Arizona Adventures

Okay, so if you'll oblige, I'm going to elaborate on the great parts of living in, and exploring, the great state of Arizona. Mom and Dad recently joined us for an action-packed week spent from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon and several places in between.

The weather had been cold the week before they arrived (50s) but warmed up to a beautiful 75-85 degree temperature range during their trip. The flowers were all in bloom and the floor of the desert was green with growth due to the rain the week before. Dad remarked several times that he couldn't believe how pretty the desert could be. Truly, if you catch it at the right time, it is breath-taking. The animals were apparently equally glad for the beautiful weather, as we saw 7 wild donkeys, 2 herds of antelope, several coveys of quail, lizards and ground squirrels galore, 3 caterpillars that arrived in the mail (for Maddie's butterfly house), and a horse with hiking boots. Really. Even Franz got into the springtime action, taking everyone out for a spin in the Ariel Atom that arrived at the office ahead of schedule. (We are now the only US-based dealer for their products, and Franz is like a kid in a candy store around this thing.) Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaWoo82zNUA or on the website link at http://www.formanmotorsport.com/

When Mom and Dad arrived on Tuesday afternoon, we stopped by Cerreta's Candy Company on the way back to the house. This family-owned, 2nd and 3rd generation candy company is really great to tour, and has fantastic chocolates. I love to bring some along for hostess gifts, and even order them online for shipping to someone from time to time. http://www.cerreta.com/

During the week, we took Maddie out of school for lunch at the park, visited the huge Lake Pleasant Regional Park just 15 minutes from home, and hiked every nearby trail we could find. There are two great ones in our neighborhood, and another (where we saw the shoe-less horse clad in hiking boots) near Madeline's school. Sunrise Mountain, pictured above and below, has wide gentle trails that are very kid-friendly, enticing dog-walkers, which the girls love to pass. The gains in ground are subtle, but allow for great views of the valley in which our community is nestled. The catus with arms is called saguaro (pronouced: suh-wah-roh), and is one of the distinct plant life forms in the Sonoran Desert, along with the ocotillo (ah-koh-tee-yoh) which is a dead-looking bunch of sticks that blooms a couple of times a year with tiny green leaves all over except on the tips which turn fiery orange, and the palo verde (pah-loh vayr-day) which is a completely green tree from trunk to branches to teensy tiny leaves. The saguaro in the top picture does not have arms yet. They don't develop arms until they are at least 75 years old, which is why they are protected by law; they are very old and can take centuries to mature. The one in our front yard came with a numbered tag that I have to keep forever to prove that I obtained it legally.

WestWing Mountain trail is a bit more difficult. The trail is narrower and steeper, the falls could be potentially more painful; not kid-friendly. So we hiked it during the brief period where both girls were in school. (Katie has preschool MWF for 2 1/2 hours.) This mountain is visible from our driveway, and I love looking at the light greenish-yellow lichen attached to the rock faces. It is that impossible color in the huge Crayola box that looks compeletely contrived. I had never seen it in nature before this mountain. In the picture below you can just barely see the cave that is so enticingly viewed from my driveway.

Our house is somewhat visible from the trail, and the entire view is spectacular. You can see downtown Phoenix some 40 miles distant, and take everything in for at least 180 degrees, peripherally.

We drove to Lake Pleasant Regional Park late one afternoon. It is only a 10-15 minute drive from the house through a stunning countryside panorama of rolling hills covered in cholla (choy-yah), saguaros, ocotillos, and what was an amazing amount of greenery due to the recent rains.

There, the girls spent most of their time sorting through rocks for skippers and quartz, which they safe-deposited in a nasty red plastic cup they found along the shoreline, as pictured above. The juxtaposition of the deep blue of the lake, the almost Smurf-blue of the sky, they yellow rock hills, the green saguaro sentries, and the recent green ground covering seems fake, even close up. The sun began to set while we were there. It was beautiful, as Lana can attest since it was the scene of her engagement at just such an hour.
During the course of our visit, we learned from the Park Ranger that 11 of the wild donkeys that roam the park had been found recently, shot and left in an apparent act of senseless violence. It was very sad to think of the random cruelty inflicted on these beautiful creatures. We saw one donkey, solo, near the marina, and a small family herd of 6 near the park entrance. They were not skittish, though they had reason to be with recent happenings. There were two colts in the group, one of which was a vibrant, dark color. We stopped alongside the road to watch the pastoral scene.

Over the weekend we took our much anticipated trip to the Grand Canyon. The only other time Dad had visited, we drove up and back in the same day (an 8 hour round trip), and were met at the rim with a blinding snowstorm, allowing us to see nothing at all.

