Posts Tagged ‘Arizona’

December5

Images: South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Winter

By: JoAnna

The Grand Canyon.

It is arguably Arizona’s most famous claim to fame and absolutely one of the most popular destinations in the United States. Millions of people visit the Grand Canyon every year, but most visit in the summer, when crowds are crammed at the overlooks and trails are anything but peaceful.

Visiting the Grand Canyon in the winter offers a new perspective of this famous natural wonder. There are still lots of people but far fewer than in the summer, and the pace of life is much more laid back. A few of the roads aren’t plowed, and if you venture up these hard-to-navigate trails on your own, you essentially have the entire place to yourself.

Winter at the Grand Canyon still requires advance planning: Book a room at the lodge or a cabin in advance, and be prepared for snowy conditions. Warm clothes, an ice scraper for your car and winter provisions are all necessary. But it’s so worth it. If you don’t believe me, let the pictures speak for themselves:

Images: South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Winter

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June15

Visiting the Musical Instrument Museum | Phoenix, Arizona

By: JoAnna

Visiting the Musical Instrument Museum | Phoenix, ArizonaOn our latest visit to Arizona, I found myself exceedingly disappointed by the famous Taliesin West so when we decided to hit up the Musical Instrument Museum, I kept my expectations in check and was rewarded with one of the best museum visits I’ve ever had.

The museum is very new; it’s only a couple years old. It’s housed in a beautiful building that’s worthy of noting with lots of natural lighting and open space. There is a theater on site, where a variety of performances and events are held, and workshops, lectures and educational programming is a regular part of the museum’s mission. This creative space that supports the local arts is noteworthy in and of itself, but once you venture into the museum’s exhibits, you’re definitely in for a treat.

When you pay your entrance fee into the museum, you’re given a wireless headset, which allows you to pick and choose the highlights of the museum that you’d like to learn about. Because this museum is so focused on music, having a million different sounds come from a million different places would be nothing short of chaos, so these headsets allow everyone to create the experience they’d like to have.

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February7

South Rim vs North Rim | Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

By: JoAnna

When most people think of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, they instantly conjure up images of the South Rim. This isn’t uncommon. In fact, many people don’t realize that there are actually two parts to Grand Canyon National Park. Though they’re separated by about twenty miles as the bird flies, getting between the two sides requires a five-hour road trip or 2 – 3 day hike across the bottom of the canyon (which also requires a permit).

Visiting the Grand Canyon isn’t like visiting other national parks. In fact, the two rims are so drastically different that they should possibly be considered two separate parks. They have different elevations, vegetation, atmospheres and activities. Which rim is best for you? Consider the following:

South Rim vs North Rim | Grand Canyon National Park, ArizonaSouth Rim

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon receives 90% of the park’s visitors for two main reasons:

1. It’s more accessible from several of Arizona’s largest cities and Las Vegas than the North Rim, which makes it easier to enjoy as a day trip.

2. It’s easier to catch the famous Grand Canyon views. A rim trail with several viewpoints easily accessible from the road makes it simple to enjoy the view without a whole lot of work.

I visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon over Christmas. It was snowy, cold, stunningly beautiful and surprisingly crowded. We reserved a cabin several months in advance and enjoyed the picturesque views from along the trail on the rim, which was especially lovely in the snow. Despite the cold and icy conditions, there were still several tour buses running through the park. Hermit Road was closed to traffic, but the rim trail wasn’t, so hiking along that trail parallel to the road led to almost completed isolated conditions.

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February2

Exploring Taliesin West | Scottsdale, Arizona

By: JoAnna

Exploring Taliesin West | Scottsdale, ArizonaOn an East Coast road trip when I was a kid, my family stopped at Fallingwater in Pennsylvania. Fallingwater is a home built into the natural setting of rocks and waterfalls designed by the esteemed architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and even though I was fairly young when we stopped at the site, I remember being impressed by it, so on our recent trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, we made plans to visit Taliesin West.

Taliesin West was designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1937 as his personal winter home and studio. Today it serves as one of two architectural schools in the United States (the other is in Spring Green, Wisconsin) and is also one of the apparent highlights on a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona.

I admit I was a bit skeptical before we even left for the tour at Taliesin West, mainly because of the ticket prices. There are six tours available at Taliesin West. The least expensive one is a one-hour panorama that offers a brief overview of the property for $24.00 per adult. At that price, we decided we might as well take the two-hour night lights tour, which ran a steep $35.00 per person, but nearly all of the reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp lauded the tour and said the ticket price was well worth it.

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January19

Hiking Pinnacle Peak | Scottsdale, Arizona

By: JoAnna

Hiking Pinnacle Peak | Scottsdale, ArizonaMuch of the desert Southwest is fairly flat with large swaths of dry vegetation consisting of tumbleweeds and cacti. In Scottsdale, Arizona, these expanses of flat landscape give way to several small mountain ranges. Given that there is a highly active population living in Scottsdale, it’s no surprise that hiking is a popular pastime.

On the outskirts of Scottsdale is a well-trod trail that skirts Pinnacle Peak, an aptly named, steep mountain that serves as a destination for both rock climbers and hikers. From the trailhead, the path winds up the side of the mountain via switchbacks, crosses over a saddle, skirts along a second mountain and ends suddenly at the border of the park. Along the trail are expansive views  of the houses, golf courses and desert vegetation spread throughout the Scottsdale area.

Feeling a bit antsy about sitting around after a day of traveling to Scottsdale, we decided to hike Pinnacle Peak for the fresh air and ability to stretch our legs a bit. We weren’t the only ones. The park is very popular, and there were oodles of people who clearly had the same plan we did. Families with little kids, couples and trail runners shared the path with us (though the trail runners were a bit difficult to navigate around at times), and even though it was a bit steep or challenging in places, everyone was able to walk at their own speed. Pull-outs along the trail aided in passing other hikers as needed.

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January5

Riding the Trolley in Sedona, Arizona

By: JoAnna

Riding the Trolley in Sedona, ArizonaThere’s no shortage of places to travel in Arizona, and if there is one thing Sedona, Arizona, isn’t lacking, it’s tour companies. You can explore the red rocks, vortexes and sites of interest from a variety of vehicles ranging from hummers to jeeps. I took in the sights via the Sedona Trolley, which is considered one of the premier tour companies in the city.

The company offers two different touring options, both of which I had the opportunity to do thanks to the Sedona Chamber of Commerce:

Tour A

The 55-minute Sedona Highlights Tour winds through Sedona from the popular uptown area past the gallery district and ends at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a picturesque church that sits high on the hillside, tucked into the red rocks that surround it. Along the way, the tour guide provides facts, figures and insights into the history, economy and culture of Sedona. The trolley stops at the church for 15 – 20 minutes and visitors can snap photos from the outside or enjoy the intimate atmosphere of the chapel from the inside (even with all the people taking photos, it’s still impressively serene). From there, the trolley makes its way back to the Uptown Trolley Depot, where the tour comes to an end.

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