Tag Archives: Arizona

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Hiking in the Arizona Desert

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(Cave Creek, Arizona, U.S.A.)

While Sun City is filled with palm trees, we took a short drive north to experience a place filled with cactuses (or cacti – apparently, both plural forms are acceptable). Our destination: Cave Creek Regional Park. Our mission: a hike in the desert.

The U.S. and Arizona flags at the entrance to Cave Creek Regional Park

Armed with sunscreen, water, Gatorade, and maps, we set out on a loop that looked manageable. While the air temperature seemed rather cool, the late-morning desert sun made it relatively warm once we started moving. Somewhat alarmingly, we saw warnings about rattlesnakes.

The “Go John” trailhead at Cave Creek Regional Park

In the end, the only wildlife we saw were some really tiny lizards. And since the hiking trails were shared with horseback riders, the biggest hazards were the occasional piles left behind by those large animals.

Cave Creek Regional Park

The terrain was dry, rocky, and uneven. You wouldn’t want to hike these trails while multitasking, as you would eventually find yourself doing a faceplant. Even so, we saw more than one person texting while walking the trails. Just like texting while walking in a big city, this is just asking for trouble.

Cave Creek Regional Park

As you can see, I took a lot of cactus pictures. This is partly because I just don’t see them very often. They aren’t well-suited for the relatively humid Ontario climate. But it is also because this harsh environment doesn’t let much else survive.

Cave Creek Regional Park

We ended up covering a lot more territory than we thought we would. We decided to supplement our loop route with a spur line to an abandoned clay mine.

Cave Creek Regional Park

The spur route featured more cactuses and more views of distant mountains. We found the clay mine, but it was completely fenced off and we couldn’t enter it. That was probably a good thing, as the mine has been abandoned for a long time and likely wasn’t very stable.

Rent your horses here, to explore Cave Creek Regional Park

We also saw the horse enclosure, where people can rent a horse (and a guide) to experience the desert in a different way. This wasn’t an option for me, due to a a severe horse allergy, but the horses seemed sure-footed and happy in this environment.

Cave Creek Regional Park

See if you can spot the additional passenger on the lead horse above!

Looking north from Cave Creek Regional Park

After about 2 hours in the desert, we returned to our car and discovered that we had worked up quite an appetite. I was even craving more liquids, despite sipping water almost continuously throughout our hike. I don’t think it is possible to bring too much water along on a trip into the desert.

Cave Creek Regional Park

Stay tuned for another Arizona post…this time, in a slightly less harsh environment!

Posts from the road

Here we are in Sun City, Arizona

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(Sun City, Arizona, U.S.A.)

Some trips are predictable. For example, I knew it was only a matter of time before I made it to Chile. But other trips can’t be foreseen. I certainly never thought I’d be in Sun City, Arizona, to play in the US Open lawn bowling tournament. And yet, here I am.

Bell Lawn Bowls Club, in Sun City, Arizona

From a bowling perspective, this place is amazing. There are 5 clubs within perhaps a 15 minute drive of each other. The greens are true, quick, and aesthetically appealing. I can see why so many of my bowling friends have raved about it. I can’t wait for play to begin – for now, we have a couple of days of practice. But, for travel blog purposes, I will try to focus on all aspects of the trip…not just the lawn bowling ones.

US Open Opening Ceremonies – Lakeview Lawn Bowling Club, in Sun City, Arizona

Sun City is essentially a suburb to the northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix currently is the 5th largest city in the U.S.A. Who knew? But Phoenix is not a typical city, and Sun City is hardly a typical suburb. For starters, home ownership in Sun City is limited to those 55 and older. So, there are a LOT of recreational activities available. And also a lot of “Snowbirds” (retired Canadians who spend the winters in the southern U.S.A.). After only a day here, I can understand why it is so popular.

The gazebo overlooking Viewpoint Lake in Sun City, Arizona

While Phoenix summers are brutally hot, the winters here are very comfortable. It is now early November, and today’s high temperature was a balmy 27’C. But it isn’t like 27’C in Canada, as there seems to be little or no humidity. I might even find it a little too dry: my nose and throat have felt a little dried out since we arrived. We’ll see how I adapt to this over the next few days.

Viewpoint Lake in Sun City, Arizona

The car reigns supreme in many parts of Canada, especially outside of urban Ontario and Quebec. But this part of the U.S.A. takes it to a new level. At Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, the train that zips passengers between terminals actually has a station dedicated to car rentals! It is like an entire airport terminal in itself, and just for rental cars.

