Road Trip Stories for RoadTripArizona.com

Starlight Fire Ceremony - A Sacred Vortex Journey in Sedona

2008-03-27T04:29:00.000-07:00

Hat Tip to ArizonaTravel Blog

Out in the desert under the stars, a spiritual and healing experience happens around a campfire. A group gathers to share a sacred space in the beauty of Sedona's landscape and they intend to have fun while participating in an evening of self-realization and creation. Some people have their favorite musical instruments and ritual objects with them and these things will become part of the Ceremony. They may stop by the Medicine Wheel or the underground kiva for a meditative moment or to set intentions.

For thousands of years, indigenous people from as far away as Canada and Mexico have held the land and areas in Sedona as Sacred. Tribal members made pilgrimages to Sedona for their ritual and ceremonial time and to revitalize their energy for the times ahead. Shaman's, healers, indigenous people, wisdom keepers, and others still visit Sedona for the express purpose of making this profound earth connection. The earth is sacred - and connecting with the sacred land in Sedona is still a multidimensional healing and spiritual experience.

Read the full Article on this Sacred Sedona Vortex Journey

Arizona Snowbowl STILL open for skiing/boarding! (And so is Sunrise Ski Park)

2008-03-27T01:39:00.000-07:00

We are into spring and Arizona Snowbowl is STILL open for business! This is amazing because Snowbowl doesn't make artificial snow but they still claim to have over 7 feet of snow at mid-mountain, which is more than most ski resorts in Colorado. I would have to imagine it will be slushy like a 7/11 Slurpee which is why they've discounted the tickets. See news bulletin below.

P.S. I just checked Sunrise Ski Park's ski report and they are still open as well. Since they do make snow, it should be a better experience, especially for this time of year.

Arizona Snowbowl
News Release
ESCAPE THE HEAT!!!
Only a Few
Weeks Left to Ski

The warm temperatures and sunny skies have brought out the shorts and short sleeve shirts to the Arizona Snowbowl. But these skiers are not going to be sitting by the pool to start their tan, they will be shushing the slopes until the last lift ride of the season, on April 13. Despite the warm temperatures, Snowbowl still has over 7 feet of snow at mid-mountain, which is more than most ski resorts in Colorado.

"It's a shame to close with all this great snow. We hope people will take advantage of the wonderful spring conditions and the discounted April rates. We would like to stay open as long as we can, and we will, as long as we have good attendance", states Snowbowl's G.M., JR Murray. He reminds people to "not put your ski equipment away yet - you have all summer to bike & hike, but not much time left to ski and enjoy the snow."

"In April, Thursdays are Local's Appreciation Days. This is our way of saying Thank You to the skiing community for such a great season. We are slashing prices, lift tickets for an Adult are only $10, for Juniors (ages 8-12) are $5 and rental equipment is $15," he continues.

During the month of April, Snowbowl is also changing its operating schedule. Their lifts will operate Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays (April 3 - 6 & April 10
- 13) from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. They will be closed Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays.

As always, guests Ski Free on their birthday and Snowbowl will honor the Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday birthdays on Thursdays in April.

Snowbowl is also discounting ticket rates. Lift tickets for Friday - Sunday are $25 for Adults, $15 for Juniors and rental equipment is only $20. These rates start at 10:00 AM and last all day - one low rate for one great day.

Take the Alpine Ski Club bus ride to the slopes!

2008-03-07T00:34:00.000-08:00

Son of a-! I can't believe I've lived here for three years and I just discovered this!

Alpine Ski Club is a bus service that leaves from Phoenix and takes large groups of people on skiing/snowboarding getaways locally and across the state borders. Judging by the photos, it seems all ages get on board and I've heard it's a blast partying on the way up. The best part about it? The deals are killer!

Check this out:

You can do a day trip to Sunrise Ski Park on the bus for $89 a person which includes your lift ticket ($40 value). When you take into account that it takes me at least a full tank of gas to get from Phoenix to Sunrise ($50 each way in my SUV), I'm saving $50 on the trip! Even if I split the gas bill with someone, it's an even deal and I get to booze the whole ride up and sleep the whole ride back. Now that is what I call a road trip!

It's sucks I'm just finding this out so close to the end of the ski season, but check out their schedule and see if you can find a trip that works for you:

Alpine Ski Club Trip Schedule

Updated: Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Canyon de Chelly

2008-01-11T22:39:00.000-08:00

Best Places to Go page has been updated with these great places:

Canyon de Chelly

Lake Powell

Monument Valley

Here's another picture of the beautiful Monument Valley:

Howard Shanker Responds to Snowbowl Questions!

2008-01-03T01:05:00.000-08:00

In a previous post, Snowbowl's Artificial Snow debate is HEATING UP!, a representative of Howard Shanker (Rudy) wrote me some pretty strong words about the potential health risks of using reclaimed water to make snow at Snowbowl.

I wrote Rudy back with some questions to elaborate and Mr. Shanker himself responded! His email is follows:

Hi Zega - Rudy forwarded your questions to me. Hope this helps. Rather than read a lot of misinformation, I would recommend that you actually listen to the two Ninth Circuit arguments. The first one is more instructive because we had the opportunity to address the environmental as well as the legal/religious issues. I believe you can find the audio on our firm website www.Shankerlaw.net. Hope my brief answers below help.

Howard Shanker
www.Shanker2008.com
Candidate, Congressional District 1
P.O. Box 160 Flagstaff, AZ 86002-0160
www.howardshankerforcongress.com

