It is fair to say that we share a lot of similarities with our American cousins, but after a week of being in Arizona, we have started to realise that although we share the same language, we are very from different countries… and that is a good thing. In some respects, living in a country where there are no language barriers should be so easy, and yet culturally it is so different. We have spent the week hiking the many beautiful trails of Phoenix, resting our weary legs by the pool and generally immersing ourselves in our snowbird community.
BBQ heaven
Just to be clear- we love BBQ! Not the char grilled sausages and frozen burger UK summer affair, but the low and slow cooking of huge hunks of meat in the smoker. We stumbled upon an amazing local BBQ joint in Scottsdale, only a few minutes from our accommodation. Naked Q serves up in a very simple way, real quality BBQ. There are no frills to the place- it is pretty much a self service fast-food arrangement, but the quality of the food was beyond belief! What we really loved was that once a meat was sold out, it went off the menu until the following day!
We chose the two meat platters for $16 which included a choice of 2 meats, 2 sides and complementary corn bread. I went for the brisket, pulled pork, beans and slaw. Jackie went for ribs, brisket, mac-n-cheese and potato salad. It was outstanding- the brisket was some of the best we have ever tasted… and we have tasted a lot! There were also local beers and soda on tap which just made the meal even better. We will be back before we return to the UK, it is just too good to miss.
Desert life
To make it clear- we love Arizona and have been blown away by the natural beauty of the State, but there have been a few surprises along the way. The area still definitely retains some of it’s Wild West origins…let me explain!
We have never seen pick up trucks like it. Seemingly every second Phoenix resident owns and drives the most massive 4x4 pickup trucks that just dwarf normal cars. You can hear them roar behind you on the highways.
In a similar way, gun ownership seems to be widespread in this part of the USA, with the possession of concealed weapons seemingly being common place. Going into shops and restaurants that ask for weapons to be handed in is a little at odds with what we are used to in the UK.
We treated ourselves to a visit to one of the homes of the American great outdoors scene- the local Pro Bass- Outdoor World shop. This is a wonderful experience of outdoor shopping for everything from outdoor clothing, to quad bikes, to boats, to BBQ rigs, to everything you could ever want for your hunting, shooting and fishing needs. It really was an experience that we would highly recommend to anyone visiting the US, to get a taste of outdoor life in North America.
On the trails life is also very different to the UK. There are regular warning signs for the presence of rattle snakes, active bees, coyotes, and other wildlife that can pose a threat to humans.
On one of our first nights in Scottsdale we witnessed wild coyotes running down the highway at night- not something that we tend to see in the Yorkshire Dales!
Hiking...but not as we know it!
When we are on our more normal adventures in our campervan, it is fair to say that luxuries are quite hard to come by. That is definitely not the same on our current adventure. The weather is quite changeable in Arizona at the moment, with temperatures fluctuating on a daily basis. We have become pretty adept at spotting the windows of weather and working around them. A typical day for us has been to get up and out early (mainly due to residual jet lag!), have a good hike on one of the many local trails that encircle Phoenix and then get back home for when the day starts to heat up for an afternoon lazing by the pool. To have the luxury of a hot-tub at the end of a long hike is something that we never knew was missing from our lives…not much chance of adding one to our campervan though!
Jackie has written an extended blog on our adventures on the hiking trails of Phoenix that you can find here.
We have also documented our hikes on YouTube that you can watch here:
As always, life is like a rollercoaster, with lots of highs and the occasional low. For a variety of reasons this week we have really felt the distance from home and the ties that we still have there. It has not been an easy thing to deal with, but like all things in life, there are things that we can control, and things that we definitely cannot control. We have revisited this a number of times this week and have taken comfort in the fact that we are controlling the things that we can control. The world is a huge place, but with the help of modern technology and mobile phones, it is definitely a much smaller place.
So that’s it for another week, with much more excitement to come next week as we depart Phoenix, say goodbye to Jackie’s Mum and head North on our own little road trip of discovery. We are hitting the tourist trail and are really excited for it…despite the forecasted sub zero temperatures and heavy snow in the desert. It should make for some pretty unique photo opportunities and experiences.
Have a fantastic week,
Richard and Jackie.
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