Day 17 Tucson to Sedona

We left our "Casita" early this morning for the 260 mile drive to Sedona. It was a beautiful day so we decided to go by way of Prescott, a pretty little town that has been ruined by AARP who recommended it as one of the ten best places to retire. It was lunchtime when we got there so we stopped by the main square and had lunch at a place called the Palace Saloon which advertised itself as America's oldest saloon (though not as old as the lettuce on my burger). The food really wasn't very good, but the memorabilia was very interesting. It seems as though Doc Holiday and the Earp brothers frequented the Palace prior to going to Tombstone where the gunfight at OK Corral occurred. They must have slept in more beds than George Washington...or Bill Clinton. After lunch we spent a little time walking Whiskey Row and two hours later we were in Sedona.

We checked into the Matterhorn Inn and were given a room with a great view of the mountains. Sedona is a small mountain town known for its beautiful red rock formations. After admiring the view from our balcony (picture on right) we went for a stroll around town. It didn't take long to walk what they called Uptown Sedona so we stopped at a little bar called Overlook and chatted with the Kevin the bartender. After a lengthy discussion, he suggested we have dinner at a little local place called Heartline Cafe and to request a table at Jay's bar. So that's what we did and it was a brilliant recommendation. We sat next to two women from San Diego, one of who owned the Ramona Cafe which was featured on the Food Channel's Diners,Drive-Ins and Dives. Jay was a treat, when we asked what the specials were, he said "don't bother, none of them are any good." He was as low keyed as any bartender I've ever seen. The women next to us were having trouble deciding what to order, so when they finally did decide he replied, "too late, I already decided and put in your order", and he had! They loved it. The food was terrific and they even had a great two hundred bottle wine list. We'll be back.

Day 15 & 16 Last Day in Tucson Area

Today we decided to do a walk or hike. I wanted to see if I could do an 11 mile hike up to Mt. Wrightson (9500 feet) and Sylvia opted for a 6 mile walk around the Green Valley area. It will become obvious that Sylvia's a lot smarter than me. I thought it should take me about 5 hours so I threw a Snickers bar and a bottle of water in my jacket and headed up the mountain at 9 o'clock. I guess I didn't dress properly because I alternated between sweating and freezing depending where on the mountain I was. I passed a couple of bird watchers and one said that this was his "fifth consecutive day looking for one stupid bird and I haven't seen a damn thing." The only other people I saw the rest of the trip were three Mexicans walking down the mountain from the direction of Mexico. They smiled, nodded and continued on. It could have been a rather touchy situation. At the 2.2 mile mark I passed a memorial that marked the spot where three Boy Scouts died when a snow storm surprised them while camping. It was a weird feeling but I started up towards Old Baldy Shoulder which was only one mile from Mt. Wrightson. The trail got steeper and it narrowed down to about a one foot path cut out of the side of a mountain. It came to an end though at about 8600 feet when the trail turned to solid ice. I should have rented Crampons, but I didn't think they made them to fit penny loafers. After two and a half hours it was time to turn around a mile and a quarter short of my goal. I was getting really cold anyhow. I ate my Snickers and started down. It took almost as long as the walk up. I was back at the car by 1:30 and I had gotten 9 hard miles in, so it was a good trip with unbelievable views. I can understand why people climb mountains. I rewarded myself with a taco, a tamale, the best beans in the world, and several beers at El Sole de Cobre . The picture, taken from about half way up is of the mountain I was trying to get to. I got close to the base. For dinner we went to Trattoria Ragazzi and had a pleasant Italian meal...Sylvia the homemade Ravioli, and me the Lamb Shanks.

Tomorrow we head up to Sedona. It looks like it's going to be cold.

Day 13 & 14 Chiricahua

Yesterday was a do nothing kind of day. We did however, go to Walmart and buy a new camera. It's a piece of junk, but we couldn't go up to Sedona and the Grand Canyon without one. The Walmart here in Green Valley (a retirement town) has at least two hundred handicap parking spaces. Once inside it's quite an experience. You're virtually assured of getting run over by a crazed senior citizen driving a shopping cart. They really shouldn't allow so many of us in any one place at the same time.