1.) What about the double standard of other native indian tribes who are plaintiffs against Snowbowl but who are using their religious lands for an economic boost (such as the Hualapi tribe building the Grand Canyon Skywalk)? I do not represent the Hualapai Tribe and cannot speak for their actions or beliefs. I certainly am not in a position to pass judgment on what they do or do not believe or what their priorities are. (I represent the Navajo Nation, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Havapai-Apache Nation, the Havasupai Tribe, the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Flagstaff Activist Network, and others). Nevertheless, what the first panel from the Ninth Circuit held was that the project had a substantial burden on the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe's ability to practice their respective religions. Based on that finding the Court determined that it did not need to look further into the claims of the other tribes. Does their argument about Snowbowl impacting native indian religious lands really hold water? Whether or not Snowbowl and/or others are comfortable with the Hualapi's claim and/or feel that they are in a position to pass judgment on their claim, really has no bearing on the validity of the other claims made.
2.) In your opinion, is the White Mountain Apache's (Sunrise) objection to Snowbowl making artificial snow more heavily weighted on religious grounds or their predicted economic loss (because of Flagstaff's closer proximity to Phoenix)? Are Sunrise's ski slopes located on what WMAs consider "holy land"? The WMAT are one of my clients. Their objections are based solely on religious grounds. WMAT practitioners (who hold essentially the same beliefs as the Yavapai-Apache (Apache) practitioners) testified that Sunrise was not on ground they consider holy. It is land the Tribe owns, not federal land. The WMAT use fresh water from Lake Ono to make snow, not reclaimed sewer water.
3.) In today's litigious and "sue-happy" culture, why would Snowbowl knowingly use water that would be "deadly to skiers" instead of properly treating it to healthy standards? I think "deadly" is a bit strong. The main problem is that we don't know what many of the effects would be and it is unwise to use our children (and other skiers) as laboratory rats. In your opinion, would Snowbowl use this contaminated water because (a) they haven't done the proper research about its health effects? (b) it cuts the costs treating of the water? (c) they don't have other options? (d) some other reason? We have a system that allows chemical companies and others to use a host of chemicals that are not proven as safe. It then becomes incumbent on a person who is sick from exposure to prove that it is the exposure that made them sick. Without adequate science, this is often an insurmountable task. These companies have no reason to spend money developing good science that could ultimately be used against them. Specifically with regard to the instant matter, this is about money for Snowbowl: (a) additional research costs money and time and could render contrary conclusions; (b) the water is treated by the City of Flagstaff and it meets applicable standards for reclaimed sewer water -- if the City or Snowbowl wanted to run the treated waste water through reverse osmosis, I assume that would address most of the health and environmental based objections. That costs money and is currently not required by Arizona law; (c) using fresh water would be very expensive. More importantly, however, we live in the desert and are facing a water supply crisis in the near future. Using fresh water to make snow would not be a very wise allocation of the resource and would likely run into additional opposition from the community for that reason. Using reclaimed water treated with reverse osmosis would present similar allocation issues, or at least it should. Indeed, a valid argument could be made that using reclaimed sewer water to make snow is not a wise allocation of that resource given our ongoing struggle for water and unchecked growth. As discussed below, use of fresh water would not necessarily address the religious and cultural concerns raised by the tribes.
4.) If it could be proven beyond a doubt that Snowbowl would use properly treated A+ water to make artifical snow, would Howard Shanker's camp still petition against them? The proposal calls for "properly treated" A+ water. The problem is that under Arizona law "properly treated" A+ water is not potable. It contains a host of chemicals that could potentially impact human health and the environment -- many of which are untested. Why or why not? If you assume, arguendo, that the water was 100% pure and there were no health or environmental issues, many of my clients would still oppose the project on religious grounds (I think reference to "Howard Shanker's camp" is a little misleading). I would continue to represent my clients as their attorney. If you are asking for my personal opinion, I believe that the financial health of a private, for profit ski area, on federal land should not overbalance the sincerely held religious beliefs of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans. Throw in the fact that this is not clean water and add my objections on scientific and environmental grounds to the mix.

Zega,
Though Howard may consider "deadly" to be a little strong, I have read a great deal about wastewater and how it has already killed people on golf courses in Phoenix. I would call the water deadly. Please google norovirus and norwalk virus to see what I mean. There will be times when this is definitely in the water snowbowl wants to use.
-Rudy

Sunrise Ski Park had AWESOME snow this weekend!

2007-12-28T22:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok, I know I've been bitching about Sunrise Ski Park and (what I believe to be) their hypocrisy about making artificial snow BUT, you have to remember, I just want consistent skiing in Arizona.

Well, I went snowboarding in Sunrise this weekend and their powder was as fresh and plentiful as Tony Montana's last scene Scarface.

It was by far the best snow conditions I've ever witnessed in the 3 years I've lived in Arizona and I'm looking forward to going back.

Sunrise boasts their towering pine trees that drape the slopes with long, dramatic shadows. Their main mountain (Sunrise lift) has high speed quad lifts that whisk you up to the peaks for breathtaking views and fast blue and black diamond runs. My favorite is "Spruceridge" because it's all about speed.

It was so nice to see everyone from around the state playing in the snow like we actually live in a real ski community, although it did get crowded by midday. At that point, we headed over to their other mountain (Cyclone lift) which has slower chairs and mostly flatter runs although their are a few - like "Tempest" - that will totally emascualte you. All in all, it was a great day. I will be heading back to Snowbowl on Jan 12th - 13th because it's supposed to snow again. (Update: I checked weather again on Jan. 4th and now it's not supposed to snow. Oh well, I'm going anyway.)

By the way, if your not enjoying this historic ski season, get off your candy ass and hit the slopes because it wll probably be another 3 to 5 years until we have consistent snow like this again.

Snowbowl Snowmaking Article in WSJ (and my two cents about it)

2007-12-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

The Wall Street Journal printed a great article back in June that summarizes the Snowbowl snowmaking case from both sides of the coin. I recommend everyone interested read the full article, "Tribes Envoke Gods to Block Wastewater Snowmaking" to catch up on the issue.

Or if you have A.D.D., there is a great summary and breakdown of the article on Ski-Blog.com.

My opinions on article excerpts:

"The mountaintops are sacred to the Navajo and 12 other tribes, even though the land is not part of their reservations. The tribes regard the mountains as living deities that would be offended by man-made snowmaking, especially if it used treated wastewater..."
So the tribes are saying these living deities (mountains) would be offended by snowmaking even if they WEREN'T using treated wastwater? That is absurd because the White Mountain Apache, the tribe who run Sunrise Ski Park and are 1 of the 13 tribes mentioned, also uses wastewater to make their snow, as "Sunrise's operators testified" in the article. An unnamed spokesman then contridicts that statement in the very next sentence by saying they only use spring water - but all this should be a moot point anyway since the deities are offended by ALL snowmaking. But...oh wait...in the same paragraph the Apache tell us their ski park sits on regular old fashioned mountains made of rocks...there is nothing sacred or living about them.

"The tribes contend [using reclaimed/treated water] would contaminate plants and spring water used in religious ceremonies. The court compared spraying snow made from treated wastewater on the peaks to requiring Christians to use reclaimed water for baptisms."
Irrigation is one of the main uses of reclaimed water so I find it highly unlikely their plants would be any less safe than the plants all of us (including our grazing animals) eat everyday. And, by its very definition, if the reclaimed water did get into the springs (a natural body of water) it would become.....wait for it.......potable drinking water! And no one is restricting the tribes to use only the plants and resources from the >1% of land that Snowbowl wants to make snow on, if they are that concerned about it, there is still another 77,000 acres of untouched mountain range to choose from! Therefore, a more accurate conclusion to the above analogy would be: it would be like requiring Christians to choose from 99 sources of water they normally use for baptism or 1 source of reclaimed water.

"While most U.S. ski resorts make snow, Snowbowl would have been the first to do so only with reclaimed water, which is used across the parched Southwest on golf courses and parks. Under state law, the resort would have had to post signs warning skiers not to eat any snow."
California - yes, those health and environmental nuts to the West of us - are the leading the nation in reclaimed water projects. As we become more populated and potable water becomes more scarce, reclaimed water projects will only increase. If your looking for an immediate precedence, you can bet your sweet ass Georgia is turning to reclaimed water in light of their dire drought situation. Snowbowl may be the first to make snow with it but they sure as hell won't be the last. As a matter of fact, the University of California has already established Treatment and Quality Criteria for reclaimed water snowmaking! And I understand people don't think a posted sign will provide any protection IF the snow was harmful to eat, but since reclaimed water treatment can exceed standard drinking water, this shouldn't be an issue, as long as Snowbowl uses A+ water.

"This is not really about reclaimed water," says Joe Galli of the city's chamber of commerce. "This is about whether they want Snowbowl to exist at all, whether they want recreation to exist at all" on the mountain. The tribe called on the government to remove the entire Snowbowl resort and says snowmaking there would impair the tribe's ability to perform religious ceremonies."
Ok, who are these guys, the fucking Taliban?

Snowbowl's Artificial Snow debate is HEATING UP!

