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It’s far too often I hear the skewed perception of how ugly and horrid Arizona is; that it’s filled with dead grass that won’t grow, ugly desert plants, and no greenery, water, or beauty.
Interestingly enough, Arizona’s one of the first states that I’ve traveled more in while living there than going to other states. When I lived in the midwest I always took weekend trips to other states when I traveled. I’ve only traveled out of the state for leisure twice in nearly two years. Most of the time, I find the state I have made home a land of so many different types of scenery and people that it always feels like I’m traveling somewhere new, when I’m in fact staying in my backyard.
Look at all the lakes that are miraculously stuck in the valleys of mountains, and you don’t even have to travel outside of Phoenix to see them either, although I did here in this gorgeous picture of Lake Havasu. Lakes are beautiful anywhere in my opinion, but in the middle of the desert they just seem to have so much more awesome beauty. How can you possibly say this is not a place you’d love to visit frequently? Hell, I want to retire here.
Water isn’t your thing? Looking for something more normal? Some good ol’ woodlands scenery? Maybe even some snow? Look no farther than Flagstaff. Mountains, snow, pine trees, all within a day trip’s distance from my house. You won’t even have the heat of Havasu or Phoenix, promise. On average, it’s 20 degrees cooler at any given time!
Not to mention, desert plant life is just beautiful so I’m not sure how people can claim otherwise. Take a trip down the highways, especially during the spring wildflower season, or head to Boyce Thompson Arboretum where you will see just how glorious desert plants can be:
I rest my case! Arizona is the awesome!
This weekend I had my first visitor here from the Midwest. My former coworker at Ford and friend Megan came in on Thursday evening and stayed until this evening. I was sick at the beginning of the week and was trying to relax and recover as much as I could. I think I did a fairly good job, but have a massive headache now, so I think I will be crashing early as I don’t have time to miss work this week!
I started off by picking her up around 7pm at Sky Harbor. From there we went immediately to operation food, which took us to La Grande Orange. I had the Mushroom Party pizza again. I just love that thing! Plenty left over to have again the next evening as well. I also tried the tropical iced tea for the first time and it was fantastic. Came with a delicious slice of orange. Afterwards, we rushed over to Space 55 in Phoenix to see the finals of the Phoenix Improv March Madness Party (P.I.M.M.P.). I was excited to see my friend Todd show up to the event as well. Also equally exciting was the fact that my friend Bob’s team, Searching for X, ended up winning the entire tournament!! There were festivities afterward as usual, but with Megan being 3 hours ahead due to jet lag, it was time for us to head home and sleep after.
Friday morning we headed out to breakfast at U.S. Egg near my house. Then we made a quick stop at my house before heading out to Scottsdale Stadium to see the Giants host the Indians in a cactus league game. It was the first cactus league game either of us had been to. It was super fun, and I am all over going to a ton of them next year. I saw by some eye candy that was fun to look at but too young to date Sat by some Indians fans but also our share of Giants. The Giants ended up kicking the Indians ass and we left before the 8th inning was over. We spent some time walking around Old Town afterwards. That evening we had an after work social event to go to. It was a bring an interesting beer to share party, and I found a great brew at Bevmo for the event. Kona Brewery’s Pipeline Porter. Kona coffee and a brew? FANTASTIC!!
Saturday we had a full day as well. We got up super early and wandered around the Old Town Farmer’s Market. Megan picked up a few items and then we had breakfast at Metro. It was phenomenal. I had bananas foster french toast and a mimosa. Mmmmmm. Pure heaven. We then picked up a friend and went to the South Mountain lookout and took some absolutely breathtaking pictures. On the way back we found a great little farmer’s market shop. I picked up some mouth watering looking cupcakes, some other produce, homemade bread for lunch and the best tangelos I’ve ever had. I had an hour or so to nap and then it was off to the pool/grill area in my development for a grillin’ spectacular party with some friends followed by some hot tub time! Yes!
Sunday we were up early to go to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. I had been there once before, but ended up seeing entirely new areas this time that we didn’t have time for or realize were there the last. It was a gorgeous day. At the gift shop I purchased a book that had all the trails with secluded waterfalls and ponds and cliff diving. I cannot wait to check some of them out. Around lunch we headed to Los Hermanos for a great authentic Mexican lunch. Then it was time to get home for some relaxing before the return flight to Michigan. Of course there was some Rock Band before that!
