(September 20 – 27, 2014) –
Saturday, 9/20/14 – Travel day turned into travel “next day” as our flight from Saint Cloud, MN was delayed, and when we arrived in Mesa, AZ, we experienced “learning how to drive a new car syndrome”! The rental car was apparently one that you could drive either as a manual or an automatic, unbeknownst to us. It was in manual mode and in first gear as we attempted to accelerate – gave symptoms that the transmission was shot (and it didn’t help that it was approaching 2 am our time). We returned the rental car, a Hyundai Sonata, to the Alamo agent and learned about the unique features of this new car. We then decided to keep this car versus getting an SUV (which wouldn’t have as good of fuel economy). The end result was that we settled into our accommodations at the Days Hotel of Mesa and went to bed at about 1:00 am local time (3:00 am our time) – Yikes!
Sunday, 9/21/2014 – We awoke at the Days Hotel in time for the continental breakfast, that included waffles, and then a swim in the outdoor pool. The outdoor pool was nice, and the temps were in the mid-80’s at about 9:45 am. We enjoyed the tall palm trees surrounding the pool with a beautiful blue sky in the background. We wondered why there weren’t any others enjoying the pool?
We paid a visit to the local Wal-mart store, that looked very different than Wal-mart stores in Minnesota. Trees were throughout the parking lot and a terra-cotta style design permeated the exterior of the store. We purchased some supplies for our travels and began traveling towards our first destination, Sedona, Arizona.
We arrived at the Sedona Real Inn & Suites at approximately 3:15pm local time & checked in for two nights. It should be noted here that we became aware of a phenomena that we would notice several more times along our trip – wall phones next to the toilet (for multi-tasking?). We took a delicious afternoon nap and then went for supper at a local Mexican Restaurant that was recommended by the concierge. Flowergirl made the better meal choice (as usual – haha) selecting a dish that had a yummy seafood sauce. We then retired back to our nice accommodations for an evening swim – which was wonderful! We soon noticed that a bat was swooping down near us while we were in the pool – so we splashed about a bit to scare it off.
The pool clean up crew let us know that it was closing time for the pool, as we were enjoying the swimming on a warm evening in the desert. It was a memorable first day in Arizona and we got some good sun on our morning swim. Temps were 99 degrees in Mesa and only 88 degrees in Sedona (due to the higher altitude) – both very comfortable with the low humidity (in the 18 – 22% range).
Monday, 9/22/2014 – We slept in a bit this morning, prior to another delicious continental breakfast (that included waffles, of course!). We took some time after breakfast to look forward to the week’s activities – Grand Canyon on Tuesday then travel to Kingman for the evening. Hoover Dam on Wednesday with lodging in Mesquite, NV that evening (after visiting with our friends Pam & Scott). Plans for Thursday & Friday – TBD.
We enjoyed some of the magnificent sights in Sedona, which included a visit to the Chapel of the Holy Cross Church (a Catholic church that was built into the side of rock face), and also the “Snoopy” Rock. We also spent time walking and visiting some of the many shops in town.
After some of the sight-seeing & shopping we took delight in “lupper” at a local Pizza place called Pisa Lisa – where they specialized in wood fire pizza, and it was very good pizza (although since it was “wood fired” pizza, it is not in the same category to be compared to Sammy’s, which is the best ever).
The pool at the Sedona Real Inn & Suites was calling our names, so we answered and lounged by the pool on a delicious warm evening with the sound of Cicadas serenading us in the nearby trees.
Tuesday, 9/23/2014 – Today was the grand-daddy day of the trip – as in the Grand Canyon! We drove north along State Hwy 89A that offered many scenic views and sharp curves.
We arrived at the Grand Canyon about 11:30 am local time and strolled from the parking lot to Mather Point for our first view of the magnificent creation called the Grand Canyon! We were struck by the many different languages we heard, as folks from all over the world were among the visitors, as evidenced by the video below.
We shuttled to the Village area along the South Rim of the Canyon and had lunch at the El Tovar Hotel. It was “Duece” for lunch, much to the delight of the hostess.
We took a ride on the red shuttle line towards Hermits Point and exited at Powell Point. We learned that William Hawkins was among the group of initial pioneers of the Grand Canyon (along with Powell, who the point is named after).
We traveled to Kingman, AZ for the evening’s accommodations at the Best Western Kings Inn. In a stroke of genius, we mutually decided to eat at the local Cracker Barrell and had a delicious meal!
Wednesday, 9/24/2014 – Today we enjoyed a delicious breakfast that included waffles at the Best Western Kings Inn & Suites. Our destination today, the Hoover Dam, is about an hour and 15 minute drive west of us. We arrived at the Hoover Dam at about 11:30 am and were amazed at some of the landscape along Hwy 93 approaching the Dam/Lake Mead area (see photos).
The Dam Tour had a 2.5 hour wait, so we opted for the Power Plant Tour. The Power Plant Tour included an informative film of the Dam’s history & purpose. We were then shuffled like cattle via elevators down 50 stories to the bowels of the Dam and got to see the enormous generators that produce electricity (serving about 1 million area customers).
