Le plus grande adventure
February was generally a rather eventful month (for reasons that require a completely separate entry), and it went out in spectacular fashion. February 28th, I flew to Phoenix, AZ to attend a wedding with cynic51. The trip was notable-it marked my first time in the state of Arizona, it was a college reunion of sorts, and it was a great trip for outdoors, both generally and very specifically. More on that as we go.
The wedding itself was held in Scottsdale, AZ - our hotel was full and San Francisco Giants fans - as we learned, the team's spring training facility is in Scottsdale. The wedding itself was quite enjoyable - a great vibe and wonderful to see so many people from college days. Other activities outside the wedding included lots of eating and being outside. First, the outside. Friday morning, cynic51, EP (of Iceland traveling fame) and I went on a short hike in the Superstition Mountains, part of the Tonto National Forest. We enjoyed the hike so much, we returned Saturday morning with JD, TR, SA and AS to hike at the same trailhead, just in a different direction. Friday afternoon, cynic51, MM and I went to see the Oakland Athletics play the San Francisco Giants at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in a spring training match-up. After the 5th inning or so, no recognized players remained on the field, and it was very much a party atmosphere - at least in the audience. cynic51 now has not one, but TWO A's souvenirs cups. You're welcome :-)
As for the eating - spots that we ate at included 4 Peaks Brewery, where we enjoyed a brew-pub Friday night; Rehab Burger, which had delicious burgers and salads that came in one size only - HUGE. Fortunately, they were also delicious. Also something called Pig Wings, which had a really delicious BBQ sauce on them. We had a Sunday brunch at Morning Squeeze, which was decorated in colors that rather alarmingly could have been pulled straight from a Brady Bunch episode. Good food, though.
After the wedding festivities were over, cynic51 and I headed the car north - our final destination for the day was Grand Canyon National Park, with a brief detour through Sedona and driving through Oak Creek Canyon, which was totally worth it - very beautiful, if a little bit on the crazy size for driving with many twists and turns. We shopped for hiking lunch provisions in Flagstaff, then kept on going. We reached the park, checked into our lodge, and immediately put on hiking clothes - we had a canyon to go find. Our lodge was about a 5 minute walk from the rim, and it's safe to say that we walked up, and stopped and stared for a good 10 minutes before continuing along the rim trail. Beautiful.
Monday, we were ambitious - we set out down the Bright Angel Trail into the canyon with a projected turn-around point at Indian Gardens, 4.5 miles along the trail, but a 3,000 foot drop. The start of the hike was very icy which is not surprising given that the temperature was in the 30s - in retrospect, we should have been wearing Yak-traks or ice-grippers, but we made it to the first rest-house in one piece. It took us roughly 3.5 hours to make it to Indian Gardens - mostly because we would walk for a bit, then pause and just stare at the utter beauty around us. After a solid lunch break and a water bottle refill at Indian Gardens - where it was 80 degrees in the sun - we turned around and headed back up the trail. We got back to the rim around 5 PM - well within the projected time estimate of 6-9 hours for the hike, and full of amazement at the beauty of the day. Make no mistake though, we made short order of dinner, and went to bed quite early :-)
Tuesday, we rose, checked out, and headed east to view more of the canyon at the viewing points on the way to the east exit from the park. It was a leisurely drive, and also very pretty. Once out of the park, we made our way to Flagstaff for a late lunch at Beaver Street Brewing, notable for it's excellent Oatmeal Stout and the size of my exceptionally delicious steak salad (I think there was an entire flank steak on it but can't be sure). We then headed back to Phoenix, with a stop at Montezuma Castle National Monument on the way back.
Overall - a great trip. If you are reading this and have never been to the Grand Canyon yourself, I urge you to plan a trip. My only regret was that we weren't able to camp down in the canyon for a few nights - I'm sure it would have been amazing! Photos are on Facebook, and should be accessible through this link (maybe?).
The wedding itself was held in Scottsdale, AZ - our hotel was full and San Francisco Giants fans - as we learned, the team's spring training facility is in Scottsdale. The wedding itself was quite enjoyable - a great vibe and wonderful to see so many people from college days. Other activities outside the wedding included lots of eating and being outside. First, the outside. Friday morning, cynic51, EP (of Iceland traveling fame) and I went on a short hike in the Superstition Mountains, part of the Tonto National Forest. We enjoyed the hike so much, we returned Saturday morning with JD, TR, SA and AS to hike at the same trailhead, just in a different direction. Friday afternoon, cynic51, MM and I went to see the Oakland Athletics play the San Francisco Giants at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in a spring training match-up. After the 5th inning or so, no recognized players remained on the field, and it was very much a party atmosphere - at least in the audience. cynic51 now has not one, but TWO A's souvenirs cups. You're welcome :-)
As for the eating - spots that we ate at included 4 Peaks Brewery, where we enjoyed a brew-pub Friday night; Rehab Burger, which had delicious burgers and salads that came in one size only - HUGE. Fortunately, they were also delicious. Also something called Pig Wings, which had a really delicious BBQ sauce on them. We had a Sunday brunch at Morning Squeeze, which was decorated in colors that rather alarmingly could have been pulled straight from a Brady Bunch episode. Good food, though.
After the wedding festivities were over, cynic51 and I headed the car north - our final destination for the day was Grand Canyon National Park, with a brief detour through Sedona and driving through Oak Creek Canyon, which was totally worth it - very beautiful, if a little bit on the crazy size for driving with many twists and turns. We shopped for hiking lunch provisions in Flagstaff, then kept on going. We reached the park, checked into our lodge, and immediately put on hiking clothes - we had a canyon to go find. Our lodge was about a 5 minute walk from the rim, and it's safe to say that we walked up, and stopped and stared for a good 10 minutes before continuing along the rim trail. Beautiful.
Monday, we were ambitious - we set out down the Bright Angel Trail into the canyon with a projected turn-around point at Indian Gardens, 4.5 miles along the trail, but a 3,000 foot drop. The start of the hike was very icy which is not surprising given that the temperature was in the 30s - in retrospect, we should have been wearing Yak-traks or ice-grippers, but we made it to the first rest-house in one piece. It took us roughly 3.5 hours to make it to Indian Gardens - mostly because we would walk for a bit, then pause and just stare at the utter beauty around us. After a solid lunch break and a water bottle refill at Indian Gardens - where it was 80 degrees in the sun - we turned around and headed back up the trail. We got back to the rim around 5 PM - well within the projected time estimate of 6-9 hours for the hike, and full of amazement at the beauty of the day. Make no mistake though, we made short order of dinner, and went to bed quite early :-)
Tuesday, we rose, checked out, and headed east to view more of the canyon at the viewing points on the way to the east exit from the park. It was a leisurely drive, and also very pretty. Once out of the park, we made our way to Flagstaff for a late lunch at Beaver Street Brewing, notable for it's excellent Oatmeal Stout and the size of my exceptionally delicious steak salad (I think there was an entire flank steak on it but can't be sure). We then headed back to Phoenix, with a stop at Montezuma Castle National Monument on the way back.
Overall - a great trip. If you are reading this and have never been to the Grand Canyon yourself, I urge you to plan a trip. My only regret was that we weren't able to camp down in the canyon for a few nights - I'm sure it would have been amazing! Photos are on Facebook, and should be accessible through this link (maybe?).