Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park is located near Tucson, AZ. It is also good to know that there are two parts of this park (which we didn't realize until after we got home).

Upon arrival in the park, we stopped at the visitor center. I must say, the park staff at this particular National Park is by far the friendliest and most willing to help staff we have experienced. Keep in mind, this is the 7th park we have been to in 10 ten days. The park has a beautiful viewing space of the mountains and cacti,  complete visitor center with educational information, and a educational garden hike near the center. Dogs are allowed on the short garden path and on the nature hike path that we walked shortly after the visitor center. 

Nate and I tried some prickly pear gummies, which I was a bit hesitant of but they are wonderful! There were many prickly pear products for sale: syrup, pancake mix, gummies, suckers, jam, etc. I also tried a prickly pear margarita last night with my Mexican dinner! Yum!

We hiked the nature trail, recently paved to allow dogs. What a variety of cacti! I am still learning the difference between them all, but I think I have the basics down: agave, prickly pear, octillo, saguaro, cholla etc. The saguaros remind me of trees, mostly because they seem to be everywhere, including landscaping. In reading the signs at the park, we learned a saguaro takes 75 years to reach maturity. A flower blooms and remains that way for less than 24 hours!

The scenic drive in the park was also worth it. It takes you in a loop on a dirt road, up and down looking at the neighboring mountains. There many views of mountains up close and even more in the distance. 

After exploring Saguaro NP, we drove through Tuscon to grab a beer and some street tacos at Street! Another mmm!

Desert Botanical Gardens

The first full Saturday we were in the Phoenix area, I saw it was Dog Day at the Desert Botanical Gardens. We were looking forward to exploring the gardens anyways, what better way to do it than with your dog?

The Desert Botanical Gardens were beautiful! Walking up to the gardens were many people with their dogs of all shapes, sizes, and breeds. Everyone was greeted by Chihuly pieces displayed in the entrance gardens, they were very similar to some we saw at the Denver Botanical Gardens. The Arizona Humane Society was part of the welcoming committee, also there to help adopt animals. 

There were specific dog activities like an agility course, a pet food fair, sponsored seminars, and doggie yoga. There were water dishes all over and in my opinion it was done very well. We walked all the loops and trails to look at blooms, succulents, forests, and deserts. The plants were labeled and the educational signage was quite helpful!

Click on pictures to open in full!

Scottsdale

Last weekend was our first full weekend in the Phoenix area! We found a place to stay and made it our temporary home relatively fast. After a full week of working for Nate, it was his first day off. I applied for several jobs and was fortunate enough to be hired within several days (working at a little giftshop in Old Town Scottsdale). 

The past few days, we have both had opportunities to explore Old Town Scottsdale. We are about 1/2 mile from Old Town and very close to a bike path. There is always a lot of action going on around us, especially with the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, and PGA Tour going on. We might see a bit of a lull, but Spring Training starts up soon and we live extremely close to the Scottsdale Stadium where the San Francisco Giants play. The Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks share a stadium in Scottsdale not far from us. The Cactus League stadiums are all over the Phoenix area and we have seen several just driving around!

I had utilized the Indian Bend Wash bike path nearly every day since being here. There are many golf courses along the way, a disc golf course, and the training facility for the Giants. I see a lot of bikers, dog walkers, and power walkers daily as well. It is a nice little path winding through parks and "green spaces" along the way. Many culverts and ponds are along the way with a good variety of birds. 

This week we went to Fashion Square Mall where ESPN has set up their headquarters for the Super Bowl. We went late in the day, however we still saw Chris Carter and several other NFL analysts. I don't have many pictures of the area because I don't always carry my phone or camera with me. Pictures to follow as I get them. 

All in all, Old Town Scottsdale seems like a nice place for us to call home for the next few months. 

Arizona!

