Eric Jay Toll

“Just stand for a moment and listen,” says Andy Fisher, Chief of Interpretation at Saguaro National Park. “A light breeze is perfect.”
It starts as a barely audible hum, but Fisher is right—the wind makes beautiful music as it whispers through the spines of a saguaro cactus.
“It’s one of my favorite moments in the park,” she says. “Another is the view from Signal Hill. You have a 360-degree view of the desert, and right next to you is exceptional rock art.”
Here in Tucson, Arizona—in the hear...

​​​Despite Devastating Service Job Losse​​s, April Employment Shows Bright Spots in the Dark Clouds
It worked.
It may be hard to convince anyone among the more than 222,500 metropolitan area workers losing jobs in April that there is any good news on the job front.
A post-Great Recession economic development policy change by Arizona, Phoenix and Valley cities about recruiting jobs succeeded. The April employment report has some bright spots in the dark clouds.
By Eric Jay Toll for PHXNewsroom...

The group has the Austrian luges on the ground. Several have already plopped down on the sled. Others are still looking askance at the traditional wooden sleds with a little apprehension showing on their faces, including me.
We’re about to start a 7.5km (4.7-mile) sled run that drops nearly 700 meters (2,300 feet) down the face of Le Massif near Petite-Rivière-Saint-François in the Charlevoix region. Located in North America, about two hours east of Ville de Québec (Quebec City), Québec, it’s...

Dr. Kim Manwaring developed a bloodless electric surgical knife that is a game-changer in the operating room.

For an incredibly culturally mixed experience, start a trip in Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean region of Québec, Canada. In many visits to Montréal and Ville de Québec (Québec City), the urban mixed English-French experience and the historic cities are flavors of Europe in North America.
The region is a recreationalist’s dream. Lac-Saint-Jean is over 1,000km2 (387mi2) and drains into the Saguenay River. The river drops 90m (300ft) as it moves southeast into Baie des Ha! Ha! and becomes the Fjord-du-S...

Looking back on the day
“There are so many weird sights, it really keeps the kids’ interest,” Randall was saying as he sat back in a camp chair at his Texas Spring campsite near Furnace Creek, California, U.S. “The dunes, the zebra mountains, walking on salt, Death Valley National Park has something each one of our kids has liked the best.”
Gwen mopped her brow against the evening warmth and passed some instructions to the kids on their way to wash the dinner dishes at the outdoor sinks a few...

“Think about the thousands and thousands of bioscience startups around the world. Then out of all those companies located in hundreds of different global cities, only 30 have been selected as the best to compete in the Startup Stadium,” said Christine Mackay, director, Phoenix Community and Economic Development. “Of those 30 companies, three are from the city of Phoenix. That is an incredible accomplishment for the three companies and the Phoenix bioscience ecosystem.”
By Eric Jay Toll for PH...

Visitors and photographers at Desert View, the east entrance to Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim. This is where the Colorado River enters the canyon. Credit: Eric Jay Toll
Hikers rest on the overlook at Ooh-Ah Point on the South Kaibab Trail, South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park. Credit: Eric Jay TollOne quarter of all Americans think that the Grand Canyon is near Las Vegas, Nevada, and not in Arizona.
That mistake adds over an hour of driving for a long boring ride before arriving at o...

Dr. Nabil Dib, at Dignity Mercy Gilbert Medical Center in the Phoenix, Arizona, area, has developed a system of using stem cells to regrow heart muscle following a heart attack. In this Q&A, he talks about his procedural discovery.

The air is still while the billowing cumulus clouds contrast white against an azure sky over the Tucson Mountains.
The quiet is broken with the distant sound of children giggling and shouting, horses snorting, and the readying clump of horses into the soft Sonoran Desert sand.
At the far end of the arena, some longhorn cattle are clustered together watched over by a professional wrangler.
The music blares, the announcer roars enthusiastically, and a young rider heads into the arena to cut a c...

From the back seat it appears the road just drops over the side of the cliff. Behind my head rest I hear the giggles, “We’re flying!” Navajo guide Robert Begay turns to the girls, points out the rear window, and laughs with them, “There! That’s where you’re flying, Eagle Mesa.” The two of them turn around craning their necks as I navigate a steep turn and aim downward into Monument Valley. We’re in the first quarter mile of the 17 mile Scenic Drive weaving our way between buttes and mesas.
“W...

Kids just squeal with delight: “It’s like pouring chocolate milk into the river!” It’s Willy Wonka at his best magic.
Chocolate Waterfalls
The “Chocolate Waterfalls,” actually Grand Falls, Arizona, is located in the Leupp Chapter of the Navajo Nation, about 30 miles northeast of Flagstaff. While it is an adventure to get there, it’s well-worth the effort to see a unique, natural phenomena. It’s a 90-minute roundtrip from Interstate 40 at Winona. Grand Falls Arizona is not that far from Grand ...