For the past six summers, I’ve had the privilege of calling the desert Southwest my “office.” Each June, I’d pack up an extended-wheelbase Sprinter van, meet my co-guides, and welcome a new — and always incredible — group of high schoolers. The next 35 days would blur together in a rhythm of hiking, paddling, and climbing, the red sand linking one day seamlessly to the next. The question I’m asked most often is, “What was your favorite part?” — and it’s an impossible one to answer. If I had to try, I’d say it’s never just the places or the people, but the chance to share these landscapes I love and to help others experience them in a way that inspires care and stewardship for the future. There are countless stories from those 320-plus field days worth telling, but for now I’ll subscribe to the idea that “a photo is worth a thousand words.” Here’s a small glimpse from this past summer’s adventures — there are too many amazing memories to not put a few in writing.