Page, AZ  to Flagstaff, AZ

By delaying our travels a few hours, we were able to see Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam. We stopped at the Visitor Center for the Glen Canyon Dam Recreational Area and were welcomed by a beautiful view of the lake and the ginormous dam. I tried to take a picture, but the windows had some special heated mirror effect. You can still see things, but there is a goofy rainbow in it. 

After exploring some of the history of the dam and the Colorado River, we chose to do the Horseshoe Bend hike. This hike has one of the most famous views of the Colorado River and it was dog friendly! It was only 1.5mi round trip as well! A truly beautiful area. There were many notifications to not get to close to the loose sandstone on the edge! It is amazing to me that a river so mighty used to reach the Pacific Ocean and doesn't anymore. So many desert municipalities draw water from the Colorado R. that it can't possibly make it that far anymore. In fact, if you click on my link to the Colorado River you can read more about the water levels from National Geographic. Can you tell I miss teaching a little?

Next stop: Grand Canyon National Park! It is bigger and more immense than I could have ever imagined. It was also difficult to capture a picture because of the rock strata continuing to stack upon one another with various shades of reds, browns, and oranges. I have a few good ones, but I was taking more mental pictures and enjoying the views. We were able to hike with Kobi on the Rim Trail that stays on a paved surface looking into the canyon with many look outs for photo ops and what not. We even saw a few other dogs, which we really haven't in any National Parks thus far but I suppose there were more people at the Grand Canyon than any other park we have visited. 

I saw a woman lecturing her young daughter about staying on the trails and designated areas. She was explaining to her daughter that “we are guests in this beautiful park and you must respect the rules if you want to stay…” I wish all the tourists were listening to her and shared her mindset. I saw so many people walking off the paths to get that perfect selfie not noticing the small cacti struggling to make it in this world. 

After some deli sandwiches to go, we carried on out of the park. We headed in the small town of Williams on Route 66! Although the once booming and bustling Route 66 town is a bit quieter these day, there are still ghosts of old cars and bikes haunting the store fronts and gas stations. 

We carried on to Flagstaff and had some wonderful beer at a microbrew pub, Lumberyard Brewing Co. We settled in a bit earlier than normal due to my sinus cold. We were able to watch the Badgers win, so it's not all bad.

We planned our route out to Phoenix for the next day.We followed highway 89A through a canyon. We stopped in Sedona to walk around and visit the Harley shop. We continued on the scenic highway to a Route 66 ghost town of Jerome! We also visited Prescott and continued on to Phoenix. 

In Oak Creek Canyon on 89A

Downtown Sedona

Jerome, crazy house

View from the top of Jerome, the peak are in Flagstaff

Neat door in Jerome

The locals in Jerome

Obviously, we needed to find a place to we went to the East side of Phoenix which we have learned is the "valley". Nate and I are both getting used to new terminology here. We went to Tempe and looked up some places as we bellied up to an outdoor bar on Mill St. We drove by some places, set up for the night at a hotel, and were fortunate to find a place on Saturday in Scottsdale!

Bryce Canyon City, UT to Page, AZ

We got a little bit of a late start, unsure why that is but it worked out beautifully. We entered Bryce Canyon National Park and were a bit disappointed because we saw more fog. We continued driving in and realized that the fog was just sitting in the valley and we could see the beautiful hoodoos and forests in the park. As we continued on the scenic drive, the trees became white. They were encased by a combination of ice and snow. Each needle, twig, branch, was crystallized and encapsulated in ice. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The sun started to come out and break up the fog. Freshly fallen snow sat on the unique rock formations. Ice crystals stood stiff on needles and branches. The world looked as if the fog settled down on these life forms for the night, leaving them white and icy for the morning. One stunning view that I cannot forget and will most likely never see again occurred driving into the park. We passed a remnant of forest that had been consumed by wildfire. The trees were blackened and charred, yet it was as if they were given new life by this stiff icy coating that covered every detail on every branch of every tree. The views were stunningly beautiful. I captured some beautiful photos, not because I was spot on with my settings but because Mother Nature was wearing some of her rarest and best colors for us.

