Martin Gray

Longtime friend and Sedona resident Martin Gray is a most interesting and amazing person. Briefly, he is or has been an anthropologist, a phenomenal photographer, a long-distance bicyclist, a writer and published author, a mountain climber, a lecturer, a dance instructor, a world-class juggler, a life-long student with vast and eclectic interests, and, perhaps most of all, a traveler in the true sense of the word. When Martin was in his twenties, he felt a strong calling to travel the world and document and photograph the sites that have been held most sacred to human beings throughout the eons. Over the next twenty-five years, he travelled almost constantly, much of it by bicycle, visiting and photographing over 1,000 sacred sites in more than 80 countries. You can learn more about Martin at his website.

Due chiefly to Tracey's efforts, Martin's incredible collection of sacred site photography was brought to the attention of National Geographic, resulting in his being used as principle photographer for the National Geographic book The Geography of Religion published in 2004. One day in 2003, during the production period of the book, Martin was engaging in one of his favorite pastimes -- "scrambling" up and down one of the enormous rock formations that overlook Sedona. Something caused his feet to slip beneath him as he traversed a sloping ledge, and he fell seventy feet through the air to the hard rock below. He was grievously injured, with over fifty broken bones and multiple lacerations. Every part of his body, including his face and skull, was damaged. His climbing partner, a physician, found him conscious but didn't think he would survive his devastating injuries. Martin was airlifted to Flagstaff, where he spent months slowly recuperating. Most of the doctors thought that if he survived at all, he would never walk again. To the amazement of all, today you would hardly know anything had ever happened to him. While I was visiting Sedona, Martin went for one of his scrambles up a nearby peak as he does several times a week. He agreed to tone it down a bit for me and led me on a hike in some beautiful, but reasonably level, terrain.