Viewpoint Lake at Sun City, Arizona

There’s a good reason for all the cars: Phoenix and its suburbs are really spread out. It’s not surprising – practically every building outside of the downtown core seems to be a one-level bungalow. The trend towards urban densification does not seem to have reached Phoenix yet.

Looking towards the Lakeview Lawn Bowling Club – Sun City, Arizona

Regular readers of this blog will know that I make a point of finding independent and unique restaurants wherever I travel. That will be a little more challenging on this trip. Near our hotel in Glendale (another northwestern suburb), pretty much everything is a chain…whether it’s a restaurant or a retail store. But I have put together a short list of places that still hold some promise. We’ll just have to drive to get to them.

Sunset over the Lakeview Lawn Bowling Club – Sun City, Arizona

At least some of the chains are quirky. “Trader Joe’s” is a grocery chain that sells mostly its own products (usually made secretly by other manufacturers). But its prices are quite competitive compared to other stores, and they manage this despite also offering a lot of unique products (many of which are organic). For example, I didn’t know that prickly pear wheat beer was a thing.

Trader Joe’s in Glendale, Arizona

My focus on this trip is obviously on competing in the US Open. But I will do my best to post some more blog entries about this interesting corner of the United States. Stay tuned!

Posts from Base Camp

10 years later – what has happened since?

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

During my 2014 travel year, I visited a lot of countries. You can look at the countries and statistics in this post: Travel by the Numbers | Pierre Vanderhout’s Travel Blog.

The first time I have eaten at a place called “La Cucaracha” (13th Avenue, Cathedral Village, Regina, Saskatchewan)

Looking back, it is even more interesting to see where I thought about going (to the point of checking airfares and flight schedules)…but ultimately didn’t visit then. Those countries were: Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Fiji, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, Serbia, (North) Macedonia, Russia, Ukraine, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Bermuda, Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates and Greenland. Oh yes, I also wanted to visit Saskatchewan!

A Christmas market in downtown Copenhagen, Denmark, with Christiansborg in the background

Even in 2014, real-life events took some of these countries off the list. And obviously a lot has happened since then. But have I made it to any of those places in the intervening 10 years?

Absolutely stunning view just below Sunset Point (Bryce Canyon, Utah)

The answer is…yes! Most notable was a couple of weeks in South America, where I managed to visit both Chile and Argentina. I also finally made it to Saskatchewan! That was important to me because it was the only Canadian province or territory that I had never visited. Alas, I haven’t yet made it to any of those other countries…before or after 2014. In a way, I suppose that I have been to Slovenia, although it was still part of Yugoslavia at the time.

At the top of Horseshoe Bend (near Page, Arizona)

A lot of my travel since 2014 has been to previously visited countries, provinces, and states. However, I have visited a couple of completely new entities since then: Denmark and St. Pierre & Miquelon, which is a “self-governing territorial overseas collectivity” of France. I certainly hadn’t foreseen those destinations in 2014. And while there aren’t any remaining Canadian provinces or territories to see for the first time, I have since made it to several “new” American states: Nevada, Utah (see photo at the very top of this post), Arizona, and Pennsylvania.

Bastille Day – St. Pierre & Miquelon

Looking ahead, I know I’ll be taking at least two international trips in the next 12 months. Stay tuned to find out if those trips include any of the “2014 wish list” destinations!

Posts from Base Camp

Missed Opportunities?

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

From time to time, travel plans get disrupted. Today’s post is about plans that just didn’t work out!

“The Bean” in winter, downtown Chicago (an unplanned stand-in for Memphis, Tennessee)

In a February 2023 post about “Travel Regrets”, I mentioned a couple of plans that were thwarted. These included never making it to Memphis, Tennessee in March 2014, and the July 2016 visa issue that delayed our crossing from Chile to Argentina at a remote outpost in the Andes. Today’s post covers a few more examples.

North shore of Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)

Weather has played a role in many of my missed opportunities. In August 2014, I had arranged to go on an extended wadlopen (a hike across the muddy sea floor during low tide) from the Dutch mainland to one of the Frisian islands. This day-long activity requires a guide…and also decent weather. Learning of the expected high winds and thunderstorms, the guide decided to pull the plug. While it was disappointing, I still managed to make it out the Frisian island of Schiermonnikoog by boat. And I went for a nice walk around the dunes.

Inside the “Los 36 Billares” billiards cafe (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Poor weather also prevented me from setting foot in Uruguay. During our stay in Buenos Aires, we had hoped to take a boat across the Rio de la Plata to the historic city of Colonia del Sacramento. But nasty weather forced us to back down from that plan and spend another day in Buenos Aires instead. Among other things, we ended up having enjoyable refreshments in a billiards cafe!

