Scott Thybony Commentaries

The West is a rugged place filled with outlaws, tall tales and rocky terrain. The same description could also apply to Western love stories. Writer Scott Thybony has been musing lately about tough love stories on the Colorado Plateau. He shares a few with us in his latest Canyon Commentary. 

Smokejumpers have one of the most extreme jobs in wildland firefighting, parachuting into fires in remote areas. It takes a special kind of person to hurl themself out of a plane and into the path of a forest fire; a person like Bobby Montoya. The longtime smokejumper - now retired - told KNAU's Scott Thybony, missing the job feels like a he's lost part of his body. Montoya is the focus of this month's Canyon Commentary. 

Arizona storms produce some pretty spectacular lightning shows. They're fun to watch if you're at a safe distance, but if you're out in th elements, dodging bolts can be downright terrifying...and life-threatening. Writer Scott Thybony knows that. In his latest Canyon Commentary, he introduces us to Ahab's Tree, a lightning-scarred Ponderosa on the San Francisco Peaks. 

Burritos might not be the first food that come to mind on Thanksgiving Day, but they are for commentator Scott Thybony. He's a burrito guy; always has been. And on this day - that is partly a celebration of indigenous foods, like beans and flat breads - Scott tells us about his life-long bean burrito odyssey. 

On this Halloween, commentator Scott Thybony brings us the gruesome true story of an outlaw named John Shaw. In 1905, he was gunned down by a sheriff's posse after robbing some gamblers of $300 in silver coins. Shaw was buried in a cemetery east of Flagstaf, near the Canyon Diablo Trading Post. But, his friends thought he deserved a more ceremonious burial. We'll let Scott tell you the rest in his latest Canyon Commentary.