2007-12-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

Photo by Charles Seiverd/Background Photo by Cy Wagoner

Yesterday I posted SNOW IS ON THE MOUNTAINS! which included a little side note about how pissed off I was about why Snowbowl can't make artificial snow (read the post for my argument).

Well today I got an interesting email from someone who works for Howard Shanker's campaign party who touts a victory against Snowbowl's artificial snow case and its impact to "environmental integrity, public health and cultural survival". Howard Shanker is a Flagstaff attorney who represents several of the native tribes against Snowbowl and is running for Arizona's Congressional District 1 in 2008.

The email reads as follows:

hi

I encourage you to look a little deeper into the crap snowbowl is
handing you.

They are lying when they tell you Sunrise uses wastewater to make snow. We proved it in court already.

and

The water that Snowbowl uses wants to make snow with really is bad for you, it's toilet water mixed with industrial waste. They say it is clean enough to drink, but it does not even need to be free of feces for Flagstaff to sell it to them. It also contains pharmaceuticals that have been known endocrine disruptors once they enter the waterways.Also it will slowly bioaccumulate known carcinogens in the ski area if used for many years, making the place very deadly to skiers.

Rudy

Deadly to skiers? FECES? Rudy is making some bombastic claims! I want Snowbowl to start making artificial snow as bad as you do but I don't want an arm growing out of my ass just to have it. He makes it sound like they are going to turn the place into Chernobyl.

I wrote him back:

Rudy,

Thanks for writing me. You have an interesting point of view and it brings to light this case isn't as one-sided as I may have originally thought. To be fair, I will blog both sides of the coin but I few questions I hope you can answer:

1.) What about the double standard of other native indian tribes who are plaintiffs against Snowbowl but who are using their religious lands for an economic boost (such as the Hualapi tribe building the Grand Canyon Skywalk)? Does their argument about Snowbowl impacting native indian religious lands really hold water?

2.) In your opinion, is the White Mountain Apache's (Sunrise) objection to Snowbowl making artificial snow more heavily weighted on religious grounds or their predicted economic loss (because of Flagstaff's closer proximity to Phoenix)? Are Sunrise's ski slopes located on what WMAs consider "holy land"?

3.) In today's litigious and "sue-happy" culture, why would Snowbowl knowingly use water that would be "deadly to skiers" instead of properly treating it to healthy standards? In your opinion, would Snowbowl use this contaminated water because (a) they haven't done the proper research about its health effects? (b) it cuts the costs treating of the water? (c) they don't have other options? (d) something other reason?

4.) If it could be proven beyond a doubt that Snowbowl would use properly treated A+ water to make artificial snow, would Howard Shanker's camp still petition against them? Why or why not?

On a side note: In the articles I've read, I've never interpreted Snowbowl claiming that Sunrise uses poor quality water (or wastewater) to make their artificial snow, however, I have read articles that say it is less than A+ standards. To Sunrise's credit, my friends and I have skied and boarded there over a dozen times and I've eaten A LOT of snow, especially during my learning curve, and I've never heard one complaint about anyone getting sick.

Thanks again for writing me. I am eager to read your responses on this issue.

Sincerely,

Zega

Of course I will keep you updated on what he says. ALSO, I will be writing Snowbowl representatives to respond to Rudy's grandiose claims about shitting where I ski.

P.S. I don't expect Snowbowl to respond, "Who cares if there is feces in the snow? It turns to fertilizer in the spring....."

Grab your Ski's and Boards - SNOW IS ON THE MOUNTAINS!

2007-12-21T00:51:00.000-08:00

Ski and Snowboard season for Arizona has OFFICIALLY STARTED and I couldn't be happier!

I recently took a day trip (on Tuesday, Dec. 18th) to Flagstaff and boarded Snowbowl. They had a huge snow dump a week ago and conditions were still fairly nice! There was powder at the peaks and, although a little icy at the base, there wasn't one patch of grass to be seen. Snowbowl's Snow Report looks promising and their 10 day forecast is calling for a white Christmas so it's shaping up to be a nice ski season despite the fact that they aren't allowed to make artificial snow.

I usually board at Sunrise Ski Resort which is farther east than Snowbowl. That place is great because they usually have a higher average snowfall AND they make artificial snow (which provides a great base). Currently they are reporting "All Three Mountains Open" and operating at 100%. Check out their Ski Report and Live Webcam to see how nice it is there.

I have a little issue with Sunrise because it is run by the hypocritical White Mountain Apache tribe who is trying to block Snowbowl from making snow because the "white man" will be impacting their "holy grounds". But as you can read in this article, its a bullshit double standard:

The Hualapai tribe (one of the Plaintiffs against Snowbowl) has just completed a massive Grand Canyon Skywalk attached to the rim of the Grand Canyon, impacting one of their most religiously significant sites for a much-needed economic boost. Furthermore, the White Mountain Apache (another plaintiff) uses effluent not treated to A+ standards to make snow at their Sunrise ski area in Eastern Arizona.

It pisses me off, but a lot of the times Sunrise is the only place to go when it's not snowing at Snowbowl. I encourage all my readers to become a supporter of ReclaimThePeaks.com and petition the government to let Snowbowl make artificial snow. Just think how cool it would be to have our own little ski resort town right here in Arizona! Flagstaff is a great city to party in, especially with a University already established there.

Super Water Park Planned for Mesa, Arizona

2007-12-20T03:15:00.000-08:00

(AP Photo/Waveyard Development, LLC) :: This artist mock-up shows kayakers navigating the whitecaps of a wide, rumbling river as families look on from underneath picnic umbrellas at the Waveyard ocean theme park in Mesa, Ariz. when the project is complete in 2011. The Waveyard will drain as much as 100 million gallons of groundwater a year in exchange for a half-billion dollars worth of surf-sized waves, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking and more on 125 acres in suburban Mesa.

Official Site: Waveyard.com

By tapping rivers and sucking water from deep underground, developers have covered Arizona with carpets of Bermuda grass and dotted the parched landscape with swimming pools, golf courses and lakeshore homes.

Now another ambitious project is in the works: A massive new water park that would offer surf-sized waves, snorkeling, scuba diving and kayaking — all in a bone-dry region that gets just 8 inches of rain a year.

''It's about delivering a sport that's not typically available in an urban environment,'' said Richard Mladick, a Mesa real-estate developer who persuaded business leaders in suburban Mesa to support the proposal called the Waveyard.

Artists' drawings of the park show surfers gliding through waves that crash onto a sandy beach and kayakers navigating the whitecaps of a wide, roiling river. Families watch the action from beneath picnic umbrellas. If constructed, the park would use as much as 100 million gallons of groundwater a year.

Mladick, 39, said he wanted to create the kind of lush environment he remembers from growing up in Virginia Beach, Va., and surfing in Morocco, Indonesia, Hawaii and Brazil.

''I couldn't imagine raising my kids in an environment where they wouldn't have the opportunity to grow up being passionate about the same sports that I grew up being passionate about,'' he said.

The Waveyard, to be built 15 miles east of Phoenix, would dwarf the typical water-slide parks familiar to many Arizona families.

It will include an artificial whitewater river with multiple channels where kayakers can test themselves on Class 2 to Class 4 rapids. Visitors could enjoy an artificial beach and a simulated ocean capable of producing different size waves, from 12-foot barreling waves to tamer chop for boogie boarders.

The 125-acre park will feature a scuba lagoon, a snorkeling pond with reefs and a rock-climbing center.