Specialty shop in Westport, Ireland. I went in for the vinyl but came out with a book!

Dismal weather also torpedoed my planned ascent of Croagh Patrick, a (relatively) large mountain just outside the quaint western Ireland town of Westport. Rain, wind, and clouds conspired to make that extended trek unpleasant and possibly dangerous. Instead, I explored some local Westport institutions, such as a quaint bookstore and the local “chippy”. It wasn’t the plan, but I still have the book I bought!

The Grand Canyon, on the “Day After”

Another more dramatic weather incident happened in 2019, when I was supposed to descend the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. Not only did we not go on that much-anticipated hike, we couldn’t even leave our hotel. And the hotel was without power for 24 hours as the state was battered by a fierce blizzard. Unlike the other “missed opportunities”, there was nothing to take the place of the canyon descent. We were cold, unable to travel, and could do little more than ensure we had enough to eat. While we managed a brief visit to the Grand Canyon the next morning, there wasn’t enough time to try even a short descent.

Overlooking the Tara River Canyon – northern Montenegro

While weather jettisoned all of the above plans, nature wasn’t always to blame. During my May 2014 stay in Kotor, Montenegro, I signed up for a guided tour to Albania. I thought it would an interesting trip, as Albania had been so isolated before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Alas, I was the only person who was interested and the excursion was cancelled. A small group was interested in heading up to Durmitor National Park in northern Montenegro, and it seemed to be a reasonable alternative, so I decided to take that trip instead. While the tour guide’s driving was terrifying, I did end up seeing some little-known but spectacular scenery.

Looking straight down at the Tara River (northern Montenegro)

Even if things don’t work out as planned, they (usually) still work out in a different way…the great Grand Canyon Blizzard of 2019 being a notable exception! Sometimes the unplanned alternative even surpasses the original intention. But no matter the outcome, these missed opportunities give me a great reason to go back to some of my favourite destinations.

Posts from Base Camp

Trip Debrief…and revealing the next destination

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

From the natural landscapes to the 24-hour loss of heat and power, there certainly was no shortage of drama on my recent trip to Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

Antelope Canyon

Ultimately, however, the loss of power was just an inconvenience. We met people the day before who cannot connect to the electrical system at all, so that put our temporary loss into perspective.  It also reminded us how utterly dependent we have become on electricity.

Antelope Canyon

From a travel strategy perspective, I was thankful that I had journeyed to these relatively remote areas as part of a group. Having that additional level of support was quite helpful, even on the days when the power remained in force.  I will continue to use small group travel in situations where I don’t think I’m properly equipped to manage on my own if things go wrong.  Off-season travel to remote locations certainly falls into that category, even if there is no language barrier.

Antelope Canyon

Having said that, I am very much looking forward to my next independent adventure.  Later this winter, I will be skiing in countries that are very familiar, but in locations that are new to me. I’ll start by spending several days in and around Les Diablerets, Switzerland. This is in the French-speaking Canton of Vaud, just a few kilometres west of my 2018 ski adventure in Lenk.

Me, hiking determinedly in Zion National Park

From there, I will travel further west for a full week of skiing in Morzine, France. While I have been in France a few times recently (including a wonderful summer 2018 trip to Normandy and Brittany), I have never been skiing there. In fact, I have never been skiing in any French-speaking part of Europe…so far, my only French-speaking skiing has been in the province of Quebec.

Antelope Canyon

Morzine should be a great base. It is part of the vast (201 ski lifts!) Les Portes du Soleil ski region, linking thirteen resorts in both France and Switzerland. We’ll be able to ski back and forth between countries, not just villages!  Stay tuned for lots more on this exciting destination in the Haute-Savoie.

Antelope Canyon

I will end this post by mentioning one more benefit of travelling in a group: being able to get great photos! All of the photos in today’s post were taken by other travellers who graciously allowed me to use them in this blog. If you want to read more, you can check out these recent posts on Antelope Canyon (Arizona) and Zion National Park (Utah).

Posts from the road

Redemption at the Grand Canyon

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(Tusayan, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.)

As depressing as Friday night had been, something very special happened in the wee hours of Saturday morning: the now-24-hour-old power cut suddenly ended. I was happily jolted awake by the clank of the radiator, as it began an extended mission to restore warmth to my frigid room.

