Grand Canyon

You don't want Michael P. Ghiglieri writing about your next vacation. Ghiglieri, an Arizona river guide, Vietnam vet, ecology Ph.D. and seasoned emergency medical technician, is also the co-author of “Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon,” an epic collection of cautionary tales from perhaps America's most iconic national park. In the 10 years since the book's publication, it has sold more than 250,000 copies. Now Ghiglieri and co-author Thomas M. Myers are back with a second edition , thicker than the first.

Arizona: hits and misses Regarding "First-Rate Journeys in the 48th State," Feb. 12: I wasn't sorry that the Travel section missed the best places for Mexican food in Phoenix and Tucson. We'll keep those to ourselves. But really, how could you miss the absolutely coolest place in Arizona? The historic Weatherford Hotel in downtown Flagstaff. A family-friendly restaurant for weary travelers and a comfortable hangout with loads of local color. Great food; great bands; great, great staff.

Grand Canyon National Park, the 5-million or 6-million-year-old granddaddy of Arizona tourism, logged 4.3 million visitors last year. Rangers say that's a dip of 3.7% from the year before, but the canyon remains among the nation's most visited parks. And despite its age (also a ranger estimate), it does keep changing. Visitors to the South Rim - by far the park's most heavily trafficked area - will find six recently installed water-bottle refilling stations near major trail heads.

It's hard to say what makes something a landmark -- and how long it takes to earn such status. For the Grand Canyon Skywalk in Arizona, it took just five years. The glass walkway built as a tourist attraction over the western part of the Grand Canyon recently was selected by Travel + Leisure readers as the world's top new bridge. New? The bridge that's 120 miles east of Las Vegas opened in 2007. Travel + Leisure explains that readers were asked in an online survey last fall to select the world's "new" landmarks, meaning anything built in the last 15 years.

Nothing spoils a good hike through the wilderness like radioactive streams. That's one of the reasons all Americans, but particularly Arizonans who benefit from the tourism magnet that is the Grand Canyon, should be thankful to the Obama administration for its decision Monday to withdraw about 1 million acres in the vicinity of the national park from new mining claims for the next 20 years. Congressional Republicans, led by politicians such as Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake who are heavily backed by the mining industry, turned the Grand Canyon decision into an important plank of a broad anti-environmental campaign last year, throwing up numerous bills and amendments to prevent the Interior Department from withdrawing these lands from new claims.

11-11-11 deal stalkers, take note: The Skywalk glass bridge at Grand Canyon West will take $11 off a  daylong ticket package until Friday. This is the bridge that stands 4,000 feet above the Colorado River and offers deep views of the canyon. The deal: Don't confuse this Hualapai Nation destination at the West Rim with Grand Canyon National Park, whose popular South Rim is about 250 miles away. To walk on the bridge, visitors must purchase a Legacy Gold Package that usually costs about $81 plus tax for adults.

The Grand Canyon Reader Edited by Lance Newman University of California Press: 256 pages, $50, $19.95 (paper) The vicarious pleasure of armchair travel is a well-explored genre for books, transporting the reader without ever opening a door. What such books do, when they are thoughtfully presented, is to share the excitement and immediacy of exploration while sparing the reader the discomfort. In "The Grand Canyon Reader," Lance Newman's editing challenge was to illuminate an iconic place while offering a glimpse of something new. There is no lack for musings on the subject.

From Phoenix — When Matt Kemp mentions his mother has watched a Simers/plaschke video on The Times' website, I'm expecting him to tell me Plaschke frightens his mother. But he says his mother tells him I don't think he should win the MVP award, and she's got that right. "Tell your mom I think Ryan Braun should win it, but also tell her I love the changes you've made this year. " "Write that, Kemp says, "She will read it. And so we continue on as we have for six years, trading barbs, sometimes the darts hitting home with a sting, and sometimes it's just one generation educating another.

If visiting Muir Woods, Monterey, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon are on your bucket list, a Mauiva AirCruise can help you cross them off inside a week. The Mauiva AirCruise Western Wonder Experience combines private plane flights on 30- to 70-seat turboprop planes and deluxe motor coaches to minimize travel time.  In seven days, guests visit Monterey, Carmel, San Francisco, Sausalito, Muir Woods, Sonoma County and Yosemite National Park in California, the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Hoover Dam and Las Vegas.