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Western chic meets outdoor splendor

Think of your coolest friend. You know the one. She’s out running a desert trail in the morning, taking in a hip art festival in the afternoon, and then ready for a night out on the town in the evening.

To top it off, she always knows the trendiest spots for brunch.

Well, when it comes to towns in Arizona, Scottsdale is your chic friend.

I had a chance to explore the many sides of Scottsdale recently, and I have to say: This community seems to have it all.

Hiking opportunities galore, beautiful open-air dining choices, a buzzing downtown, two spring-training baseball stadiums, an Old West vibe, and fantastic shopping – just to name a few.

Located on the eastern side of the huge Phoenix-area Valley of the Sun, Scottsdale manages to distinguish itself nicely from the other metro areas.

Here are a few of my favorite features of “The West’s Most Western Town.”

Finding the Salt River Wild Horses

With all due respect to the Rolling Stones’ classic “wild horses couldn’t drag me away” lyric, it turns out that Arizona’s herd of free-roaming Salt River Wild Horses can, in fact, drag thousands of people away from modern life – and into a scene straight out of the Old West.

I was happy to be among them on a recent warm spring day, when, right on the edge of Phoenix, Arizona – one of the largest metro areas in the U.S. – the wild-and-free animals were treating visitors to a taste of western culture unlike any trip to a museum or cowboy reenactment could ever deliver.

On that Sunday morning, I had a front-row seat to a little family-of-three grazing along the riverbank, occasionally sticking their noses deep into the lazy waters of the Salt and rolling energetically onto their backs in the rugged river rocks.

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Posted on March 28, 2019 by nearandfaraz

Arizona, Desert, Destinations, Food, hiking, Near, Road trip, Salt River, Sightseeing, trails, Uncategorized

Goldfield Recreation Area, How to find the Salt River Wild Horses, Lower Salt River, Mesa Arizona, Phoenix Arizona, Salt River, Salt River Wild Horses, Scottsdale Arizona, Tonto National Forest

On the scale of “things that make me happy,” wildflowers are up there – hovering somewhere between waterfalls and golden autumn leaves.

Apparently, I’m not the only one. I saw proof of the widespread flower mania during a recent visit to Scottsdale, Arizona’s Bartlett Lake – the veritable epicenter of the state’s 2019 “super bloom.”

On that mostly-sunny Saturday, you would have been hard-pressed to find a frowning face. As I hiked the lakeside Jojoba Trail, and then drove along the North Lake Road, I was tickled by the crowds of bloom peepers – young and old – frolicking and posing for photos alongside the fields of blooms.

It turns out I wasn’t exactly a trailblazer. Photos of Bartlett Lake’s gorgeous yellow-gold Mexican poppies had been popping up on Instagram and Twitter for more than a week, and I couldn’t resist. I decided to follow the crowd. And sometimes the crowd is right!

I simply loved the explosion of colors. In every direction, it seemed, were more flowers, stretching off into the distance. I happily joined the camera-clad crowds.

3 Comments

Posted on March 13, 2019 by nearandfaraz

A hike and a bite, Arizona, cactus, Desert, hiking, Near, Sightseeing, trails, Uncategorized, Wildflowers

Arizona hiking, Arizona wildflowers, Bartlett Lake, cactus, cholla, hiking, Jojoba Trail, poppies, saguaro, Super bloom, Tonto National Forest, Wildflowers

“Over the red lands and the gray lands, twisting up into the mountains, crossing the Divide and down into the bright and terrible desert, and across the desert to the mountains again, and into the rich California valleys.”

The Grapes of Wrath

For me, any mention of Route 66 always conjures up images of John Steinbeck’s epic novel “The Grapes of Wrath” and the fictional Joad family’s arduous journey from Oklahoma to California.

Over the years, I’ve taken in bits and pieces of the historic highway, always marveling at the narrow two-lane road and its status for decades as America’s main east-west route between Chicago and Santa Monica, California.

A recent re-reading of “The Grapes of Wrath” set me to wondering about Arizona’s remaining sections of the original roadway. And, since I live within a few hours of all of the Arizona towns along the route, I decided to spend the coming weekends retracing the Joads’ route through the state.

Starting with Holbrook in the east, my goal is to head west, like the Joads – taking in Winslow, Two Guns, Flagstaff, Williams, Hackberry, Kingman, and Topock – all the way to the Colorado River on the California border. Of course, along the way, I’ll be stopping at some of the cool roadside attractions and epic hikes as well.

3 Comments

Posted on January 31, 2019 by nearandfaraz

Arizona, Desert, Destinations, hiking, National Parks, Near, New Mexico, Road trip, Route 66, Sightseeing, trails, Travel, Uncategorized

Grapes of Wrath, history, Holbrook Arizona, John Steinbeck, Local, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park, Road trip, Route 66, Travel, views

The scene I awoke to Sunday morning, Jan. 13, 2019, was anything but the sunny hiking weather I had been expecting. The weather forecast the day before had been predicting rain for Saturday night, followed by a partly cloudy day on Sunday. But in Northern Arizona – at more than 5,300 feet elevation – you never know.

Magically, that light rain had morphed into several inches of fluffy white snow.

2 Comments

Posted on January 15, 2019 by nearandfaraz

A hike and a bite, Arizona, cactus, Desert, Food, hiking, Near, Prescott, Road trip, trails, Uncategorized, Wildflowers

Arizona hiking, Black Canyon City, Black Canyon Trail, Four seasons in a day, Phoenix area hiking, Rock Springs Cafe, Rock Springs Cafe pie

When I moved from the upper plains of North Dakota to the desert southwest of Arizona years ago, one of the questions I frequently got from friends back home went something like this: “How do you get into the holiday spirit with no snow?”