The Waveyard is envisioned as the summer equivalent of a ski resort — only with more choices, Mladick said. ''We really struggle with the theme-park comparison. This is based on skilled sports.''

The park will also have restaurants, a shopping district, a spa, and a hotel and conference center.
Jerry Hug, a businessman who co-founded the project, said he expects it will eventually generate more than $1 billion in revenue and create 7,500 jobs. That is especially attractive in Mesa, a city of about 460,000 people that has struggled to keep up with the booming development of its neighbors.

''We don't have a property tax in our city,'' said Eric Jackson, chairman of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. ''It requires us to be very heavily dependent on revenues from sales taxes.''

Mesa voters overwhelmingly approved their proposal on Nov. 6, granting the Waveyard an estimated $35 million in tax incentives with more than 65 percent of the vote.

No citizens groups overtly opposed the project, but its water usage may raise questions in the future as the growing Phoenix areas struggles to replenish its vast aquifer. Arizona has been in a drought for a decade, and rivers that feed Phoenix and surrounding communities experienced near-record low measurements this year.

''Water is a scarce and valued commodity,'' said Jim Holway, associate director of the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University.

Holway said the Phoenix area currently enjoys huge supplies of underground water. But it's tough to determine exactly how long communities can sustain their rate of water consumption, given that global warming may make the desert even drier.

The Waveyard will need as much as 50 million gallons of water at first to fill its artificial oceans and rivers.

Replenishing water lost to evaporation and spillage will require another 60 to 100 million gallons per year, enough to support about 1,200 people in the Phoenix area.

Project organizers say they won't tap Mesa's drinking water supplies to fill the park. Instead, they plan to draw from a well that has elevated levels of arsenic, which makes its water unsuitable for drinking. The Waveyard will build a treatment plant to make the water safe for swimmers.

Rita Maguire, a former director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources who studied water availability for Waveyard developers, said the project will not use any more water than one of Arizona's many golf courses.

''Initially, the reaction is, 'Oh my. Is this an appropriate use of water in a desert?'''

''But recreation is a very important part of a community. And if you can make the use of that water in a highly efficient way, it's a smart choice,'' she said.

Holway agreed, saying communities could do a better job using water in public spaces ''that everybody can enjoy as opposed to having lush yards that we just lock behind fences.''

''From that point of view, maybe this is a good thing.''

Weekend Getaway: Wineries and Ghost Towns

2007-07-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

Another great road trip in Arizona...

We explore its most famous ghost town and indulge in some (surprisingly) fantastic local wine.

Jerome

We arrive in Jerome, AZ - a former billion dollar mining town (similar to Bisbee, AZ) which is now Arizona's most famous ghost town (current population of about 300). It has become a hippie enclave with amazing art galleries, including some of the most bizarre (albeit overpriced) blown glass galleries we've ever seen.

We stayed in a quaint B&B called The Ghost City Inn which has a thoroughly documented history of hauntings and ghost sitings. I thought it would be fun to stay in a real haunted house...but it was a little too real for Michelle as she didn't get a wink of sleep. I was trying to tell her there are no such things as ghosts, but I have to admit even I was getting a little freaked out at the strange sound of screen doors slamming at 2am in the morning!

Humming birds greeting us outside our room.

An incredible view.

Wineries

We left Jerome and headed to one of our favorite places in all of Arizona - Sedona! Before we arrived we decided to stop off in Page Springs to visit a couple of local wineries. I've heard that TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan had his own winery in the region and we wanted to visit.

Unfortunately, his wine is not truly local as of yet because his Arizona vines haven't been harvested (current grapes come from Cali) but they will be soon. Also, it's not technically Maynard's winery. He is using the resources of Page Springs Cellars to press and bottle his wine. Even so, it was funny to see fans of the hardcore rock band, looking like they just came from a concert, come into the winery with TOOL shirts and crazy facial hair daintily sipping wine and commenting on its tannins.

One thing I found dissapointing was Maynard's signature wine, Caduceus, was unavailable for tasting and costed upwards of $50 to buy.

The surprise dark horse of this wine tour was Oak Creek Vineyards which was right down the road. Not only do they grow their own grapes on site, they press and bottle everything right there as well. We had a wine tasting and grabbed 3 bottles of fantastic vino, including a unique Rosé that is not to be missed.

Sedona

We spent our last night in one of our favorite places in breathtaking Sedona. We've both been here many times but it continues to awe every time we come back.

The best part about it was we got a hustled GREAT deal (under $50) on a beautiful apartment all to ourselves with an unbeatable view for the night.

Here's the secret to the cheap room: Go to the downtown/main street area on N Highway 89a and walk up and down the east side of the street. Look for a sign on the sidewalk that advertises a super cheap room and let the person know your interested. The kicker is you have to listen to an hour sales pitch about purchasing a timeshare the next day BUT make sure, during the beginning of the conversation, you let the salesman know you don't vacation often and show no interest. He let us go in 20 minutes!!

20 minutes of our time for a kick ass room in Sedona? I will do it every time!

This is the view from our discounted room!

It's No Picnic to Paradise - Return to Havasupai Falls

2007-05-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Our backs hurt.

Our knees ached.

Our feet looked diseased with blisters.

It wasn't far into this arduous journey when we realized we had underestimated how backbreaking the hike to a paradise in the desert would be.

The only question we kept asking ourselves was, could we conquer Havasupai or would Havasupai conquer us?

Play the song while reading the story!

The Challenge: Greg and myself, two inexperienced hikers/campers in our own right, would lead my girlfriend (Michelle) and his wife (Kanda) on a formidable hike to the spectacular Havasupai Falls and beyond.

The Goal: Make it all the way to the Grand Canyon, which Michelle and I have never seen, and set up camp.

Zoom and click the map of our travels!

Just as my previous hike to Havasupai, we parked our car on the hilltop and prepared for our decent down the switchbacks and into the canyon. This was already one of the breathtaking moments of the trip - the hilltop provides a panoramic view of how vast and rugged these canyons really are. I even remember thinking, “how can the Grand Canyon be grander than this?” There wasn’t much time to drink it all in because it was already 10:30am and the Arizona sun was cooking (we were advised to leave no later than 7am). We loaded the ridiculous amount of gear we brought on our backs and started the 10 mile march to the village.

The switchbacks were busy on this Thursday morning. Its narrow trails were clogged with many horses carrying supplies and lazy travelers to and from the distant village. Travelers who actually hiked from the village were nearing the end of their journey at this point and they all looked like bone-weary geriatrics, bad hips and all, as they inched relentlessly uphill toward the finish line.

“For the love of God, how much farther is it to the top?” they would ask. It helps one’s morale when a person thinks they are closer than they really are. I’d tell them they were 25 minutes away even after we’d been walking downhill for 45 minutes. This white lie would prove useful in our own group as well.

Once we were off the switchbacks and in the ravine, the ground leveled off albeit a slight decline the entire way. One might think this decline would make the hike easier, however, 10 miles in this fashion wears on muscles your body rarely uses to stay balanced. Blisters are a major problem as your feet slide forward in your shoes, cramming your toes against the front in the most uncomfortable way. Greg’s wife, Kanda, wanted to ditch the three bottles of Merlot we were carrying to shed weight but, the harder and hotter the hike got, the more I looked forward to slugging a few drinks at camp next to the cool river…I made the executive decision to keep all three.

