Desert Speaks

Exploring Arizona's "Big Empty"

It's big, it's empty and it's in a relatively unexplored area of northwestern Arizona. Known affectionately as the "Arizona Strip," this topographically rough area is free of paved roads and other amenities, but has a rich geological and natural history. Host David Yetman, ecologist Yar Petryszyn and archeologist Jock Favour trek through the "Big Empty" to examine evidence of early settlements, investigate high desert plants and learn about a project helping to increase the population of a rare and magnificent creature. The California Condor Restoration Project increases the number of condors in the wild by using GPS technology to track the birds via satellite. This trip ends at the southern limit of the Arizona Strip at the steepest and most isolated ledge of the Grand Canyon, which overlooks a 3,000-foot drop to the Colorado River below.