It is unlikely that our landscape will be blanketed in snow during this holiday season, but as you can see from our cover photo, which was taken in Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve, it can and does happen.

This image of the frosty saguaro came to us in an interesting and unexpected way. Last year I was invited to experience the Adero Scottsdale resort, and my overnight visit included an early morning hike on nearby Adero Canyon’s Ridgeline Trail. My guide, Jim Dublinski, and I started chatting and when I mentioned what I do for a living, our conversation turned to architecture and design. I learned that Jim had the incredible good fortune of growing up in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Coonley House, located in Riverside, Ill. While everything we talked about as we trekked in the crisp morning air was spirited and engaging, what really stuck with me was when Jim described how being immersed at an early age in that historically significant environment affected the way he saw things, instilled in him a reverence for nature and ultimately had a hand in shaping his life as an outdoor enthusiast, guide and photographer. FLW would have been proud. (You will see another of Jim’s stunning wintry photos on our back page.)

I made a friend that morning because chance threw us together. From all of us at Cities West Media, thank you for sharing your past year with us. Our wish is that 2022 will bring you serendipitous introductions, newfound perspectives and inspiring conversations.

John Roark
Editor in Chief