John F. Kennedy Jr., Arizona Highways Fan

A while back, we received a scanned copy of this September 1995 letter to Lee and Sharon Young of Western Junk in Holbrook. Apparently, the son of the 35th president was a fan of Arizona Highways. Click the letter to enlarge it, or here’s a full transcript:

9-20-95

Dear Lee & Sharon:

Just a quick note to say hello and to thank you again as I sit here reading my Arizona Highways October issue. The only problem I have with the magazine is every time I read it I wonder what the heck I’m doing on the East Coast! Hope to be out there again soon. Hope you are both well.

Sincerely,
John Kennedy

We always love to hear about noteworthy people reading our magazine, so if you know of other correspondence like this, please let us know!

Throwback Thursday: Arizona Highways, September 1949

Photograph by Fred Bond. From the issue: “Of this beautiful autumn study, Mr. Bond says: ‘This shot shows one of the forest roads along the northwest side of San Francisco Peaks, at Flagstaff. It was an interesting experiment in using both direct and transmitted light.”

Wild Arizona: Celebrating Arizona’s Wilderness Areas All September

Peter James Nature Photography | Superstition Wilderness

If you’ve picked up our September issue (on newsstands now), you know that the cover story celebrates Arizona’s wilderness areas — the 90 places in our state given the ultimate protection under federal law. That’s in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, signed into law September 3, 1964.

Now that it’s September 1, we’re excited to announce a 30-day blog series titled Wild Arizona. Each afternoon in September, we’ll be spotlighting three of those 90 places on the Arizona Highways blog.

With each post, you’ll get information on what can be found in each wilderness, where it is, how big it is, when it was established, and which government agency manages it. We’ve included contact info for those agencies so you can learn about any closures or restrictions before visiting.

Look for the first entry in Wild Arizona later today. We hope you enjoy this series!

Throwback Thursday: Arizona Highways, August 1982

From the issue: “The clean desert winds and vast size of Lake Mohave on the Colorado River make for ideal sailing conditions.” Those are the Black Mountains in the background, we think. Photo by Alan Benoit.

Friday Fotos: Fine Furry Friends

Kathleen Reeder | Tucson

From bobcats to bighorn sheep, Arizona is home to a profusion of diverse mammals. Thanks, as always, for your amazing submissions for this week’s “mammals”-themed Friday Fotos. We hope you’ll share this gallery with your friends on social media.

Have a great weekend!

Jeff Stemshorn

Susie Westervelt | Tonto National Forest

Lynne Parrish | Phoenix

Rheanna Badillo | Castle Hot Springs

Lorraine Harrington | Coons Bluff

Gaelyn Olmsted | Grand Canyon North Rim

Kathleen Reeder | Tucson

Angela Ramsey Tucker | Lake Pleasant

Catalina A Caballero | Grand Canyon

Susie Westervelt | Woods Canyon Lake

Saija Lehtonen | Salt River

Gerry Groeber | Lower Salt River

Andrew Kopolow | Piestewa Peak

Lori Walker | Lower Salt River

Jackie Wilson | Phoenix

Dancing Snake Nature Photography | Tucson

Jackie Klieger | Williams

Pam Barnhart | Flagstaff

Susan Henne | Williams

Cindy Roth | Golden Valley

Lawrence Busch | Gilbert

Saija Lehtonen | Near Yuma

Greg McKelvey | Colorado River

Jackie Klieger | Grand Canyon

Peggy Coleman | Williams

Kathleen Reeder | Tucson

Ed Taube | Grand Canyon

Lori Walker | Lower Salt River

Judy Carman | Gold Canyon

Aaron Newman | Navajo Nation

Nancy Smith-Blackwell | Tucson

Leslie A. Pardo | Verde River

Shannon Hastings | Williams

Cheryl Caffarella Wilson | Tucson

Dawn Hoehn Hagler | Tucson

John Morey Photography | Workman Creek

Harry Ford | Aravaipa Wilderness

Aida M. Scheck Medina | Oatman

Jamie Watts | Saguaro Lake

Angelica Jo | Chino Valley

Ruth Jolly | Gilbert

Josh Case | Grand Canyon

Daryn Sells | Lukachukai

John Morey Photography | Parker Bluffs

Doug Koepsel | Grand Canyon

Sara Marisa | Tucson

Scott Ingersoll | Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Shirley Ramaley | Amado

Archie Tucker | Litchfield Park

Grant McAninch | Grand Canyon

Donna Willochell Memon

Caroline Hartman Horowitz | Greer

Archie Tucker | Monument Valley

Ron Pelton Jr. | Grand Canyon North Rim

Angie Clevenger Dybas | Tucson

Jeff Ritz | Phoenix

Jody M. Tanner | Scholz Lake

Peggy Coleman | Williams

Greg McKelvey | Schultz Pass Road

Sandy Feutz | Tucson

Tam Ryan | Salt River

Hayley Susan Photography | Grand Canyon

Chelsea Hurst | Tonopah

Kim Gray | Canyon Lake

Marti Huzarski | Chino Valley

Cherie Robinson | Lower Salt River

Joel Rivera | Phoenix

Harry Ford | Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness

Gaelyn Olmsted | Yarnell

Katalin Hollay

Scott Carpenter | Woods Canyon Lake

Judy Steeples Alston | Prescott

Dave Salge | Snowflake

Scott Ingersoll | Salt River

Reinier Zorge | Alpine

Pete Moulton | Phoenix

Cindy Roth | Black Mountains

Donna Willochell Memon | Oro Valley

Aby Rouhi | Gilbert

Robin Newman O’Donnell | Williams

Sue Cullumber | Chandler

By submitting photographs to Arizona Highways via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr or other social networking sites, the photographer grants Arizona Highways electronic rights. No financial consideration will be paid to anyone for publication on the Arizona Highways blog or website.

By publishing a photographer’s work to its blog, Arizona Highways does not endorse the photographer’s private business or claim responsibility for any business relationships entered into between the photographer and our readers.

Throwback Thursday: Arizona Highways, August 1944

From the issue: “The striking study of the old Indian chief on our cover page was taken in the land of the Pueblos, the Moqui Country, many years ago.” The issue was almost entirely comprised of portraits of Arizona’s Native Americans. It doesn’t mention who took this photo, though.