Today though we decided to take a long drive over to Chiricahua National Park. A woman who operated a deli in Bisbee told us it was "THE best hidden treasure in Arizona." Seeing as she was born and spent 40 years living in the lower east side of NYC she had to be right. The drive to Chiricahua was 120 miles through desert with nothing in between to stop and see. The last 40 miles, through a secondary road, we didn't see more than two or three cars. It was very interesting though. It turns out that this area was the traditional home of the Chiricahua Apaches, the tribe of Cochise and Geronimo. The woman from Bisbee was absolutely right on. The park was truly spectacular (click on the picture to get a better view). The pictures can't begin to capture the experience. To do it right, we would have to spend three days there -- two to hike the area and one to visit both Cochise's Stronghold and Fort Bowie. The problem is that there's no place to stay for 100 miles. We did the best we could and left after a few hours and managed to find the Horseshoe Cafe in Benson and have refreshments. We got back to Green Valley in time for dinner and went to the Mayan Mexican Bistro ( how can this be possible?). I had as good a lamb chop as I've ever had. It was a very good day.

Day 12 Sabino Canyon

Today is Sylvia's birthday. I tried singing "Happy Birthday" to her...she told me to "put a sock in it". I thought you were supposed to be happy on your birthday? I guess she wasn't exactly pleased being a year older. Or, maybe my brilliant voice didn't quite resonate right? For her birthday, I thought a hike up Sabino Canyon would be a perfect present...you think she'd be thrilled, wouldn't you? Well not exactly, but it was a very nice eight mile walk up a beautiful canyon. They run a shuttle up the mountain and we bought tickets and walked instead. There are several spots where you have to take your shoes and socks off in order to cross a creek. Again, not something Sylvia envisioned doing on her birthday. I took a picture of her crossing the creek, and I swear, the camera broke. Finally, a smile from the Birthday Girl. It took us about three hours to do the walk and it's another of those "Must Do's" if you ever get in the area. We ended the day by going back to Lavenders for dinner and a more traditional birthday event.

Day 11 Green Valley

Today Sylvia wandered around town and I went for a bicycle ride. Pete came down from Tucson and we met at the bike shop at ten o'clock and went for a 35 mile ride up to Madera Canyon. It was a very nice ride through the desert except for an uphill 12 mile section. I've never ridden 12 miles uphill before...not an entirely pleasant experience. I was really sweating and when we turned around to come down the mountain at 35 MPH, I was freezing. Pretty invigorating. Sylvia met us after the ride and we all had lunch (Margaritas and beer) at Manuals. The rest of the day was rather uneventful.

Day 9 & 10 Tucson and Green Valley

Haven't done very much the past two days. Yesterday we went to the local gym. If I ever go to a gym in a retirement community again it'll be when I'm 80...quite a sight! In the afternoon we wandered around Tucson and determined that it's not a city at all, just one continuous strip mall. We headed back to Green Valley and had a very good dinner at Lavender. The French chef there spent several years in DC working at La Colline and the Hay Adams...really very good.

Today we met Pete again at the Arizona Inn in Tucson for lunch. It's a great old place that's been around since the 30's and it's relatively unchanged...very classy. Pete and I decided to go for a long bike ride tomorrow so I stopped at the local Bike shop to reserve a bicycle for tomorrow morning. The kid at the shop said they don't open until ten, but don't bother coming until 10:30 since "we're all kinda grumpy until then"... I guess 10:30 it is. We went for a long walk later in the afternoon and decided we weren't hungry for dinner and we should stay home instead.