The Power Plant Tour eventually led us to the top of the Dam where we were able to walk freely and capture photos of the Dam, Lake Mead, and the new bridge near the Dam. The Dam visit was informative and enjoyable on a warm day in the desert – well worth it!
We next headed towards Mesquite, NV to visit Pam (Linda’s friend from college) & her husband Scott, who are in the process of having a new house built in a newer development in Mesquite. We arrived in Mesquite, located about an hour NE of Las Vegas, at approximately 4:30 pm. We checked into our accommodations at the Highland Resort & Suites. We found a very nice condo waiting for us – very roomy & comfortable!
Pam & Scott met us at the Resort and we drove to their new home under construction. Along the way to their home, we saw a roadrunner (ironically running across the road – haha). We were able to get a tour of one of their neighbors homes to get an idea of what theirs may look like when completed. We learned that their neighbor has a 4-wheeler type vehicle (“Razor”?) and that Pam & Scott will be picking up a new 4 wheeler as well. The 4 wheelers are street legal in Mesquite, as are golf carts. The 4-wheelers have multiple destinations for fun nearby, one side the mountains, and the other side a mesa for adventures.
We ate that evening at the Virgin River Casino Buffet and had our fill – yum! It was an enjoyable visit with Pam and Scott. We returned to the Highland Resort to a great night’s sleep after a fun filled adventurous day – so blessed!
Thursday, 9/25/2014 – Thursday morning we delighted in taking our time having breakfast and then heading for a morning swim. It was only about 80 degrees at 9 am, and we discovered our favorite pool of the whole trip (which included five pools). This pool had a waterfall and the water was a little cooler, which we Minnesotans acclimated ourselves to pretty quick – haha! After enjoying a morning swim and sunshine, we checked out of the resort and began our drive to Surprise, Arizona.
We felt right at home on the road, driving through Las Vegas, stopped for lunch in Henderson, NV; traveled through Boulder City, Kingman, AZ, and stayed on Hwy 93 towards Surpirse, AZ. Some of the incredible scenery along the way included Lake Mead, many various shapes & sizes of cactus, and the Joshua tree forest.
We arrived at the Windmill Suites & Inn at about 6:15 pm and indulged in an evening swim as the desert sun began to set. We discovered some of the tastiest pizza ever, delivered from Barros in Surprise, AZ – yummy! In a recurring theme on our trip, we found a phone in the bathroom again, next to the toilet (see below).
Friday, 9/26/2014 – Our first morning in Surprise, AZ we awoke to sunshine (again)! We had a wonderful night’s sleep and savored the complementary breakfast on the veranda/patio outdoors that had a nice view of the water fountain in the courtyard. Breakfast included waffles – yum!
Today’s adventure was a visit to the Desert Botanical Gardens located in Phoenix. Today’s temperature was the typical 100 degrees or so, but this was different with some higher humidity – and felt like 108 degrees (it was hot under the desert sun!). We took heed of the warnings to take plenty of water in our backpack, and got a kick out of looking at all of the desert plants, cactus, trees and flowers. Some of the shapes and size of the cactus were astonishing to us. We drank plenty of water on our tour of the botanical gardens and then headed to a delicious lunch at the Long Horn Steakhouse in Surprise, AZ.
Photos of the Botanical Gardens shown below (can be clicked on to enlarge) – note the temp at 1:44 pm was 107 degrees!
The planned last night in Arizona included another evening swim, this time under the lights – the water was delicious on another warm evening in the Sonoran Desert.
Saturday, 9/27/2014 – Today was travel day back home, or so we thought. The Phoenix area was under a storm warning, with some strong winds and heavy rains possible. We lounged in the room, had another delicious breakfast (waffles included – check), and checked out of the hotel & then did some shopping for a bit & had lunch before heading for the airport a couple hours ahead of our scheduled 3:40 pm flight. It began to rain on the way to the airport, as we returned the rental car. It continued to rain lightly as our flight time approached and the skies turned dark.
Prior to the rain starting we witnessed an intense dust storm at the airport, and later learned that this phenomena is called a “haboob”.
As the scheduled flight time approached, the flight was still on schedule, until about a half hour prior to the flight time. An announcement was made that the flight was going to be delayed due to weather, and then later because of problems with the plane and a new plane was needed that required them to bring in a different crew. The initial estimate was that this could take a couple of hours. We waited and waited and about 7pm it was announced that the flight was cancelled and a new flight would be Sunday at 12:30pm. The airline was having pizza delivered and then we were also put up in a nearby hotel (LaQuinta Inn).
Sunday, 9/28/2014 – Sunday was another sunny Arizona day, much different than Saturday when about 2.5 inches of rain fell in the Phoenix area in what the local news was calling a “monsoon”. We took a taxi to the airport and had a good flight back to Saint Cloud to conclude a wonderful Arizona Adventure!