Greetings!

Monsoon-like rains continue and the Sonoita hillsides are turning golden, as late season wildflowers bloom profusely.

We are back from our first extended back country trip since Karen's surgery. We camped in South Coyote Buttes in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, splitting time between the 'teepee rocks' and White Pocket. The sandstone formations were truly spectacular, and we plan return visits in order to deepen our understanding and appreciation of these truly remarkable landscapes.

From a base at the Boulder Mountain Lodge, we spent 3 days exploring sites along Hole in the Rock road and the Burr Trail. Unfortunately, our trip was rudely interrupted by a collision between our car and a large SUV towing a boat. Fortunately everyone walked away from the accident with only very minor injuries but we lost a day and a half before obtaining a rental car in Grand Junction, CO from where we continued to Bluff, UT as planned. There we explored Muley Point and the Comb Ridge sandstone again before returning to Sonoita.

Steve provided 8 images for Gregory McNamee's article describing "what makes a desert" which will appear in the next issue of Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments which wll be published soon on their website.

Steve and Karen both have 2 images selected for inclusion in the Beyond the Lens show at the Tubac Center for the Arts. This show will open on October 15 with a reception and award ceremony from 5 - 7 pm. A panel discussion on photography will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 27. Ken Rosenthal, the juror of Beyond the Lens, Kate Albers, University of Arizona Professor and 2009 Beyond the Lens juror, and Mick Landau of Photographic Arts in Tucson will discuss modern trends in photography, digital vs. traditional media and opinions on digital manipulation of photographs. The panel discussion will be held from 4:30 - 6:30 at the Tubac Center for the Arts.

One of Karen's images, Breakfast, John's Island, has been selected for inclusion in TPS 19: The International Competition, sponsored by the Texas Photographic Society. The show will be at the A Smith Gallery in Johnson City, Texas, opening on Oct. 23.

Steve has had one of his images, Death Valley Floor from Dante's View I, accepted into the Natural World exhibit at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, CO. Natural World is on display in the Center's online gallery and physical gallery from December 3 - 31, 2010 with artists' and public reception on December 3 from 6-9 pm.

Karen will have a few of her photographs on display in the Parker Room at Steward Observatory on the University of Arizona campus from Oct. 18 through Dec. 15.

Just an early heads up for southern Arizona readers, Steve and Doug Isbell will present material from their new book, Observatories of the Southwest, at the Thanksgiving Fiesta at Singing Wind Bookshop in Benson. We have also created a new website for the book, detailing the contents.

On Thursday, November 11, the Sky Island Alliance will hold Sky Island Exposure at the Lodge at Ventana Canyon in Tucson. Purchasers of an Art Lottery Ticket have a chance to obtain one of Steve's images which he has donated to support Sky Island Alliance's committment to the cause of conservation.

On Saturday, November 20, the 22^nd Annual Jerôme Beillard Festival for Life, supporting the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF) will be held in Tucson. Both Steve and Karen have donated photographs which will be auctioned at this event. We hope you can attend.

Steve's website has been updated with a new portfolio, Living Stone. Karen has added new images, made since her return home, including one of the house in which she grew up, and 2 from their trip to China. These can be found in the Illusions of Reality and Architectronics portfolios.