Day 8 Mount Lemmon

We took a ride up Mount Lemmon. It's the one thing I would recommend as a "Must Do". The drive up is 24 miles of spectacular scenery with many places to stop along the way and check out the views. There was snow the last four miles of the drive and there was even a ski slope on the north side of the mountain. It's weird to think of snow only 60 miles from the Mexican border. It took us over two hours to complete the drive and on the way back we stopped at the La Encantada Mall and had very pleasant late lunch at he Bluepoint Kitchen. There's a half dozen nice places up there worth trying. We got back to Green Valley by seven, but not before stopping for happy hour at the Arizona Family Restaurant. Dinner was not a requirement. Good night!

Day 7 Tucson

What a beautiful morning! It's MLK's birthday and we decided to visit the Arizona Desert Museum. What dopes...kids off from school...what were we thinking? It's a well done outdoor museum that displays desert life. It's a one mile walk that takes about two hours with a lot of desert detail. Afterwards we drove through the Saguaro National Park. It's named after the Saguaro cactus (picture) which can typically reach heights of 50 feet. They don't even have "arms" until they're 75 years old (notice my extensive desert knowledge). An hours drive though the park and we were done with the desert for awhile, so we stopped at the San Xavier Mission on our way back to Green Valley. We spent most of our time there eating the "Fry Bread" made in the parking lot by the locals. The honey, cinnamon, powdered sugar was the best.

We finished the day by seeing a movie "Charlie Wilson's War". My favorite line is when Julia Roberts asks Charlie "Why is Congress saying one thing and doing nothing?" and he replies "Tradition, mostly". I thought it was one of the better movies I saw this year. We followed the movie with a pleasant dinner at Manuela's.

Day 6 Madera Canyon

Today we decided to do a hike in Madera Canyon. We drove up through the park until we reached the start of Old Baldy Trail. According to the Sierra Club, it is a class A hike and was probably more than we should have done, but what did we know? It was a 2.2 mile hike up a somewhat steep and very rocky trail to Josephine Shoulder which is at 7,500 feet. On the way up, we passed or were passed by 10 or 15 bird watchers. They're unbelievable...they were running up and down the mountain all looking for the same stupid bird and when they finally found one, you would have thought Elvis was spotted. We managed not to get run over and two hours later we were back at the car and kinda tired. The rest of the afternoon we watched the football games and went to Trivetti's for dinner. At least we got a little exercise.

Day 5 Nogales, Mexico

Today we decided to drive to Mexico. It took about an hour to get there. Once there, we parked the car on the US side of the border and walked across. It's kind of strange, we walked into Mexico without even breaking stride. Upon returning to the US, there's at least a half hour line. We walked the town for about an hour and really didn't do or buy anything. It's nothing but street hawkers, junk stores, and pharmacies. It's definitely the place to buy your drugs. There were only two or three restaurants and a few more bars...which were closed until later in the afternoon. Nothing looked very exciting. I've been to several Mexican border towns and this is the worst. At least we got a little walking in.

We left Nogales around noon and on the way back we stopped and took a tour through an old Spanish mission called Tumacacori ( I have no idea how it's pronounced). On the way in, we noticed a little bar across the street from the mission. About half way through the tour, we snuck off and went over to the Old Tumacacori Bar. We chatted with the owner (Dolores) and she told us the history of the old place. Her grandfather opened it in the 30's and after he died, her father ran it, and now it's her turn. She had some interesting stories of the old place. An hour later we started home again but decided to stop at Tubac for another walk around. We visited several shops that we hadn't seen before, but again we didn't buy anything. It really is a very nice collection of shops. On the way home we checked out the Longhorn Steakhouse at the recommendation of Dolores. It was supposed to have a good steak. It might well have, but we didn't want to eat there. Since we hadn't eaten all day, we thought we might have an early dinner, so we stopped at our neighborhood place called Trivetti's. We had met Linda the bartender several days before and enjoyed talking with her. We hung out there for awhile and both of us had veal and went back to the casita for the evening.

Day 3 & 4 Tombstone & Bisbee

Yesterday we drove up to Tucson and met Pete, a friend from Solomons. We had lunch at a resort (see picture) up the street from his house. He drove us around and showed us his development. It's amazing the great house you can get for under $400,000. We also drove around Tucson and got a feel for the city and it's very spread out and not much like most cities.