About a quarter of the way into the canyon, I realized my brand new handheld GPS was worthless. The high rock walls cut off too much sky to track 3 satellites - the minimum needed to triangulate a position. Before the hike, I made fun of Kanda for buying an old fashioned magnetic compass that she pinned to her shirt because it looked “cute”. It turned out her ancient technology cost 1/200^th of my GPS and worked flawlessly…oh, sweet irony! No matter, it’s practically impossible to wander off the trail while in a canyon. We pressed on.

Right about at the halfway mark (3 hours in and 5 miles deep), we took shelter from the sweltering sun and had lunch under a rock overhang. We packed about 20 military MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) and tore through three of them right on the spot. Michelle, however, refused to eat them. It was her loss because, even though the Chicken n’ Dumplings pouch smelled more like tuna, it was much better than the smell of fresh dog piss and horse crap baking right next to us. Apparently, we weren't the only species in need of shade on this morning.

As temperatures climbed into the 100s, it took a lot of effort to get us moving again. The girls were champions even though they started complaining and basically swore to “never to go camping with us again”. Their frustration became more vocal when they saw trains of horses walking toward the village with hikers’ backpacks strapped to them - a service provided by the tribe. Their mantra was “this hike would be so much easier without all this gear”. And I responded “but where is the adventure in that?” Keep moving.

To keep their morale up, Greg and I would tell them we were getting close...unfortunantly it was all lies. “Shhh, listen….I can hear the river close by!” More lies.

I had done this same hike with Greg two years prior but this go round was much harder than anticipated. The first time we carried one small backpack with a change of clothes and a water jug. This time I was lugging a behemothic tent on my back along with other ridiculous items such as machetes, flashlights, 50 AA batteries, binoculars, knives, and king size pillows. Greg had the MREs, water and his own miscellaneous items. The girls carried clothes, wine, first aid kits, toiletries, camel packs (for water), and we all had our own sleeping bags. We took turns load balancing as needed (which meant the guys carrying the girls stuff) and, by the end, we even considered ditching essentials like the sleeping bags to shed weight (but not the wine).

After 5.5 hours of walking, we finally did reach the river and, eventually, the village. We weren’t out of the woods yet because it took about another 30 minutes of walking through the village before we reached the café were we could rest our bones and get something to eat.

The village looked the same as it had two years ago. The wood frame houses were simple and properties were fenced with pieces of wood they found laying around with barbed wire strung between them. Most had horses, some malnourished, who were picking at any last stray grass they could find. One thing I noticed different was some gang graffiti on a sign close to an “Annual Peach Festival” billboard….did gang members make the hike to Havasupai as well?

We finally made it to the café and ordered every food and drink we’ve been craving for the past 6 hours (cheeseburgers, lemonades, dr. peppers, etc.) including the best corndog I’ve ever put in my mouth.

There were natives in the café with us all minding their own business. Most of them were younger than us and I noticed they were dressed in all black. I didn’t think much of it until I went to the bathroom and saw more gang graffiti there. I couldn’t read what it said since it was written in their native language (a dialect only spoken in this village) but the aggressive writing was unmistakable and there was a symbol of an Indian war feather drawn for emphasis. So now the Havasupai youth were turning gang related? I walked back to our table and realized the group in all black had been replaying Snoop Dog’s “What my Mother F---ing Name” song over and over on their boom box.

As much as we wanted to relax in the air conditioned café, we still had another 3 miles to get to camp. Now we looked like the geriatrics, moaning for our blisters and sore muscles when we stood up to saddle our heavy packs back on.

We walked beyond the village and parallel with the river again. The water looked so inviting, it was clear enough to see the bottom and an unusual shade of turquoise that stood out against the craggy red rock and deep green overgrown brush around it. We could hear the distant sound of Navajo Falls (the first official waterfall) tempting us to jump in but we came for the gusto and we weren’t going to stop until we reached Havasupai Falls.

Since I’ve seen the waterfall before, I didn’t think I would be impressed by the site of it again. I forgot the scale of it, the majesty of it….there’s a reason Havasupai Falls is the most photographed waterfall in the world and I was reminded as soon as I laid eyes on it. It was the moment we’d been hiking for, the reason why we had been killing ourselves all day, and we wasted no time stripping to our bathing suits and jumping in.

The water was arctic but so refreshing after such a sweltering hike. All of the energy we lost over the day was instantly rejuvenated as soon as we got in - we fed off the raw power of the huge water fall smashing down in front of us. I was trying to swim as close to it as possible for a picture, but the rush slung me around like a sock in a washing machine. It made me feel so small and mortal, like nature could take me out any moment it felt like.

By crawling along the rock cliff from the side, it is possible to fight the current and get to a small pocket in the rock behind the waterfall. We all managed to climb into the pocket and experienced what it felt like to be completely exposed in a hurricane. The water was so loud it was hard to hear….so powerful it was hard to breathe….but so exhilarating we couldn’t stop screaming how f---ing awesome it was. When we couldn’t take it anymore, we dove directly into the downpour, helpless as it washed us back out to the middle of the pool.

We knew we couldn’t stay here forever because we still had yet to make it to camp. The walk was short and, once we found a spot right on the river, Greg and I had the tent set up in no time. There is no alcohol allowed on the reservation so Michelle and I waited until it was dark to twist off a bottle of Fish Eye merlot (that’s right, I said “twist off”). Before long we were fading into the black of a moonless night.

Back in the tent, Greg was already sawing logs in a deep slumber. His snoring was ridiculous enough to label it a medical condition. It was only funny because we were delirious from the hike and the wine, plus we brought wax ear plugs to turn him off. We slept like old dogs that night on our thin sleeping bags, not worrying about the rocks underneath until the next morning.

Click to hear Greg snoring

At the start of our second day, our camp was up by sunrise and the girls found the energy to walk back to village for some decent bathrooms. Greg joined me back at Havasupai Falls so I could take some pictures of it’s majesty at first light. Several campers had beaten us there; they were already relaxing and meditating around this splendor of nature.

We met an interesting character there on this morning, a native Havasupai youth with a beaming smile – and beaming red eyes to boot. I could tell right away this kid was high as a bird but he approached us as cool and relaxed as could be. He was mumbling something about wanting a smoke so I accommodated him with a couple of cigarettes that he took without even looking. Greg came over to see what we were talking about and the teenager, dressed in all black, again mumbled something about wanting “smoke”. Greg pulled out his own pack, figuring the guy wanted a cigarette or two, and the teen casually lifted the whole pack out of Greg’s hands.

“Do you guys want some smoke?” he finally blurted out. He was trying to sell us weed, meanwhile he was taking our cigarettes like we were passing out Halloween candy. We told him we didn’t want any smoke but asked him a few questions about what we could expect when we hiked further down the canyon.

“Do you know how to find the underwater caves at Beaver Falls (the third and final waterfall before the G.C.)?”
“Oh yeah bro,” he replied with enthusiasm, “first you need to roll a fattie, smoke it up, then hold your breath for like 8 minutes while you swim for it…”

According to this guy, nothing we asked could be accomplished unless you smoked a fat one first. He was actually pretty funny and surprisingly friendly, even while pushing to close a deal with every sentence. Most natives could care less about meeting outsiders. In fact, he was the first Havasupai native I’d conversed with - ever. We finally wished him well and started walking to camp. We didn’t get far before he shouted back at us, over the roar of the waterfall for all to hear, “If you know anyone who wants some smoke, make sure you tell them I’m chillin here in my backyard!”