First glimpse of the Grand Canyon on Saturday morning

Unbelievably, the power and heat remained in force for the rest of the day. Our group now had some decisions to make. Although we were scheduled to visit the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, would we be prepared to forego that and get a real glimpse of the Grand Canyon? We unanimously voted in favour of the canyon. There was a chance for redemption!

Looking east from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon

The canyon did not disappoint. Although we did not have much time, we still saw what we came here to see: a vast snow-covered canyon stretching out for miles, and gleaming in the long-overdue sunlight. I walked quickly to the east, to get some different views of the South Rim before our bus had to leave. Our walk into the canyon itself had to be cancelled, but at least we were getting some idea of what it was all about.

View of the main observation area

We returned quickly to our bus, ready to continue on to the legendary Route 66. But fate was not done with us yet. A much larger bus had skidded off the narrow access road to the bus parking lot. It couldn’t gain enough traction to get back on the road. As a result, we were now stuck too, as there was no other (plowed) way out.

Generic Grand Canyon photo, with snow!

After almost an hour, the large bus had still not made any progress. We made the decision to drive across the unplowed parking lot to the also-unplowed back exit, and just hope that the deep snow didn’t strand us as well.

Snowy hike along the South Rim

Finally, we caught a break. We didn’t get stuck, and we could finally continue with our journey. For the first time in days, it felt like everybody would make their flights back home and/or be able to enjoy a final night in Las Vegas.

A stuck bus blocks the only cleared way out of the parking lot

Not so fast. Of course, we encountered more challenges on the way back to Las Vegas. The roads were still very snowy, and we had to be very careful on the highway. Then, Interstate 40 was closed because of an accident, so we had to drive far longer on the not-very-direct Route 66 than we had been anticipating.

Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona

Our stop in Seligman, the most photogenic local remnant of Route 66, lasted barely a minute. Even so, we still managed to get an idea of how life used to be before the arrival of the Interstates. Family-run motels, soda fountains, and gas stations looked like they hadn’t changed for 70 years.

Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona

It was dark by the time we finally arrived in Las Vegas. Although it is not among my favourite cities, I was still very happy to get there. Our group had one final meal together, and absolutely nothing strange happened. It was a perfect way to end what had been a rather challenging day and-a-half. But we had survived, and we had some great stories to tell!

Posts from the road

“Setback” in Arizona

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(Tusayan, Arizona, U.S.A.)

It is easy to write about the good things on a trip. It is not as easy to write about the things that go wrong. 

Arrival at the Grand Canyon on Thursday afternoon

We arrived at the Grand Canyon late on a Thursday afternoon. It was swimming in fog: we couldn’t see anything more than a few feet from the South Rim of the canyon. However, we weren’t too disappointed, as we would be staying in the area until Saturday morning. Some snow was predicted for the next day, but we figured that would only enhance the scenery (like the snow at Bryce Canyon had done a couple of days before).

First glimpse of the alleged Grand Canyon

When I woke up the next morning, the hotel room was cold.  And very dark.  The power was out. And yes, the heat was out too. I looked out the window: more than a foot of snow had fallen (see photo at the top of this post). This did not look good.

Best picture from Thursday – you can barely see the North Rim. Also a rare moment, with nobody on the usually-crowded observation deck

There were varying estimates on how long the power would be out.  The hotel could not serve breakfast, because the generators were needed to keep the hotel up and running at a minimal level. In fact, no restaurants anywhere in town seemed to be open. Not only were we cold, hungry, and without power, there appeared to be no prospect of an imminent return. The road to the Grand Canyon was closed.  And the snow continued to fall.

Looking down from the South Rim – you can see a large dropoff…sort of.

Interesting things happen when you are faced with no food, no heat, and no power.  All of a sudden, it’s changed from vacation to survival. Which explains why people jammed the only open business: a gas station with no power but some stranded staff. 

Preparing for the apocalypse in the gas station

What do you buy when this may be your only chance to get food for several days?  When a large part of the store consists of products in the “chips” category? And when you know that it will take more than an hour to check out, because the line-up is huge and the bills need to be calculated by hand? Making the best of a bad situation, I loaded up on trail mix, and hoped that the power would return soon.

The hotel parking lot, at about noon on Friday. The snow would continue into the night.

The walk back to the hotel was miserable, with high winds and even some freezing rain pelting my eyes. By Friday night, the gas station was closed, and power had still not returned. The roads into Tusayan remained closed too.  

One power-restoration deadline after another passed. With a nasty cold on top of everything else, this was not my finest hour. I’ve never worn a coat to bed, but there is a first time for everything.  You just don’t know how much colder it is going to get.

(To be continued)