Trail to the Summit – Piestewa Peak 16″ x 20″ oil painting by Tom Haas (third highest elevation in Phoenix, Arizona with 360-degree views of the surrounding metropolitan area)

This painting was inspired by a plein air painting trip to the north side trails of Piestewa Peak in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve.

At 2,608 feet high, Piestewa Peak offers 360-degree panoramic views of the surrounding Phoenix metropolitan area; it’s the second highest elevation in the Preserve and third highest point in Phoenix. Piestewa Peak (formerly called Squaw Peak) was named in honor of Specialist Lori Ann Piestewa, a U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps soldier and a member of the northern Arizona Hopi tribe. Army Pfc. Piestewa was killed in Iraq and is believed to be the first Native American woman to die in combat in a foreign war. Other Hopi veterans are famously remembered as the ‘code-talkers’ of World War II.