When the girls arrived back at camp, Kanda was excited that there was a room available at the lodge in the village. It was becoming apparent that we underestimated the difficulty of this trip and we weren’t going to make it to the Grand Canyon but I wasn’t happy about sleeping at the lodge. Not only did it lessen the “ruggedness” of the journey but, quite frankly, it was an admission of defeat. However, I understood we had tortured the girls thus far and it wasn’t over yet. So we struck a deal with them - if they hiked to Beaver Falls with us (which was a bout 5-6 miles downriver from camp) then we would pack up our tent and sleep at the lodge by nightfall. They balked, but Michelle had the great idea to let the river take us downstream instead of walking…and everyone jumped in.

The “rambling river” at the MGM Grand pool in Las Vegas had nothing on us (except for more drunk people). We half walked, half floated down the emerald blue river and over small cascades until we arbitrarily decided to get out and walk the rest of the way. We didn’t realize how far we had floated down the river….we were only about 50 yards from the cliff’s edge where the river dropped 210ft as Mooney Falls!

Next came the most mentally challenging part of the hike: a 150ft decent down the side of the rock face holding on to nothing more than a chain for support. It’s a mental challenge because you’re looking down the whole time, trying to place your feet in stable nooks while not thinking about the sheer drop that is merely one misguided step away. There is no safety harness, no rangers to call for help….its just you vs. your fear and there is no way to move on unless you face it.

It’s interesting to know that Mooney falls was named after a miner that died scaling this very cliff. You can read a blurb about his story here.

Greg and I had done this before, so we knew what to expect. We tried to mentally prepare Kanda and Michelle the best we could, but it didn’t help that we had just passed a couple who got scared and turned back. The girls - like the champions that they were the entire trip - overcame and eventually made it to the bottom. I later learned both were almost in tears and Michelle admitted it was the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life (which was awesome because the day before she said the same thing about the endurance hike into the village!).

At over 200 ft., Mooney Falls is higher than Niagra Falls and a splendor in its own right. There were others relaxing and enjoying the waters while we were rope swinging and cliff diving next to the downpour.

But we still had a mission to accomplish. We still had to make it to Beaver Falls (still 3-4 miles away) and back in time to get to the lodge. We started trekking again but now in unfamiliar territory - Greg and I never made it past Mooney last time. The trail was becoming more remote and rugged as we pushed through thickening wilderness towards our goal. At some point, the trail disappeared altogether and we had to turn back several times to find less resistant brush, even crossing the river when forced to. We were like rats in a hedge maze. We brought two machetes into this canyon and they were both back at camp when we needed them the most.

Greg was absolutely determined to get to the underwater caves of Beaver Falls and he led the charge. The girls were a step behind us but I could tell we were losing them little by little. Kanda had a major limp, Michelle’s knees were hurting and, quite frankly, I wasn’t in much better shape. I made my second executive decision and told Greg it would be best for everyone that we turned back. We tortured the girls enough and they did everything we asked them to do. Greg was not happy with that decision, gave me the most angry, I-can’t-believe-you look and simply said “F--- You.” I wish I could have taken a picture of his face, it was classic. Here’s a pretty good representation.

When we realized how far we had to hike back to the village, I think we all knew we made the right decision. Kanda hobbled on ahead to secure the lodge while the three of us packed up camp and lugged all the gear. Right before we left camp, we ran into my buddy Dominic who had been searching for us after making the hike earlier in the afternoon. Dom is a seasoned hiker and can do 10 miles in his sleep.

“DOM! Good to see you! How was the hike in?”

“This has been the worst day of my life."

And we were about to have the worst of ours too. The 3 mile hike back to the village was hell – a relentless uphill battle while we carried all the gear (including two bottles of wine) between the remaining three of us. Oh, and did I mention we didn’t have any water left? It was, without question, the hardest 3 miles I’ve ever done in my life.

The lodge was comfy; we slept on soft beds that night and everyone looked forward to the helicopter ride out the next morning. My mind didn’t want to leave but my body assured me it was time to go.

The luxury of the helicopter ride was as sobering as it was beautiful. I was lost in thought, hypnotized by the canyon trail as it snaked along below us – the same one we endured just two days prior. I was disappointed that we didn’t reach our goal to the Grand Canyon, but I also realized it was our inexperience in planning these types of trips that made it impossible.

Live and learn. I learned plenty about what it is going to take to reach the Grand Canyon and I am already planning another expedition to get there. I treated this one as a fun little adventure and Havasupai kicked our asses. Next time I'm slapping on the war paint and approaching it as a marathon. The only question I have left is, who's comming with me?

Here’s what I would do different to reach the Grand Canyon:

Pack light – that means MREs, a hammock (to stay off the hard ground), change of clothes, camera, flashlight and iodine water tablets to drink straight from the river (water is heavy!). Oh, and no wine (bring a flask of whiskey instead). Another thing to remember: you must carry all your gear down the Mooney Falls cliff and through the river.

Start hiking early – we started the hike to the village at 10:30 in the morning (Dominic started at 12:30). Big mistake. You may think your tough but the Arizona sun feels like a fire-breathing dragon over your shoulder. Start hiking when the sun is barely up which will help conserve your energy for the rest of the trip.

Train for it– this hike is not for the meek. You must really love being outdoors and enjoy pushing your body to reach a goal.

APPENDIX:

Some observations regarding how the Havasupai Indian Tribe has changed over the past two years...

Two years ago, Greg and I first came to the Supai village not really knowing what to expect. We appreciated the village’s simplicity even though we were slightly taken back by some of the trash littered on individual’s properties. I wouldn’t say the people were friendly but definitely not rude – most just minded their own business and let us mind ours. My biggest surprise was how morbidly obese almost all of the natives were. They were supposed to be a proud Indian people but didn’t take care of their land or themselves as I expected. That being said, I want to note that neither one of us felt unsafe at any time during that stay.

About a week before we left for Havasupai this time, I read a recent article called “Trouble in Paradise” where the author described the Havasupai youth of today as “immersed in a hip-hop culture that is fueled by methamphetamine and punctuated by violence.” I knew the article grossly exaggerated their state of affairs; there was no way things could have gotten as bad as the author described in just two years. However, it did make me aware that a female camper, a Japanese tourists, was viciously murdered a year ago by one of the natives.

I was a little concerned about the girls who were coming with us. I decided that, based on the heavy influx of outsiders that still visit Havasupai without incident, I wouldn’t mention the article and make them paranoid…but I had it in the back of my head the whole time. Now that being said, I want it clear that none of us felt unsafe at any time during this trip, either. The girls even hiked back to the village while we stayed at camp and reported everyone was very nice to them.

But I did notice some significant deterioration in the Havasupai culture in the two years since my last visit. Even as we took our first steps into the village, I noticed it had become more “ghetto-ized” – from the gang graffiti, to the kids dressed head-to-toe in black, to the constant hip-hop playing on someone’s boom-box in the village café.

I am trying not to judge, I used to love – LOVE hip-hop music up to a few years ago, but now hip-hop is dead. All that remains from it are the glorified negative stereotypes like violence and drugs, both which are easy to latch on to when you live in poverty and relative isolation like these natives. I’m not saying they are all violent and on drugs, however, I am saying I can see the youth of their culture heading down that narrow canyon trail.