Megan took more pics than I did so I’m sure I’ll have some eventually to show. I don’t feel like uploading mine now. It was a busy but fantastic weekend. I love showing people the beauty of Arizona, and of course get a great tan while I’m at it!
Yesterday morning I woke up at 7:30 to prepare for the Four Peaks / Four Peaks Adventure my friends Eric and Kerri and I were setting out on at 8am. Packed my gallons of water, my snacks, a fleece jacket in case it got cold, sun glasses, charged camera, charged cell phone. All I needed was coffee. Mostly because pre-sustinence I looked like this:
Out mission was to go to Four Peaks and hike a couple trails, then head to Four Peaks Brewery for a post hike celebration. While this wasn’t exactly what ended up happening, we had a fantastic adventure day!
After Starbucks, we started our journey for Four Peaks. After driving for an hour or so, we turned onto this dirt trail that said it was route 143, which was supposed to lead us to the trailhead we wanted to start with. And just how long were we supposed to be on this dirt road? Only 12 miles. What started off as a fine dirt road ended up being this winding, continually elevating death trap. I got some great pictures such as this with my BlackBerry, but we decided to head back to the main road:
After a scary turn around, we evaluated further if any roads could possibly be the 143 we needed to head to the Four Peaks trails. However, we were needing a break for food and a place to get out of the car for a few so we headed to a campground. After resting we started to look for a place to eat our lunch. It was then we were approached by a ranger. He asked us if we were just getting in or if we were ending our stay. Eric tells him that we got lost in the mountains and were looking for a place to eat. The ranger thought we were seriously distraught starving people and informed us that if we asked maybe some of the campers might have some food for us. After we explained, he said there was a vineyard a couple miles away that had free picnic areas to eat.
Vineyard? Yes!
On the way to the “vineyard” we passed “Bachelor’s Cove” only the cove was closed and I suspect there were no bachelors. Bummer. I need to find me one of those. I suspect this is where they are all locked away forever from any worthy women.
Were we at the vineyard now? Yes. Was it a vineyard? No! Sure, the sign said vineyard, but we were actually just on a gorgeous view of the lake and amongst some fishermen. Nevertheless, it was a gorgeous view and gave us a chance to eat some lunch. It was now around 11am.
After lunch, we decided to trek to up around Globe, and hit 60 all the way back home. We would see what we found along the way. Our next stop was at a scenic overlook point a few miles past the non-vineyard. We made our way to just about the edge of the lake which was surrounded by mountains and saguaros. I took some GORGEOUS shots:
Afterwards we stopped at the Roosevelt bridge and dam. Gorgeous view:
Next stop? The Tonto National Monument. Silly me for thinking it was actually going to be a monument that was meant to be stared at and admired. Well in that respect I was right. However, it was a cliff dwelling with a trail leading up to it. So we did actually get some hiking in.
Once we hopped back on 60, we found the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and decided to check it out. It was a trail too and so beautiful. I saw some great cactii, breathtaking scenery, and an Australian section to top it off! I even discovered my birthstone is mined in Arizona! Here are some gorgeous photos:
Even though we didn’t hike Four Peaks, we sure as hell ended up there at the end of the day:
After our adventures, all we wanted was a hot tub. When we got to ours, it was cold Hot tub FAIL! Luckily I remembered I had been given a key for the other community across the street because of all the issues we’ve had with ours. We headed over and got to enjoy a nice relaxing dip.
To top off the night I walked to a local bar with Kerri, enjoyed a drink and some UFC fighting and then passed out on the couch with my teddy bear while watching a movie.
Saturday was a great success. I want to thank those that kept me company via Twitter and text while I was on my adventures as well
For more photos, I have the full set uploaded on Picasa and a smaller set on Flickr.
On my way to the on site gym to get some running in today I noticed that the chain was off of our pool area so I decided to see if I could get in… and I could!
The pool / hot tub is officially ready to use and I am about ready to try it out. Is 49 degrees too cold to use an outdoor heated pool?