While the culmination of the trip was the Canyon in all its majesty, we crammed as much as possible into the 2-day trip, driving through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon, eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Flagstaff, where we spent the night, visiting Sunset Mountain volcanic crater and Waputki ancient ruins along the way, and discovering a new favorite homestyle restaurant along old Route 66 in Williams with deepdish pies the size of large serving platters.

We took the scenic route from Phoenix to Flagstaff, taking in Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon along the way. Sedona is unbelievable until you are there. The red striated rocks rise up from the ground in grand forms.
While there, we visited Tlaquepaque, an eclectic retail center with restaurants, an old bell tower, and all sorts of art shops and studios - from blown glass to sculpture, and paintings. Madeline was instantly at home there, taking in lighting techniques and learning about sculpture processes which she has put to use in her prolific daily assortment of art projects since then. If you look at the picture above, you can see in a glance, the personalities of my two girls. I couldn't describe them better with words.

On the way out of Sedona, we drove through Oak Creek Canyon just before dark. We stopped at one of the many trails along the main highway, and had a wonderful hike to the creek bottom as the temperatures dipped.

I was glad for the guardrails since what Katie doesn't have in common sense or natural, healthy fears, she makes up for in curiosity and bold moves.

The rocks at the creek bottom were a very interesting assortment of types and colors, from black to white to red.

The girls fought impassionedly over Dad's improvised walking stick a moment after this picture was snapped, and so it was forcibly abandoned before it was properly put to use.
After an amazing dinner of Arroz con Pollo at Casa Bonita in Flagstaff that night (It is seriously the only thing on the menu I ever order because it is SO good! Also, I will have you know that we have driven the almost 2 hours from our house to this restaurant before, after a lengthy period of intense craving.), we retired to our hotel where the girls were quite pleased to use their pink and purple sleeping bags.

In the morning, we again opted for the scenic route to the Grand Canyon, taking a side loop that ran through Sunset Crater National Monument and Watputki - a fascinating grouping of ancient ruins, many of which are open to exploration.

Sunset Mountain blew its top long, long ago, yet the terrain is still primarily covered with ash and cinder for miles in all directions. In fact the whole area is a geologic hotspot with a history of earthquakes and volcanoes; I had no idea.

We circled Mt. Humphreys in Flagstaff all day. It's snow-capped peak is visible from the dry desert landscape in all directions.

First stop in Waputki is this look-out tower and dwelling, just out in the middle of the red-rock desert. It is open for exploration and it is very interesting to walk around up there.

They made bricks out of the natural rock, but dragged roof beams from large trees near Mt. Humphreys, a trip I cannot imagine under those circumstances.
Mom got in a good senior picture pose before we left for the next stop.

The second stop was the visitor center, with a trail to this huge center of commerce and dwelling, located at the crossroads of trade for tribes in surrounding areas. Some of the artifacts they have found include pieces from tribes near a coast, which is at least a five hour drive from there, even with Franz behind the wheel.

One of the interesting tidbits about this place was the way they incorporated the large natural rocks into their facades, and added bricks to complete rooms. Apparently there were over 100 dwellings here (with additional undisturbed homes all over the surrounding desert), and the main part was built up to three stories. Although not visible in the picture, there are a ceremonial ring, a ball court, and a blow hole connected to the main structure by trails.
We finally arrived at the much-fabled Grand Canyon late that afternoon, which is when the sun hits it from an indirect angle and the colors spring to life; in my point of view it's the best time to visit. It looked very different to Dad without the snow flurries, although we did see patches of snow during most of the drive those two days, and along the walls of the Canyon. Thankfully the weather was beautiful - low 60s and quite comfortable.

Our first stop was the tower constructed in the 1930s on the Eastern end of the park. It is something to explore in itself, with four floors up a narrow curved staircase, and a central opening that goes all the way down.

If you haven't been there, you really must go sometime in your life. This is my plea to you. None of these pictures or any others you will ever see can convey the immensity of the place, the depth of color, the feeling you get of being so small in such a great creation.

The girls have been several times, but never fail to find something interesting to see or do.

Around every bend in the rim road there is another view of impossible and dangerous beauty.

We chose a different route home, driving along the rim from East toward the West until Grand Canyon Village, where we headed south to Williams, then East to Flagstaff and then to home. Along the way, Mom spotted two herds of antelope grazing along the highway. We had such a long dinner stop in Williams that it was dark when we left, which I'm sure prevented us from spotting any elk (they usually come into the clearings along the roads at about dusk). No one complained, though, because the food was great!

So, now that I've bragged on the state for awhile, and shared a brief glimpse into the variety of places to visit and things to do (I haven't even scratched the surface and I've lived here for 8 years now), I am telling you, that we'd love to host you for a similar trip. It is truly something to experience.