But I think their biggest threat is that they’ve failed to preserve their own identity. There seems to be no pride in their tribe, no sense of worth to share their culture. They have survived in this village for 800 years but there isn’t a single noticeable remnant of their history. There is really no education about their customs or their rituals. I’ve heard there was a “museum” near the village entrance but I’ve never noticed it. In fact, the only cultural center I’ve seen is in the café where you can eat a piece of frybread and stare at an Indian landscape painted on a wall panel. Lame.

Michelle said it best with her observation: some of the poorest towns she’s ever traveled to in this world still had a little magic. Unfortunately, the magic of Havasupai doesn’t start until you pass through the village and approach the falls.

I admired the Indian drug dealer I met by Havasupai Falls. Not for his profession, of course, but for his initiative to get out and hustle. He was a natural salesman who would probably make serious money at a legitimate job if given the chance.

I think the morale of the village could benefit from his attitude. With the amount of tourists passing through, it would be easy for the natives to “hustle” a little bit for themselves, which would help the poverty-stricken, depressed feeling that permeates the village. I would have paid to take part in a native Havasupai ritual of some sort, the girls would have paid for a short horseback ride from the village to the falls, and all of us would have paid for a foot massage service. But none of these were available because no one had taken the initiative to set them up. Instead, the minds of their youth stay bored (it is very apparent there isn’t much of anything to do to stay busy), which only festers their lack of self worth, bolsters their amphetamine problem and increases their tendency to become violent. There is an old cliché, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”. Their idle minds could be a catalyst to their worsening social problems.

As I write these observations and judgments about the Havasupai people, I think it is very important that you read what they have to say in response to critics of their cultural direction. Here is the direct response to the “Trouble in Paradise” article from the Havasupai Indian Tribal Leaders. Their answer is compelling and it forces me to accept that our outside influences contribute to their problems as well.

The tribal leaders wrote, “When American television shows hour after hour of violence, it appears on our screens, too. Influences like this do not fit our culture and hurt our young people.”

The natives didn’t even have real television before DirecTV, which was only implemented on their rooftops in the last several years, but suddenly the youth has adopted a “ghetto-ized” hip-hop culture in the last two years. If I've learned anything from this experience, I can end the debate in my mind of whether or not media can truly influence a society, since I see the remote Havasupai as a controlled environment for this “experiment”. Media is not a reflection of society, as some may say, the current culture of the Havasupai youth is a direct result of what outside influences have pumped into them.

The moral of all of this? The Havasupai have their own problems to deal with. But maybe we, as an American society, need to take a look at how our culture influences each other and the rest of the world. Then maybe we need to be a little more realistic on how many problems of ours are self-bred by leaving dangerous influences unchecked and labeling them as “entertainment”.

Oh, that's right....there's no money in that.

Road Trip to Wonderland

2007-04-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

It was another sunny weekend in Arizona and our adventurous spirits were eager to get away. We packed whatever clothes we could find and decided to head south and explore this wonderful state. A wrinkled map and our sense of direction were our only allies. Little did we know what we were about to find...

Two cups of coffee and about 100 miles later, my boyfriend and I finally made it to our first stop: Tucson, AZ. Even though the drive from Phoenix to Tucson is an easy drive (about one and a half hours), we were feeling a little hungry and taking a break before the big adventure was probably a good idea. The spirits were up, the crowds were cheering and the city was painted with blue and red colors. It turned out, the homecoming game was going on that day. We drove around the town for a while and decided to continue the trip.

After another hour of driving and not really finding anything, we started to feel a little bit worried. It was getting late and the fact that we had no plans, no reservations nor the slightest idea of where we were going was starting to stress us out (deep inside I was feeling guilty because after all, it was my idea not to make hotel reservations or any other plans for that matter). Suddenly, we saw a sign indicating that we were approaching the city of Tombstone. An air of relief and excitement invaded us and we could not wait to see what the town had to offer.

We finally arrived and didn't really know what to expect. The first thing we saw was a place where they were doing a re-enactment of the Gunfight at the OK Corral, which happened in Tombstone back in 1881. (visit this website to learn more about the gunfight www.clantongang.com/oldwest/gunfight.html). As we continued exploring the town, which by the way is amazing and perfectly preserved, we decided to go to one of the local Saloons to get a real wild western beer. While we gulped down our beers we started to notice that everybody was dressed up in typical western outfits. It turned out, the annual festival called Helldorado Days was going on that weekend.

During this festival, the town receives hundreds of visitors from all around the country who dress the part and enjoy the daily activities that the town has to offer. Raffles, parades, mustache contests and street entertainment are just a few examples of what Helldorado is all about.

We walked around for a while trying to assimilate what we had just discovered. We could not stop smiling even though we felt a little embarrassment because apparently we were the only ones who didn't know Helldorado was going on that weekend. It's the first time in my life that I wished I hadn't left home without my cowboy boots and hat.

He definitely remembered to bring the cowboy accessories!

It's was time to start looking for a hotel, unfortunately Tombstone's hotels were completely booked and we had to consider other alternatives, (I really recommend that you make reservations and plan accordingly if you want to come enjoy Helldorado). A few options came up, including spending the night in the car, but let's face it, we're not THAT adventurous. Somebody mentioned there was a small, "hippie" town named Bisbee which was about 25 miles south. My boyfriend's face illuminated and I knew that was our next destination.

Bisbee: The secret gem of Arizona

A windy road led us to discover one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. As the scenery started to change and the mountains got covered with pine trees instead of cacti, we were amazed to see what the town looked like from far away. We took a look and knew we did not want to leave.

The city of Bisbee is very well-known for its artistic community which attracts people from all over the world. It has also been said that it has "the most perfect year round climate" and this makes it the ideal tourism spot. Bisbee was a mining town and their main extraction was copper. We were lucky to run into one of its old copper mines when entering the city and it was pretty spectacular (click here to learn more about Bisbee www.cityofbisbee.com/bisb_history.html)

This was the copper mine

We drove around the town for a while trying to get acquainted with our new discovery while our hearts were beating with excitement. The streets were narrow and windy and had a European touch. We were so excited to have found this place that we completely forgot we didn't have a place to spend the night. We walked down the steep roads trying to absorb everything our eyes were seeing. As we admired the art that surrounded us and smelled the delicious scents coming out of every restaurant, we remembered it was time to find a room. We must have asked in more than 10 hotels but none had any vacancy for that night. We were very disappointed to hear that the Helldorado crowd had found our secret gem. Apparently, this town was booked too.

As we walked back to our car with disenchantment and a little bit of worry, I couldn't help to notice a lit up sign from the distance. I squinted to get a better look and realized that luck was on our side that night because it was a vacancy sign! I eagerly showed my boyfriend and we ran as fast as we could. This was our room and we weren't going to let anyone take it.

We found the most amazing little bed and breakfast and luckily, they had one last room waiting for us! The little hotel was full of secrets and surprises everywhere just waiting to be discovered. Narrow halls, mysterious stairways and even a secret garden were all part of this bed and breakfast. It was like being in a fairy tale, we even started saying that we found our Wonderland!

