Chasing Arizona: One Man’s Yearlong Obsession with the Grand Canyon State

by Ken Lamberton

It seemed like a simple plan—visit fifty-two places in fifty-two weeks. But for author Ken Lamberton, a forty-five-year veteran of life in the Sonoran Desert, the entertaining results were anything but easy. In Chasing Arizona, Lamberton takes readers on a yearlong, twenty-thousand-mile joyride across Arizona during its centennial, racking up more than two hundred points of interest along the way.

 

Lamberton chases the four corners of Arizona, attempts every county, every reservation, and every national monument and state park, from the smallest community to the largest city. He drives his Kia Rio through the longest tunnels and across the highest suspension bridges, hikes the hottest deserts, and climbs the tallest mountain, all while visiting the people, places, and treasures that make Arizona great.

 

In the vivid, lyrical, often humorous prose the author is known for, each destination weaves together stories of history, nature, and people, along with entertaining side adventures and excursions. Maps and forty-four of the author’s detailed pencil drawings illustrate the journey.

 

Chasing Arizona is unlike any book of its kind. It is an adventure story, a tale of Arizona, a road-warrior narrative. It is a quest to see and experience as much of Arizona as possible. Through intimate portrayals of people and place, readers deeply experience the Grand Canyon State and at the same time celebrate what makes Arizona a wonderful place to visit and live.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

When I published my first book Wilderness and Razor Wire (Mercury House, 2000), the San Francisco Chronicle called it an "…entirely original: an edgy, ferocious, subtly complex collection of essays….” The book won the 2002 John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing. I have published four books and more than a hundred articles and essays in places like the Los Angeles Times, Arizona Highways, the Gettysburg Review, and The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2000. In 2007, I won a Soros Justice Fellowship for my fourth book, Time of Grace: Thoughts on Nature, Family, and the Politics of Crime and Punishment (University of Arizona Press, 2007). My latest book is about Arizona’s "Dry River," the Santa Cruz.

In 2015 the University of Arizona will publish my sixth book, Chasing Arizona: One Man’s Yearlong Obsession with the Grand Canyon State. It is a 20,000-mile joyride that takes the reader across the state to 52 destinations in 52 weeks. I hold degrees in biology and creative writing from the University of Arizona and live with my wife in a 1890s stone cottage near Bisbee. Visit my website at: www.kenlamberton.com

Reviews

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrative was at times disorganized and a little non sequitur, but I was still able to add several destinations to my road trip list.

[Marta E C R · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband and I very much enjoyed this author's quirky sense of humor as we read this book aloud. I'm going to go back and make a list of some of the places he visited so we can also consider visiting them when we're in Phoenix with our daughter and family.
A couple things would have improved this book significantly:
1. accurate maps of the different places he visited and wrote about, rather than completely unrelated maps at the beginnings of each month;
2. a list of all the things he was trying to accomplish during his year, so we could keep track.

But we liked the book, and it's worth reading for those interested in Arizona.

[Elly Sands · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love living in Arizona and after reading this book I appreciate it even more. Obviously the author is very fond and proud of it too. I thought I had visited most places in this state but now I see there are all kinds of nooks and crannies yet to explore. What a full year Ken had crossing off his list of miles to go and places to see in one year. He is an extremely likable person so it was fun riding along with him in my armchair! And what a great sense of humor! I loved his summation at the end of his trip. You could tell his deep bond with the landscape and history of this magnificent state. When asked which destination he liked the most his wife said "You better say it was coming home to me". She did accompany him on several journeys. His illustrations that appear in some of the chapters are wonderful. Ken's writing is at times poetic, always informative and at times hilarious! My advise to readers is to sit in his passenger seat and enjoy the ride!

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me seriously crushing on my state. It ignored the politics and highlighted our interesting history, diversity, landscape, and science. I liked all the haunted places he visited along the way and the way wildlife and nature was front and center. The writing flowed well. The author is smart and has a quick wit and dry sense of humor that I enjoy. i would love to share a chimichanga with him and talk travel.

[James Prothero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny, evocative account of Ken Lamberton's explorations of the state of Arizona for one year. It is informative, quirky, humorous and just plain fun. I may be slightly prejudiced, because I am one of the odd, quirky people he encountered, but I think that aside, it's still a fun ride. Very episodic, to be read in installments like sipping and IPA, as he does in the book. Get it.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I have so many new places to visit in AZ now that I was totally unaware otifuf before! Beautifully done!

