Five for Friday: Escape the heat

The fiance and I will be spending as much time together as possible this weekend since he's headed to Kentucky and Tennessee for business next week. We're catching a Diamondbacks game tonight and have talked about taking a little day trip somewhere up north Saturday. Even though it's blazing here in Phoenix, the weather in the high country is perfect right now.

One of the things I love about residing in Arizona is that when it hits triple digits in the city, a cooler (and beautiful) reprieve awaits two hours north. If you ever visit the AZ, be sure to check out any (and all) of these places. Wherever you end up this weekend, may it be full of fun times.

1. Sedona/Oak Creek

2. Grand Canyon

3. Fossil Creek

4. Flagstaff

5. Prescott

See more of my Arizona adventures here and the Five for Friday archives here.

Exploring Arizona: Prescott

The fiance and I headed north to Prescott for Memorial Day weekend. We had wanted to check it out for quite some time, and it was really pretty. It's crazy because four miles separate the wilderness and the city, which has Targets, Home Depots and a charming downtown. 

We camped out at Watson Lake for a night, but had to cut our trip short because of the outta control wind. I was pretty sure the tent was going to come unstaked and fly away in the middle of the night courtesy of the 30-40 mile-an-hour gusts. 

After braving the psycho weather and having to cancel our plans to kayak and hike around the lake (booooooo), we drove into downtown and had lunch at Prescott Brewing Company. If you get a chance, stop by for their yummy chocolate-infused porter Achocolypse. It was like drinking a candy bar.

The next stop was a short walk to Whiskey Row, which we were told was a must-see ... A must-see if you like white-trashy bikers and cowboys. Needless to say, I wasn't all that impressed.

We are planning a return-trip to go hiking and kayaking around Watson sometime this summer. Let's hope the weather cooperates next time.

Check out more of my Arizona adventures here.

Exploring Arizona: Going local

Supporting local businesses and events is important to the fiance and I. And there's no shortage of either in Phoenix.

It seems like the past few weekends have been full of local fare and festivities. Some of the highlights have included celebrating Arizona Beer Week at Sun Up Brewing Company (our most fave local establishment), buying fresh salsa, organic flax crackers and other yumminess from the Phoenix Public Market, people watching at the m7 Street Fair and supporting our Cougs at their road games in Tempe and Tucson. 

More go-to area spots include Stinkweeds Records, Papago Brewing Company, Short Leash Hot Dogs, the Rhythm Room, La Tolteca, the Parlor and the Wild Thaiger.

Even though we've lived here for a year now, there are still so many places to check out, and the Phoenix Art Museum, Pizzeria Bianco, Schnepf Farms, Revolver Records, La Grande Orange and the Arizona Science Center top the list.

Next time you're trying to pick a restaurant, bar or event, skip the chains. You may just find out a little more about your city.

See more of my Arizona adventures here.

Exploring Arizona: North Mountain Preserve

One of the cool things about living in Phoenix is that the city is located in the middle of a bunch of mountains. The fiance and I took advantage of the 70-degree weather yesterday and explored some of the trails on the North Mountain. A year later, I am still in awe of the beauty located only 20 minutes away from the townhouse.

 

Exploring Arizona: Golf carts, treasures and getting lost

After having lunch with the fiance and his coworker yesterday, I ventured to the vintage-hunter's paradise that is downtown Glendale. My first trip to the self-proclaimed antiques capital of Arizona resulted in some amazing finds that stayed in the stores. This time, I purchased a few of the items, which I'll show you next week.

My next stop was Sun City, one of the nation's largest retirement cities. Higher numbers of senior citizens means lots of antique goodies waiting to get a new home from this still-kind-of youngster. I had heard of Penny-Wise Thrift Shop and it didn't disappoint. 

Heading south to find a cluster of thrift stores, I got better acquainted with the area i.e. lost. In my travels, I noticed tons of golf carts in driveways, store parking lots and cruising down the road. It was creepy and funny all at once. Gotta love living (and driving) in the AZ.

