Author Spotlight: Roger Naylor, Renowned Arizona Travel Writer and Avid National Park Advocate
Roger Naylor, thecelebrated and award-winning Arizona travel writer, has released a new book: Arizona National Parks and Monuments: Scenic Wonders and Cultural Treasures of the Grand Canyon State. The book is a beautiful travel companion for anyone who loves or is looking to explore more of the amazing national park sites in Arizona. It simultaneously transports and illuminates all there is to love about the wonders of Arizona national parks and demonstrates just how truly inspiring all parks are—no matter their size!
We had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Roger about his new book, his love for Arizona, and his experiences as awriter who has inspired so many to experience the many sides of this unique and vibrant state.
Becoming a Writer
It may not surprise many that Roger Naylor has always been a voracious reader. “I knew I was going to be a writer when I was 13 years old and I first picked up a book of Mark Twain essays,” he shared. “They made me laugh so hard because Mark Twain was the funniest writer that ever lived…They made me see the world in a different way, and that’s pretty powerful stuff to a 13-year-old. So, I knew right then that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to touch people with my words.”
Knowing from such an early age that he wanted to be a writer, Roger found himself in Arizona as a way to escape a life that did not line up with his vision of who we knew he wanted to be. “I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and came out to Arizona for college.” It wasn’t so simple, really. “The reality was I was escaping a relationship,” he shared with a twinkle in his eye and a friendly smile. “I had a very serious high school sweetheart who was a wonderful girl. And her parents thought we should get married and my parents thought we should get married. And she thought we should get married. So, my dad was going to help me get a job at the General Motors plant where he worked…I was going to be 18 with a wife, a factory job, and a mortgage. And everybody was so excited about this!” But Roger had different plans for his future. “I started thinking about ways I could bolt!”
After entertaining ideas about jumping a freight train or running away with the circus, Roger set his sights on perhaps a more reasonable escape: college. “I thought about college as an escape, a way to get away. So, I started looking out West.” Roger had always been interested in the West—not only the fictional versions of the West he’d seen on television but the landscape itself. The cactus, canyons, mountains, “All those things I couldn’t see from my window.”
Finding a Home in Arizona
So, Roger chose a college in Arizona that he could pay for at least one semester out of his savings. “As soon as I landed in that tiny little Flagstaff airport and stepped off the plane and smelled that pine-scented air for the first time and looked up at the outline of the San Francisco Peaks, I knew I was home. I had found my place in the world.”
So, at the age of 18, Roger Naylor knew the two truths that would define him: “I was going to live in Arizona and I was going to be a writer.” With a special clarity at such a young age, Roger set to work learning how to make a living being a writer in the state where he knew we would live.
This love of Arizona shines through in Roger’s work. “Arizona saved my life all those years ago,” he shared. “I’m still just as passionate about it today as I was back then, and I hope that comes through in my writing.”
Anyone familiar with Roger Naylor’s writing can feel the warmth of his love for Arizona as they turn the pages. As he built his career as a writer, he found himself time and again drawn to the stories of the incredible experiences he was having in Arizona. In his travels, he has done his fair share of research into the places he writes about. When he first goes out on assignment, however, he tries to leave the research behind and just experience and enjoy the place around him. “I want that sense of discovery and then I do the research afterward,” he shared, laughing just a little. “I don’t know if it’s the best way because a lot of times I come back and see that I was supposed to see something. And I think, ‘How did I miss that?” This approach certainly creates a sense of wonder and discovery in his writing, something readers can immerse themselves in as they also get a sense of the place and experiences waiting for them.
“I want to be able to capture a place and give you a sense of it. I want to be able to put you there with me. I want you to see the sights and hear the sounds.” Roger’s writing piques readers’ interests just enough to foster that sense of discovery without overly explaining
Covering All Arizona Has to Offer
“Obviously, everyone knows about a certain little canyon we have in the north,” he joked, referring to Grand Canyon National Park. “There are 34 national park units in Arizona. And we have 19 national monuments, which is more than any other state.” Many people know about the state’s national parks, but they don’t think about them as a whole and they don’t understand the many different types of lands they have access to,” Roger explained. “When I talk about Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, people are surprised that it’s a national park unit! Same thing with Fort Bowie. And there are national heritage areas and national historic trails, which I think really get overlooked a lot of times. We just had a new historic trail added in January of 2023: the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail, the old stage route to deliver the mail to the West. And it’s just a fascinating story of what was involved in these fast-riding stage coaches just to get a piece of mail!”
Roger’s enthusiasm for the historical and natural wonders of Arizona is infectious, and he inspires even the most experienced national park traveler to visit or revisit the state’s many national park sites. “I like to encourage people to get out and visit the parks they know, but also seek out the ones they weren’t aware of, or had heard about, but never quite visited.”
Why National Parks Are So Important
Roger speaks of the interconnectivity and accessibility of parks in Arizona. “I want people to see the places they love and discover more places,” he shared. “Wupatki is about to celebrate 100 years in December as a national monument. And so many people have shared their memories of the monument over the years, but many others expressed that they’d never visited!” Wupatki National Monument shares a connected history with Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, and both parks are a short drive from each other and from the city of Flagstaff. “Everything is all so interconnected, and it’s really intriguing.”
Roger spoke of his passion for encouraging people to visit a national park. “I think people get intimidated by national parks sometimes. They think they need to wait for a holiday weekend, and they certainly can do that. But at the same time, so many of these places are great day trips.”
People connect to these parks in different ways, and that’s something Roger hopes his book inspires—people connecting to parks in ways that are meaningful to them. “I’ve connected to parks in places where I wasn’t expecting to feel so connected. And I’ve heard that from so many people.” Parks are special places, places of power, connection, and emotion, and they are places for everyone.
Naylor’s Favorite Arizona Park
When asked what his favorite park in Arizona is, Roger Naylor did not disappoint. When discussing The Grand Canyon, he shared that one of his favorite things to do is to drive up to the canyon and hike down to a specific location, not too far of a hike. “I’ve got a little sitting rock that’s got a great view of the canyon. I go down there and I sit, have a little snack, and watch the ravens on the thermals, watch for condors, watch the cloud shadows sweep over the cliffs. And I’ll stay for an hour or two, and I hike back out. And I drive home. And I’m home in time for dinner.” This experience is a privilege, he explained, and one he hopes he can encourage others to have.
But his personal favorite is the absolutely stunning Chiricahua National Monument. “If Chiricahua were in any other state, it would be featured on their license plate…It is just an incredible place.”
Roger Naylor speaks with the same love of national parks that shines through in his writing, and, for anyone who is looking to be inspired and perhaps encouraged to visit one of the many national park sites in Arizona, his newest book is a must-read.
By Julie Thompson