[Jim Keyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm was around 59 pages too long...some chapters were considerbly better than others. Learned a lot

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ken Lamberton is a wonderful writer. But I found this book boring. To an extent I don't blame Ken Lamberton however. On the face of it, Arizona is dry and dull. It's history since the arrival of the white man is violent and remarkably uninspiring. The state's published past seems to lack stories of courage and uplifting breakthroughs. I think that where there are humans, surely there are such stories. But the state presents at least at this point in its history as having been built on violence and greed. So I could say that in ways Mr. Lamberton did great with the topic. I wouldn't read this book for pleasure if I lived on either coast or the midwest. It lacks any depth. But if you live in Arizona he put a lot of good information into it. Something somewhere in some corner of the state might be a little interesting. But there's not much out here is my conclusion from reading it. You could drive five hours to get a date shake. Really!? Would anyone do that? The book didn't really get any further than what I've described above in its presentation of Arizona; didn't shine any new illuminating lights. Maybe that's not his fault. Maybe that's just how it is out here in the desert. But I thought it was clearly a book written to fill a publisher's brief. I didn't feel the promised genuine enthusiasm. I felt someone going through the motions. That may be related to personal issues for the author. But I thought it was so shallow in places that it was silly. I know there's more to Arizona than this.

[Kirk Astroth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like the speed dating version of tourism. Shallow, brief to the point of lacking much detail, and a race against time to cover as much of the state as possible without lingering. Oddly, the monthly maps and titles have little connection with the content. We learn that Ray Bradbury grew up in Tucson but that’s about all we learn about his time here and what it might have meant. The best little section was about Petey Mesquitey but I was left wanting to know more. Similarly with Walker Thomas who lived in a cave. We learn more about his Chevron credit card than we do about most of the people he meets along the way. The town of Superior is great apparently for mountain biking, but we never learn why. We learn a lot about what kinds of IPAs he likes and about chimichangas. Out of fairness, I did get a hint at some places in the state to visit that I never heard about. And a great list of wineries to sample. But overall it was a whirlwind tour of the state without much depth.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you can get past what he did to end up in jail and become a hobbyist writer to enjoy this, I'm disappointed in you. Some history is thrown in, along with boasts about how wonderful his family is, while casually alluding to his time in jail. I lost interest around Tubac, and only skimmed the rest of the book for points of interest that caught my eye. This is just a boomer talking about his connections and Mexican food.

[Linsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading about the authors travels all over Arizona. As a new resident, i learned a lot and now have a long list of places I want to visit and chimichangas to taste. The author is much more ambitious than i ever would be, so i also enjoyed learning about places I will never venture to!

[Martini Man · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely done examination of all that my new home state of Arizona has to offer. He has a wry voice and I found the narrative pretty entertaining. If you need ideas about what to do in Arizona that takes off the beaten path, this book is it.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've lived in Arizona for two 15 year blocks, once in Tucson and now in Phoenix and I learned a lot more places to add to my "see Arizona" list. Good humor, vivid descriptions, just enough information to get you interested and on the road.

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arizona off the beaten track. Some parts of the book were intriguing, interesting, and humorous; other parts, not so much. Also misses almost all of the western and urban sections of the state. I now have new places to add to my future AZ travels.

[David Iverson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read! Funny, informative, learnt some new stuff about aridzona, even though I've lived in the state for almost 20 years.

[Jessica Godfrey]

I purchased this from an used library book sale. With my love and fascination of The Grand Canyon, I am eager to start reading this one soon!

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for the Arizona centennial year, 2012, Lamberton traveled from his home in Bieber around Arizona, exploring the unique, the historical, geological of the state. Incredibly interesting and informative book, one that had so much information that I plan on reading it again. My one complaint was that his maps were more artistic than helpful for the out of state readers, will make sure I have a state map/road atlas next time I read it. I also would have liked for Lamberton to have added actual photos of some of these incredible places. He enticed the reader with descriptive words but seemed like he wanted to keep several of these places secret or elusive. Still well written!

[Chanele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky little book by a quirky author, I took my time reading this, sometimes putting it down and coming back after a while. It can easily be broken up into different stories because each week is a different tale of something wild, weird, and (usually) wonderful about the state of Arizona. While at times the author would go a little too far off onto his own path, it was an enjoyable book with one thing very clear: this author really loves the Grand Canyon State. It inspired me to see some more places during my time here, and it was a good reminder of how unique this state really is!

[Ken Lamberton · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who wants to know about the amazing state of Arizona!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit verbose but overall, a nice read.