Experience southwestern heritage, culture and cuisine while learning to rope and herd cattle, trail ride through the wilderness or make prickly pear syrup. With roots dating back to the mid-1800s, southern Arizona's historic guest ranches and farm stays include Spain's first mission in the continental United States, a former World War II prison camp and boys' boarding school and a Butterfield Stagecoach stop. Intimately connected to Arizona's land and legacy, these unparalleled retreats have hosted countless artists, movie stars and politicians and continue to enrich their present-day communities through food, education and conservation. Pack your bags and join travel writer Lili DeBarbieri for a journey into the rural west south of the Gila River.

The scenic natural vistas of Arizona's deserts and mountains have made it a favorite backdrop of movies and television shows. Westerns such as silent-era pictures derived from Zane Grey fiction through the John Ford-John Wayne classics "Stagecoach "and "The Searchers "benefited from the beautiful and rugged landscapes. TV classics such as "Gunsmoke" and "Little House on the Prairie" helped define Arizona's allure for Hollywood. Oscar winners "Jerry Maguire" and "Little Miss Sunshine "took advantage of the infrastructure that accumulated to lure filmmakers to Tucson, Yuma, Phoenix, Prescott, Sedona and all corners of the Grand Canyon State". Join author Lili DeBarbieri as she looks at the movies and shows shot in the state, as well as other aspects of Arizona film culture.

The jaw-dropping allure of the Sedona Verde Valley is a magnet for celebrated visual artists from around the world. This unforgettable landscape has inspired nearly a century of diverse painting, experimental collage, provocative sculpture and stimulating architecture. Tourists and locals are enamored of the Chapel of the Holy Cross, and the unique and often political art of Jerome continues to evolve. In a captivating exploration of state and regional styles alongside profiles of contemporary masters, author and historian Lili DeBarbieri presents the full story of Sedona art.

Luisa Wolter examines the travel motivations and interests of natural park visitors to Mallorca with a special focus on sustainable tourism development. The data for the study were collected from tourists in the two natural parks s’ Albufera and Llevant in the North of Mallorca. Based on the results of the analysis, natural area managers can develop new products and marketing strategies that address their very own visitors, contribute to the sustainable development of their region, and influence the visitors’ views and behaviors by raising environmental awareness.

Britton Davis's account of the controversial "Geronimo Campaign" of 1885–86 offers an important firsthand picture of the famous Chiricahua warrior and the men who finally forced his surrender. Davis knew most of the people involved in the campaign and was himself in charge of Indian scouts, some of whom helped hunt down the small band of fugitives Robert M. Utley's foreword reevaluates the account for the modern reader and establishes its his torical background.

The Empire Ranch sits in the heart of the rolling grasslands and oak-studded foothills of Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in southeastern Arizona. Its remarkable history and the ranching way of life are told through the stories of the men, women, and children of the Empire, most notably the Vail, Boice, and Donaldson families. Walter L. Vail and Herbert R. Hislop purchased the Empire Ranch homestead for $2,000 in 1876. The Vail family operated the ranch until 1928, turning it into a cattle ranching empire. From 1928 to 1975, the well-respected Boice family ran a vibrant Hereford operation on the Empire. The Donaldson family used innovative range management methods to continue the ranching legacy from 1975 to 2009. Today, the ranch, under the management of the Bureau of Land Management, remains one of the oldest continuously working cattle ranches in the region.

Arizona's Arivaca Valley lies only a short distance from the Mexican border and is a rugged land in which to put down stakes. When Arizona Territory was America's last frontier, this area was homesteaded by Anglo and Mexican settlers alike, who often displaced the Indian population that had lived there for centuries. This frontier way of life, which prevailed as recently as the beginning of the twentieth century, is now recollected in vivid detail by an octogenarian who spent her girlhood in this beautiful, cruel country. Eva Antonia Wilbur inherited a unique affinity for the land. Granddaughter of a Harvard-educated physician who came to the Territory in the 1860s, she was the firstborn child of a Mexican mother and Anglo father who instilled in her an appreciation for both cultures. Little Toña learned firsthand the responsibilities of ranching—an education usually reserved for boys—and also experienced the racial hostility that occurred during those final years before the Tohono O'odham were confined to a reservation. Begun as a reminiscence to tell younger family members about their "rawhide tough and lonely" life at the turn of the century, Mrs. Wilbur-Cruce's book is rich with imagery and dialogue that brings the Arivaca area to life. Her story is built around the annual cycle of ranch life—its spring and fall round-ups, planting and harvesting—and features a cavalcade of border characters, anecdotes about folk medicine, and recollections of events that were most meaningful in a young girl's life. Her account constitutes a valuable primary source from a region about which nothing similar has been previously published, while the richness of her story creates a work of literature that will appeal to readers of all ages.