Antique Treasures finds

Penny-Wise finds

If only I needed a new couch and had a truck, this baby would've come straight to the townhouse. Definitely a candidate for reupholstering, but I am in LOVE with the gorgeous wood detailing. Hello, pretty geometric shapes. And if you can believe it, the couch was only $60!

Both chairs have such pretty bones. Their new lives are just a paint brush and new fabric away.

I almost asked if I could just buy the beautiful vintage handles and knobs from this hutch. They are that pretty.

50 states: Mom, meet Arizona: Part II

I finally got around to posting more pictures from my Mom's trip to Arizona. 

We took her to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff and Sedona. It was definitely a lot packed into one weekend, including celebrating the fiance's birthday, but it was fun. Seeing the Grand Canyon was something I've wanted since the fourth grade. 

The majestic landmark is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World for a reason. We spent the afternoon at Grand Canyon National Park and ended the day with a ranger sunset talk. It was amazing to see people from all over the World brought together by one place. 

The next morning we headed south to Flagstaff, where we stayed the majority of the day. Downtown Flagstaff is such a cool place, complete with historical buildings and local restaurants, shops and businesses. 

We perused a farmer's market and left with some yummy cheese from Fossil Creek Creamery and apples. We had fondue and a sampler from Beaver Street Brewery. This is a must-visit if you're in the area. The Bramble Berry Brew is worth it alone.

After lunch, we made our way down to Sedona and the pretty red rocks. The fiance and I roughed it last time we were there and didn't go to any of the shops. This time around, we did the tourist thing, which was OK. I prefer camping in Sedona, though.

And my Mom finally got to see an Arizona cactus. 

50 states: Mom, meet Arizona

The lack of posts this past week correlated with my Mom's first visit to Arizona. And we packed plenty in during her eight-day stay. We had an amazing time shopping, swimming, catching up with friends, celebrating the fiance's 29th Day of Birth, a weekend trip to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff and Sedona and watching a Diamondbacks/Reds game.

I am incredibly blessed to have such a caring, strong, selfless, hilarious and kind woman as not only my mother, but best friend.

I love you, Mom.

Our impromptu Grand Canyon photo shoot.

Exploring Arizona: The real Red Rock Country

We finally experienced Sedona, and it was amazing to say the least. Surrounded by the famous red rocks, tall trees, blue skies and bustling creek waters, there was always a beautiful view to behold.

The massive volume of touristy stuff surprised me, though. Part of Sedona is devoted to high-end shops, resorts and spiritual healing centers, while the other offers an abundance of recreational opportunities whether it be hiking, swimming or camping. Quite the opposite target groups, but I guess it works for the city.

We stayed away from the commercial traps, except to dine at Oak Creek Brewing Company. And if you're looking for good eats and even better beer, OCBC has them. It was a little pricey, but totally worth it. Their Belgium Wheat beer is tasty.

Saturday was spent setting up camp, hiking to Oak Creek for a swim, playing badminton, making smores and enjoying the company of our campsite "neighbors," including one who was from Seattle, but had since moved to Surprise. He had some great stories about going to Cougar football games in the late '70s.

The reason for our visit to Red Rock Country was to check out the well-known Slide Rock State Park. The park was full by Saturday afternoon when we arrived in Sedona, so we had to wait until Sunday, but it lived up to its billing. We spent about four hours at the park, enjoying the natural water chute, ledge jumping and a secluded swimming hole up a little ways from the slide. The not-so-fun-part: Those rocks earned their slippery namesake. I brought home some painful black and blue souvenirs on my arms and legs. Despite the bruises, it's definitely a place we can take family and friends when they visit.

The plan for our return trip is to hike to Cathedral Rock and hang out at Red Rock State Park. Maybe one day we'll see all the rock formations.

I can't wait to go back and experience more of what Sedona has to offer, expensive, stuffy resorts not included.

