For the past 5 years we have travelled extensively in the UK and Europe in our VW Campervan, Nelson. After our early retirement in July 2022, we wanted to extend our wanderlust to destinations further a field and the perfect opportunity came up with my mum travelling in the USA for 10 weeks. We checked her itinerary and decided to join her in Pheonix for a couple of weeks and then venture out on our own exploring the tourist spots of Arizona.
It was exciting planning our journey, and very strange packing into suitcases, not a campervan! The hardest part of the journey to sort ironically turned out to be the 2 mile journey from our small village in the Dales to Settle train station. There are seemingly 3 taxi’s that cover a large area of the dales and the first 2 we contacted were unavailable! But we got there in the end.
The train journey from there was great with just 2 changes. We chose to stay over night at a transit hotel at the airport which was actually a really great choice and meant we had no worries about missing our flight the next day.
Neither of us had engaged our brains as to how far across the US Pheonix was and were both surprised that the flight was 11 hours long. We had booked with BA but it was actually an American Airlines flight. We were not sure what to expect and were pleasantly surprised by the experience. The food was fab, not something I would usually say about aeroplane food and the drinks trolly came round many times. They didn’t even bat an eyelid when I requested a red wine with my breakfast, merely suggesting it was a late night drink in American time, so that was all good!!
We have travelled to Florida several times over the years and visited New York but had no idea what to expect from Pheonix. The flight path took us over the Grand Canyon and Sedona and the scenery was just stunning and other wordly. Driving from the airport on highways that at one point had seven lanes was also an experience!
The scenery wherever we drive in around the Pheonix area is just breath-taking. The valley floor is vast and flat, but the area is flanked by mountain ridges that change colour as the day goes by. There are gigantic cacti of all sorts on the sides of the road, even in the more urban areas around Scottsdale where we are based. The weather so far has been a little erratic, we arrived to temperatures of 10 degrees C and winds which made it feel even colder, and we have had highs of 25 degrees and blistering sun, but it is mid February and freezing cold and wet in Yorkshire so we will take what comes!
We have already managed to do a few hikes on the mountain trails that surround the city. The paths are really well sign posted and pretty quiet, even on the ‘Presidents Day’ bank holiday weekend.
Tom Thumb Trail
Our first hike was up to Tom Thumb, a peak with an elevation of just over 1100m. Our biggest surprise of the day was walking in the snow in Pheonix! We knew that it was more wintery around the Grand Canyon and Flaggstaff but were not expecting any snow around Scottsdale. The scenery on the Hike was like nothing we have encountered before, mainly due to the copious amounts of cacti of varying size and shape. They are stunning. From the towering saguaro cacti to the more spiky Teddy Bear Cholla, they are everywhere.
The hike itself was just under a 10k round trip and we achieved 600m of elevation. It felt great to finally be adding some more height to my 2023 Everest challenge, this year I would like to climb the equivalent of at least 4 Everests again, part of my keeping fit in retirement drive.
The views from the trail head were superb, you could see the snow capped mountains to the north, the skyscrapers of down town Pheonix and dozens of smaller random peaks rising up from the valley floor. The rock formations on the hike were almost as impressive as the cacti.
Sunrise Peak Trail
Our next hike was only a 15m drive from our base in Scottsdale yet felt like we were miles away from civilization. Even though we were only a few miles from the Tom Thumb trail, this hike was on very different terrain. We hiked up about 4k through a valley with steep sides. The foliage was more dense and vast saguaro Cacti were everywhere like tall centuries guarding their territory. The path was much narrower and winding, and there were glimmers of spring with buds appearing on the trees and the tips of a few of the cacti.
I was quite paranoid of the more dense vegetation as there were several sign posts warning us that this was the home of rattlesnakes and scorpions! I felt marginally better after speaking to a local hiker who said that they were still hibernating for several more weeks so we should be quite safe. Again the views from the peak were spectacular and well worth the trek. The weather was also much better with no snow seen!
One of the things that has surprised us is the abundance of wild life and fauna in and around the Urban Scottsdale area. There are birds everywhere chirping away. We watched a hard working woodpecker from our pool loungers and a hummingbird hovering around the brightly coloured flowers by the apartment. We spotted a cayote trotting down the side of the road and several tiny rabbits hopping around the creek beds on one of our hikes. My sister spotted a road runner and the locals in our condo complex said to watch out for the javalina’s (a small wild boar) that have made the parklands around the condo’s their home. My eyes are peeled and ready!
We have embraced the American diner foods since we have been here, I was particularly excited yesterday morning as it was pancake day and you definitely need a trip to IHop on pancake day. Richard found a BBQ smokehouse near the apartment that I think had some of the best Ribs and brisket that I have ever tasted, we are going to try and fit in another visit before we leave Scottsdale.
One thing we have found is that many everyday items are really expensive in the . We paid nearly $5 each for a roll of black bin bags and a 4 pack of toilet roll. The meat is a mixed bag, we have had a few BBQ’s which is fab in February. Mum made a Spaghetti bolognaise for us and the mince was over $10 for a small pack. Luckily the beers are cheap and if we look hard enough in the offers we have picked up some lovely fruits.
We have managed to fit in a shopping trip to the outlet mall which is always high on my list of things to do in the states. Much to mums and Richards bemusement my main purchase was a le Creuset kettle that I have not seen in the UK that goes with our cafetiere and new kitchen, I’m not sure what customs X-ray machine will make of it!! We also visited Bass outdoor world which another whole experience - the sign asking you to hand in any 'concealed weapons' at the entrance was a little disconcerting!
That’s it for this week, we have another 6 days in Scottsdale before we move onto a Road trip to the Grand Canyon and other tourist places in Northern Arizona.
We have released a YouTube Vlog of our first few days and hikes in Phoenix, the scenery is quite unbelievable and better viewed on videos than in the photo's above which don't quite show the enormity. Click on the link below to check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9-DZ4rdgZE
Thanks for reading our blog
Jackie and Richard