After experiencing such beauty, we grabbed a bit before we hit Zion National Park. Normally, I would not bore you with such a mundane stop but there was a dog. This dog did not have a collar, leash, or owner. It began chasing our car and when he saw Kobi, he continued to bark and circle the car even after we had gone into the store. This little terrier mix was harassing Kobi from the outside….and then as we ready to leave, he just left. Odd, but worth noting!

We continued on scenic US 12 to Zion National Park. Upon arrival, fossilized sand dunes towered over us. We were able to walk somewhat with Kobi and then Nate and I hiked the Temple to Sinawava Trail. We were walking in a canyon on a trail that had just recently reopened due to falling ice. The cliff faces drip water in the canyon and as temperatures dropped massive icicles formed. There were mosses, lichens, ferns, and cacti growing out of the cliff faces. What a resilient little ecosystem!

We grabbed a beer and a meal (Note* you had to be ordering a meal and siting down or you would not be served a beer). We decided to carry on to Flagstaff AZ. As we were driving we actually stopped in Page, AZ for the night because we wanted to see Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam.

Hello Utah!

Waking up in Grand Junction, CO we stopped at a local bagel and muffin shop to grab a quick bite and a hot beverage. We were in high hopes to see the beautiful Colorado National Monument again and all the beauty Southern Utah has to offer. Instead, a blanket of dense fog and drizzle met us on the freeway. A faint portion of the CNM was recognizable to us, only because we have seen it before. As we entered Utah, I’m certain we missed a lot of scenery due to the fog but we continued south to Moab where we would visit Arches National Park. I was very excited to be going to Arches! We watched a quick educational video at the visitor center and then set out on the scenic drive. Well, I’m still disappointed we weren’t able to see much. It was very foggy and at times drizzling. The first photo op was nice but as we continued on the scenic drive, you could hardly make formations out from the road. I was still holding out hope for the iconic Delicate Arch; however as the road neared...it was closed due to flooding. The rocks that we did see were beautiful and I learned some about the geology of the park. I guess we will just have to make another stop here.

My fellow travelers

Foggy Utah

Arches NP that was visible

Juniper berries

Our original plan was to continue on to Canyonlands National Park, but we were advised by the park staff that we most likely wouldn’t be able to see anything due to the higher elevation there. We decided on a new game plan over lunch in Moab after we let Kobi run out his energy at the Moab dog park!

After lunch we headed back to I-70 and took it to US 24. This was a pretty drive into Capitol Reef National Park.  We were fortunate to see some pronghorn on the roadside too! As we arrived in CRNP, it was still very foggy. We were able to see quite a few deer milling around the campground and some petroglyphs on a rock face. We attempted this scenic road as well and once again it was too foggy and the road to the Waterpocket Fold was closed. I was disappointed in this news too, but I suppose visiting these areas can be a gamble and we can’t complain about our weather outcomes thus far.

We took one of the country’s best scenic drives (voted by Travel + Leisure Magazine), US 12 from Capitol Reef National Park to Bryce Canyon National Park. It was still foggy and snowing quite hard. We passed two plow guys as we continued up the road, I feel like they thought we must be crazy. A woman at Capitol Reef had recommended to me not to take the road tonight due to the weather, however Nate pushed on and there were no troubles. It felt like driving in a snowstorm in Wisconsin…the kind you learn how to drive in! Well, at least my dad took me out to practice during Winter Weather Advisories and Warnings, you know…the kind they tell you not to go out unless you have to! Neverless, I am a better driver because of it! Thanks dad!

Anyways, we arrived in Bryce Canyon City quite late in the evening. We set up at Ruby’s Inn- Best Western because it was just about the only option. A lot of tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels, and even gas stations close in the winter. We settled in and got ready for another day of driving.

Two photos above are Capitol Reef NP, two photos 

below are scenic US 12 in the snow!