That night we went out for dinner and then we just walked around the town appreciating everything it had to offer. We heard a band playing in the distance and decided to follow the music. We ended up finding a great little bar where we toasted to Pumpkin Spice Beer (locally brewed). It was a long, interesting night but unfortunately it was bedtime for us back in Wonderland.

The next morning we had charged our batteries and we were ready to continue the adventure. We started with a delicious breakfast made to order and had some nice coffee while enjoying the view of the town.

We explored the hotel one last time and we even met the dog whose name, by the way, was Alice (it was Alice in Wonderland!). We also visited the secret garden and said good bye to our room, the Crying Shame room (nothing personal, every room had a name).

That's me, discovering the secret garden and yes, I am smelling it too!

Little Alice in Wonderland, isn't she cute?

More of the Secret Garden

We packed our bags and got ready to hit the road again. It was time to go home but first we had to make a few stops on the way. Our first stop, wine tasting!

Quenching our thirst in the Desert

We asked around and found out that not too far away, there was a city called Sonoita that produced some of the best wines of Arizona. Despite the distance (about 55 miles west), and being out of our way, we decided to go check it out. We drove about 1 and a half hrs. out of our way home, but the scenery was absolutely worth it. The vineyards were beautiful even though the season was ending. We went to a local winery named Rancho Rossa and tantalized our senses with various types of chardonnay and merlot for a very affordable price. We even brought a bottle home to remind us of this adventure later.

I must admit we were very surprised to discover that our wonderful state produced wine too. The quality was fantastic and although Arizona is not a big producer, it's definitely worth trying its wine if you ever get a chance.

Our journey was coming to an end and it was time to start heading home. However, before, we had to make our last stop. This time, this was on the way. We went to visit the Kartchner Caverns. There are several caves to choose from and the tour is very educational. I highly recommend visiting these caves if you happen to be in the area and if you're in the mood for stalactites and stalagmites, maybe after the visit you'll be able to tell which one is which. www.azstateparks.gov

It was time to drive back to Phoenix. We could not believe how much we had seen and discovered in such little time, after all, we did this road trip on a weekend. So if you're ever feeling bored and want to try something different next weekend, head south and enjoy what Arizona has to offer. We had an amazing time and returned home full of unforgettable memories. We're already planning our new road trip so, until next time...

A Road Trip Through Mars, A Hike to Paradise.

2007-03-05T23:18:00.000-08:00

My buddy Greg came to visit me in Arizona and we thought it would be a good idea to go and see what this great state has to offer. With about 5 minutes of planning (which consisted of Mapquest-ing our two destinations), we packed whatever supplies we could think of and hit the road.

2 Friends, 3 Days, 400 Miles.

First Destination: Sedona

Sedona is situated in a unique geological area that is mesmerizing to say the least. This picturesque city is surrounded by majestic red-rock monoliths named after the massive shapes they resemble. We only scratched the surface by hiking two of them: Cathedral Rock and Bell Rock.

The hikers we met along the way were so unbelievably cool, everyone was eager to talk and share information like they haven't had human contact in days. Some were normal while others were more spiritual (a.k.a. tree hugging hippies). We met two girls on one side of Bell Rock that claimed to be sitting in a Vortex: a channel of energy that was supposedly generated by the large amount of iron in the mountains. She swore she could see and feel the "spirit of Mother Earth" around her but I figured she took something really good and it just kicked in.

Greg thought it would be a good idea to ask a Navajo Indian woman selling jewelry on the trail where the nightlife in Sedona was. She didn't like the question and gave him a cold blank stare like he had just asked her, "Hey red face, where's the firewater?" It turned out Sedona didn't have much to offer after the sun went down so we found a restaurant that served us up some deep fried rattlesnake and called it a night.

As grand as Sedona was, I read about another certain place which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful natural wonders in the country, a literal paradise in the desert. Unlike Sedona, this wasn't a place we could drive to, ol' Thelma [My '97 Nissan Altima] was going to take us as far she could go until we had to get out and hoof it. We were determined to reach this mystical place, however, neither of us had any idea how arduous our journey would be.

Second Destination: Havasupai Falls

The Havasupai Indian Tribe consists of 650 people and have lived in their remote village for over 700 years. They are very traditional in some senses: farming is still a dominant way of life, they prefer to speak in their own language, and you can't take their picture because they're afraid it will "steal their soul". Some of the luckier tribesmen, however, do enjoy modern amenities like television (Direct TV is the only signal that can reach out there) and get to tote around their dirt roads on golf carts. There wasn't any public access to phones (don't even bother bringing your cellular) and any major supplies had to be flown in by helicopter. Overall, their standard of living was very poor and simple, we could have been in a remote jungle village in Vietnam and it wouldn't have looked much different (minus Charlie everywhere). One thing that was glaringly apparent was that all of these Indians were morbidly obese! Either they were eating the travelers or the entire village had a major genetic glandular problem. I swear I saw one of their skinny, malnourished horses beg for mercy as it was being saddled.

Havasupai translates to People-Of-The-Blue-Green-Waters and that's what we were looking to find. After the 10 mile hike through the ravine to the village, there is another 3 mile hike to get to the first waterfall. We met a hiker in Sedona who swore it would be worth it to make the trek to a subsequent fall which was another 2 miles downstream. This hiker didn't give us very good information, he told us we could barter cigarettes and reefer with the Indians for an authentic Havasupai meal. Since we didn't have the latter, we bought some American Spirit cigarettes on the drive out to see if we could make a "good trade". It turned out we couldn't give those damn cigarettes away. We just hoped he was right about making the extra hike.

See that ravine waaay in the distance? That is where the 10 mile hike starts.

The Havasupai live so remote, they get their mail by mule.

This is the initial decent of the hike into the ravine. The mail mules on the trail can give you an idea of how long it is to the bottom.

About 7 miles into the ravine....we could hear the rush of the river close by.

We finally arrive at the Havasupai village.

After trekking through the village, we reached this cave opening.

Does this look like a good idea to you?

This was by far the most dangerous part. After descending through the caves we had to repel down the face of a 150 foot cliff holding onto nothing but a chain. Safety harness? Nice try. To make things harder, mist from the nearby waterfall was spraying the rock face and we both lost our footing a couple of times. Greg was above me so if he slipped, I would have been taken out as well. Even if we survived the fall, there was was absolutely no way to get any kind of help for miles.

I've jumped out of an airplane without thinking twice and I won't lie...this was crazy. We contemplated turning back several times but, dammit, we didn't come this far to back down here. Was the reward be worth it? You bet your sweet ass it was....

We stayed for several hours and relaxed in the pools and around the waterfalls. We had an underwater camera that was full of pictures with us and a couple we met from Michigan but the film didn't come out due to heat exposure. Oh well, the best ones survived.

This really was an extraordinary place. The water was an unusual blue-green due to the high concentration of lime deposits which contrasted against the backdrop of craggy red cliffs. The power of the waterfall was extraordinary, we got as close as we could but but it tossed us around like a rowboat in a hurricane. We learned that this was the beginning of a finger into the Colorado River which also carved right into the Grand Canyon. If we had the energy, we could have hiked another 8 miles to the rim but we had already walked 30 miles in 3 days over treacherous terrain and our dogs couldn't take it anymore. We were dreading the impossibly long hike back out but then we learned there was another way.....

Angel of Mercy! It took us nearly 5 hours to hike but only took us 5 minutes to return.

Unfortunately, now it was back to reality for us....