALL ARE WELCOME! You… Read moreFlagstaff Religion News for May 24, 2025
Welcome to the pea family, commonly called the legume family, or as horticulturalist Catherine Kleier would say, the fabulous Fabaceae family! I’d be willing to bet that everyone reading this … Read moreGardening Etcetera: The fabulous Fabaceae family
