Hilario makes his home in the foothills of the Superstition Mountains. This is a deliberate choice. The Sonoran Desert that he so loves flourishes here because of the altitude and the little extra rain that falls, caught by the nearby mountain peaks. He calls it a really good day when he can hike the foothills, enjoy the sights and smells of his desert home, and gather inspiration for his art.

In just a few minutes from his house, Hilario is at a trailhead for one his most favorite hikes…the Hieroglyphics Trail. The trail winds upward on the south face of the mountains for nearly two miles into magical Hieroglyphics Canyon. (Visit the Superstition Wilderness webpage.) The canyon slices into the side of the mountains, dropping sharply from north to south.  Giant boulders lie piled atop one another up the sides of the steep walls. And, at the bottom of this canyon is that rarest and most precious desert commodity…water. Water from storm runoff and deep rock springs cascades down the canyon in a series of falls from pool to pool until finally it drops into a stream bed and flows out of the canyon and into the desert below. But that’s not the best part.

The steep rock walls of the canyon near the falls and pools are covered with Native American petroglyphs. Pioneer explorers in the late 19th century confused the petroglyphs with Egyptian hieroglyphics and the name has stuck. Some images are obviously snakes and animals but other images are difficult to interpret. It is clear, however, that water has rushed through this canyon for millennia.

Hilario hiked the Hieroglyphic Trail on a cool winter’s day after a recent heavy rain. The water was roaring down the canyon, clearly audible before it was visible from the trail. It was a good day.

The Four Corners region of the American Southwest is home to the Diné Bikéyah or Navajo Nation. This vast land of more than 26,000 thousand acres covers parts of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah and northwestern New Mexico. It offers endless inspiration to Hilario.

Hilario’s daughter-in-law is Navajo and spent her childhood in this windswept land raising sheep with her family, the Keams of the Bitterwater Clan. Visit the Keams Family website. She has taken Hilario to visit some of the places she lived with her family. One such special place is Winter Camp.

It was once common practice to move a sheep herd to different areas depending on the season. The Keams’ winter camp offered some protection from the cold harsh winters on the Colorado Plateau. This place lies somewhat southwest of Gray Mountain on a south facing slope to catch the winter’s sun. Nowadays, the Keams family no longer herds sheep and this place lies deserted but not empty.

Grasses, shrubs and the pinon pine thrive here, full of the busy red ant. Cattle roam the green hills. The vast sky soars over vistas of rolling plains washing up to the feet of long-asleep volcanoes. The only sound is the wind wafting across the grass. It is a magical place.

Hilario last visited Winter Camp in the summer of 2007. Monsoon clouds, heavy with moisture, piled up to the south. The wind blew and the smell of rain and lightning filled the air.

Not far from Hilario’s home, in east central Arizona lies the 5800 acre White Canyon Wilderness. This pristine desert of soaring cliffs, secret streams and chalky white rock offers endless renewal and inspiration for Hilario’s vision.

A primitive road traverses this remote wilderness. Popular with hikers, rock climbers, horseback riders and back road adventurers the area is home to deer, black bears, mountain lions and countless species of birds. Giant boulders lay strewn beneath banded rock faces that soar as much as 800 feet above the canyon floor. Perennial streams feed willow and mesquite bosques offering shelter and food to wildlife. To the southwest the twisted cliffs of Mineral Mountain rise above the canyon. And everywhere are thick stands of giant saguaros.

Hilario visits the Wilderness whenever he needs to refresh his spirit. His most recent visit was on a clear winter’s day in January 2010.

In the high Sonoran Desert, a 700 year old cliff dwelling nestled in rock overlooks Roosevelt Lake in Central Arizona. These ancient structures and the surrounding terrain provide endless inspiration for Hilario.

Hilario has visited Tonto Monument many times to sit among the ruins and contemplate the endless horizon, the fragile desert and cliffs, and dream about the lifes of those who lived here so long ago.

His most recent visit was in February 2009.

Near the peak of the 7,100 foot Bradshaw Mountains in Central Arizona sits the old mining town of Crown King. The road to Crown King was once a route for a narrow gauge railroad. It is now a dusty trail through the Castle Creek Wilderness, passing near Bumble Bee and Bloody Basin in the desert lowlands then up the mountainside to a sky island of old pine and hardwood forest. Of the many abandoned structures along this road, old metal water tanks in particular inspire Hilario.

In April 2006, Hilario travelled this road and studied the many old rusted water tanks. This Field Study inspired the painting “Dry Tanks” and the “Small Tanks” series.  The textures and colors Hilario encountered on the old tanks have also found their way into many of his paintings since that time. Can you see these color and textures in Hilario’s work?