Today we decided to head over and see Tombstone and Bisbee, a picturesque town in the foothills south of Tucson. Entering Tombstone we stopped at the Boothill Cemetery and checked out some of the legendary headstones including all the ones from the "Gunfight at the OK Corral." It's kind of hokey, but interesting none the less. Tombstone itself was a very well preserved town from the late 1800's that would not be there without the tourist industry. We had a drink at the Big Nose Kate's Saloon which was Doc Holiday's hangout. The beer hit the spot. An hour in Tombstone was more than enough and we headed over to Bisbee.

Bisbee's an old cooper mining city built in a canyon that claims to have the best weather in the world. The whole city is built on two very steep hillsides. We walked the 410 steps up one side of the hills and you can be assured it's very steep. It used to have a population of 30,000 and now it's down to less than 10,000. It too pretty much survives on tourists. We had a very good lunch at Santiagos, a neat Mexican restaurant. After wandering around the shops we stopped at a biker bar (Old Tymers) at the top of the hill and had another drink. I had to drag Sylvia away because she wanted to get another tattoo. Overall, Bisbee was worth the two hours it took to get there.

Day 2 Green Valley

The day started with me leaving the "casita" early in the morning only to find out that javelinas had been rummaging around outside our front door. Javelinas are large pig-like tusked animals that are common to the southwest. They're called razorbacks in Arkansas. I cannot imagine what would have happened if they had been there when I went opened the door. I'm pretty sure I would have be in need of a shower.

After breakfast we decided to drive around the area and practice our orienteering skills - which means we were lost most of the time. In our attempt to get to a little town called Patagonia, we took what we thought was a shortcut and ended up on a single lane winding, dirt/stone road (pictured on right). It was a 14 mile trip that took 50 minutes and the only other vehicle we saw was one pickup truck. We were met with a sign on this road that read "TRAVEL CAUTION - Smuggling and illegal immigration may be encountered in this area". Needless to say we were not planning to return this way after dark. Patagonia was a really small town where they used to film western movies, and not much worth the trip. But, we did have lunch at a really old saloon called the Stage Stop Hotel. After a mediocre meal we headed over near the Mexican Border to an artist's village called Tubac where we had a Margarita at the Cantina. It's a pretty neat place, so we'll go back there in a few days. On the way back to Green Valley we went through the second Border Patrol roadblock of the day. I guess we didn't fit the profile since we were waved through without even stopping. They had big guns, so I wasn't unhappy about the lack of attention. Back in Green Valley we stopped at the local pub and ordered a pizza to take back to our "casita" and another early night seemed in order.

Day 1 Solomons, Maryland to Green Valley, Arizona

I’m not sure why we decided to take an extended five week trip to Arizona, but we did. The best excuse for doing this is because we've never been there. Not a very good reason, but the only one I can think of. The only plans we had were to spend the first two weeks in Green Valley, which is just south of Tucson, then head north to Scottsdale, Prescott, Sedona and the Grand Canyon in no particular order except that we wanted to spend Valentines day in the canyon.

Anyhow, we left Solomons at 5AM and arrived in Phoenix noon local time. The trip was uneventful with the exception that upon arriving at the Phoenix airport I decided that a beer was required before we picked up our bags. Naturally, by the time we got to the luggage carousel it was empty. After spending a few minutes looking stupidly at the empty spinning carousel, we managed to find our bags in the unclaimed baggage section. Who would have thought they would be that quick to get the bags off the plane? We then picked up our rental car, a Nissan Altima, and drove the two hours to our rented casita ( I have no idea what a casita is) in Green Valley and spent the rest of the day getting settled in and checking out the area…Arizona’s brown…everything’s brown…our rental car’s brown. The Green Valley area is made up entirely of old people, for which we qualify, that drive around (using the term loosely) just like in Naples Florida. We had dinner at a nice little Mexican restaurant called La Placita after which we headed back to our “casita” and crashed.