The whole area is stunning with a patio and barbeque area near it. The pool has a steaming hot tub area, gorgeous wicker couches with canopies over them and waterfalls. Best part is, it’s heated year round!
Not tempting anyone to come visit Arizona at all!!
Here is a photo I snapped on my BB this morning of the waterfalls.
Thursday night we received notification that our complex’s clubhouse, pool, and exercise room were ready for their debut. Yesterday from 4-6 in the evening they were holding a wine and cheese party in the clubhouse to hand out keys and celebrate. I figured I had nothing else to do and I did want my key so I headed on over around 4:30 after work. I sat down at the bar, started to have some wine and soon ended up in conversation with a few other women in the complex and one of their husbands.
I also ended up in a debate about Wal-Mart with one of the employees boyfriends and another resident as well. And no, it was not due to the amount of wine I had, I really just cannot stand Wal-Mart. So much so, that I won’t even link to them as I speak their horrid name.
We easily cleaned off the few bottles of wine there, and I discovered a red that I actually don’t mind. It was Layer Cake Malbec. Mmmm. Not that bad. They had a sparkling white, but it was a brut and not that exciting but still not horrible. I got a giggle out of everyone staring oddly at the cheeses with “odd colored rines.”
At 6 when they kicked us out because office hours were over, we all decided we were not done hanging out. Elisa and Brittany and I headed out in my car for some drinks while Kayla walked her dog. While in the fruit section for an orange, we discovered that there are actually red Bartlett pears. Did anyone else know this? I have an interesting photo of Elisa showcasing the pears, but I’ll post just the pears instead.
We all met up at my house along with Elisa’s husband and ordered pizza from Barros (mmmm) and played RB2 and had some drinks. It was so much fun that we all decided to have a chili party next Friday. Kayla and I will be making chili, and there will be some desserts and drinks (yummy).
The best part I think is when we all exchanged phone numbers and emails on napkins when we all had our blackBerrys sitting out well within reach.
I found balance today by finding some potential new friends. I also had the courage to go do something by myself, which might be hard to believe for people, but I really do have a hard time doing that in a social setting.
On my way home from work today, I stopped into the gym to claim my company paid for gym membership (yay). It was a very good experience, and the two gyms I have checked out so far (one close to the office and one near my house) they look very clean and professional and have lots of equipment and offer great classes as well.
As I am signing up, I hear a familiar question:
“And will your spouse be signing up as well?”
My response?
“Nope. I got none of those.”
For some reason, ever since moving here (or maybe it’s just noticed because of the insane amount of things I have to fill out) I have repeatedly been asked for my spouse’s information when filling out forms and signing up for things. It didn’t quite hit me until today. I have now come down to a couple conclusions. Either (a) I look like I am or should be married or (b) everyone in Phoenix is taken so it is assumed that I am no exception.
I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing. It could also be neither good nor bad, and maybe it’s just a standard question you learn to ask when you live in this area? Maybe it’s a western thing. Who knows. But realizing it has happened every single time has definitely made me curious in finding out.
I have determined that I need to start scheduling visits from friends and family. This is probably the best form of motivation for me to get my house in tip top shape.
So, if anyone would like to visit, realistically I can start accepting visitors the week before Thanksgiving. Let me know, and get your dates in now. I have a nice warm place and am expecting (and hoping) it becomes the new vacation spot for my crew
Need some enticing?
I do not have anything to report today aside from reaffirming that I am indeed an unpacking slacker this time around, so I thought I would use this space to remind everyone to VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!! Do not think that your vote doesn’t count. Not voting is saying you do not care and do not want a voice in the way your country is run. If you do not vote, you have no right to say anything negative about the country after new leaders are chosen.
If you have already voted via early voting registration or absentee ballot, good for you.
To add a little giggle into your election fever, here is a great website for some people running in Arizona. They call themselves The Solar Team and even include Paul Newman. Who would’ve known he’d return to try something other than acting and salad dressing.
A young 24 year old man named Ed Hermes is also running for the position of Maricopa County Supervisor. I’d like to point out that Ed was on a panty raid reality show and also is an avid Halo player
Happy Voting!! Please do your civic duty and vote honestly and fairly tomorrow. Most off all though, do not judge other people for who they vote for. Difference of opinion is what makes this country so unique!