Exploring Arizona: Taking the long way

The extended weekend gave us a chance to explore our new-ish homeland. The first stop on our adventure was Fossil Creek. As you may remember, this amazing water wonderland has been on the to-see list for a few weeks now. Proving my theory that most dirt roads lead to good things, Fossil Creek didn't disappoint. Awaiting those brave enough to make the 21-mile trek down the primitive path is a swimming hole straight out of a movie. Except this is a beautiful, real-life oasis in the wild.

From top left: Roosevelt Lake in the morning; Comfort and Cougar pride on the bank of Fossil Creek; The beginning of the dirt road to Fossil Creek; Me cooling off in Fossil Creek; Pretty rocks on the way up to Fossil Creek; desert blooms on the way to Fossil Creek; A cluster of cactus on the drive up to Fossil Creek; The fiance hanging out by the tent at our Roosevelt Lake campsite.

We spent Saturday night at Homestead, one of the campsites strewn along the creek, with the throngs of other people drawn to the natural playground. Surprisingly, the area was super busy. They're not scared off by dirt roads here in Arizona, apparently.

There were three levels to the campground, and we paid the price for arriving Saturday afternoon. The first and second levels, which were basically next to the creek, were full. So we set up our tent in the third level. Still it was only a short walk to the water. The fiance and I hung out under the stars, which looked like sparkly confetti in the sky, and then went for a dip in the creek in the dark. Being surrounded by the lush trees, grass and warm water was the perfect start to the holiday.

We packed up camp at about 9 in the a.m. on the Fourth of July and continued down the dirt road, not really knowing what to expect next. There were a couple areas along the creek where people were already swimming. We spotted a "Day-Use Only" sign and decided to check it out. And what we saw next took my breath away.

 

We had the entire spot to ourselves, too. But that didn't last for long. And within a few hours, it was packed. We spent the day enjoying the amazing area with lunch, a few brews, the floaty and some new friends.

Even though we didn't want to leave, we went in search of more campgrounds on the other side of the trailhead down to the waterfall part of the creek. An assent 4,500 feet up on a windy, sometimes one-lane gravel road is not for the faint of heart. And after all that, we found out there were no campgrounds on the other side. Not really wanting to go back down the sketchy road, we decided to postpone the four-mile hike to the waterfall until next time.

With no destination in mind, we broke out the map and looked for another campground to call our temporary home. We investigated a few spots deemed recreation areas, but they weren't what we had in mind. 

Forging on, this adventure-seeking duo headed down the highway an hour southeast to Roosevelt Lake, which appeared to have an abundance of campsites and opportunities for swimming. And it did, to a certain extent. But it's the type of place that is better suited for boating. The fiance said if we do bring our boat down from Washington, this would be the place to house it.

Unbeknown to us, we needed a "Tonto Pass" to stay at the campsites along the lake. Luckily, local businesses sell them for $6. After acquiring our pass from Boston's Lake House Grill, we settled in and enjoyed the sunset over the lake. Fireworks not included.

The 95-degree temp at bedtime made it difficult to sleep, and after two hours of tossing and turning, the fiance had a plan to combat the oven-like conditions in the tent. He took his last pair of clean socks and dunked them in the cooler. Instant wet rags for our foreheads.

The next morning we packed up and headed to a swimming area on the lake. We spent about an hour cooling off and made our way to the Tonto National Monument. There's an option to hike to Tonto's cliff dwellings, but we'll, hopefully, do that at a later date. The last stop on our tour of Roosevelt was Boston's Lake House Grill for lunch. I highly recommend the Green Monster Burger. You won't be sorry.

The conclusion of our road trip included getting pulled over by an Arizona State Patrolman. Apparently, we missed the speed-limit reduction sign and were going 13 miles over. The dude was pretty understanding after we explained we thought the speed limit was 55, not 45, thus somewhat justifying our 58 miles per hour speed. He issued us a warning and needless to say, we vigilantly watched our speed back through the East Valley into Phoenix.

What was supposed to be a trip to Fossil Creek and back turned into a 350-mile expedition. Despite not seeing much after Roosevelt Lake, we can now check a portion of Central Arizona off the travel to-see list. Taking the long way sometimes does have its perks.