True, it took some getting used to. In place of the frigid moonlight toboggan parties I was used to around Christmastime were balmy days at the barbecue grill. And rather than a landscape that was almost guaranteed to feature glistening snowy hills were towering saguaro cacti backlit by golden sunlight.

Of course, living in Northern Arizona, I still occasionally get a white Christmas. But they are few and far between. More likely is a holiday season featuring vivid blue skies, a few fluffy clouds, and mild 50- and 60-degree weather.

After a few decades of Southwestern life, though, I’ll have to say that the desert Christmas has grown on me. In fact, a lit-up palm tree can get me a little misty-eyed. I’ve come to appreciate the joys of wandering through the lit-up plazas, courtyards, and hotel grounds of the Christmas-y towns of Arizona.

Here are a few of my favorite Arizona spots to take in a delightful desert Christmas.

3 Comments

Posted on December 18, 2018 by nearandfaraz

Arizona, cactus, Christmas light, Desert, Desert Christmas, Food, hiking, Holiday lights, Near, North Dakota, Prescott, Sightseeing, trails, Travel, Uncategorized

Arizona Christmas, Arizona's Christmas City, Christmas at the Princess, Christmas lights, Desert Christmas, Fairmont, Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Food, Holiday lights, Local, Prescott Arizona, Prescott Valley Arizona, Scottsdale Arizona, Sedona, Sedona Arizona, Travel, Valley of Lights

Before my road trip to Hatch, New Mexico, in early October, I wasn’t even aware that “Hatch-heads” existed. Now, after spending a few days exploring the area, I have to admit that I’ve joined the ranks of those somewhat obsessed fans of the chile peppers native to the Hatch Valley.

Admittedly, I’ve always loved green chiles. I can never resist the rich fragrance of roasting chiles at my local farmers’ market. And I always have a supply of canned diced chiles in my cupboard, or whole-roasted chiles in my freezer. I use them in everything from tortilla soup to refried beans to chile rellenos.

But I had never before experienced the chile bonanza that is harvest time in Hatch. From the minute you leave Interstate 25 about 185 miles south of Albuquerque (exit 41 onto New Mexico Route 543) and cross the tree-lined Rio Grande, you are transported to a virtual chile wonderland.

Shop after shop in the small farming village of Hatch features bright-colored signs and rows upon rows of ropes bursting with drying red chiles.

As I drove down Hatch’s main street, the Grajeda Farms Hatch Chile Market caught my attention, with its six-foot-long strings of glossy red chiles. I spent more than an hour wandering through the outdoor curtains of pepper strings and exploring the indoor market with its shelves of chile powder and Mexican-style pottery.

Permeating everything was the rich scent of chile peppers.

1 Comment

Posted on October 7, 2018 by nearandfaraz

Far, Food, Near, New Mexico, Road trip, Sightseeing, Travel, Uncategorized

Chile Fanatic, chile trail, cooking, Food, green chile trail, green chiles, Hatch chiles, Hatch New Mexico, kitsch, red chile, Travel

For a true western experience that combines rugged high-desert terrain with refreshments in an authentic historic train-depot setting, Prescott, Arizona offers a classic duo: A strenuous hike in the Granite Mountain Wilderness Area, capped off with a fitting reward at the nearby Iron Springs Cafe.

Located west of the city, the wilderness area features a network of trails that zigzag through the granite boulders that make up the foothills of the massive Granite Mountain, Prescott’s largest and most prominent promontory.

And located conveniently along the way is the historic Hillside Depot building, which was moved to the spot decades ago, and now serves as the charming Iron Springs Cafe.

Among the most popular of the wilderness area’s routes is the Little Granite Mountain Trail, which begins from a trailhead located about eight miles from downtown Prescott along Iron Springs Road.

The trek is rugged and the climb is steep, but the payoffs are rich. Alligator junipers, agave cacti, and massive rock formations crowd the first mile or so of the trail.

1 Comment

Posted on April 12, 2017 by nearandfaraz

Arizona, hiking, Near, Prescott, Uncategorized, Waterfalls

hiking, hiking Arizona, Peavine Trail, Prescott hiking, Prescott trails, Rails-to-trails, views

Water – it’s precious anywhere, but in Arizona, it takes on a value that I think only desert dwellers can understand. Think 115-degree summertime temps and near-zero-percent humidity, and you get the picture.

So, when there’s a spot where sparkling, blue-green water is gushing through a rugged desert canyon, it gets people’s attention.

2 Comments

Posted on March 20, 2017 by nearandfaraz

Arizona, Destinations, hiking, Near, Uncategorized, Waterfalls

Arizona, Arizona hiking, Fossil Creek, Waterfalls, Wild and Scenic River

“I had no idea Arizona got any snow!” – It’s a comment I see often when I post snowy photos on Instagram.

And yes, it can be confusing.

Towering saguaro cacti, 115-degree temps, and sunny poolside scenes: These are the images that likely come to mind when most people think of Arizona. But snow? I’ll admit it’s a little counter-intuitive.

But the state is split by elevation. For most parts of the lower-altitude Phoenix and Tucson, snow is almost unheard of. Northern Arizona is a whole different story though. I like to think of it as a hybrid – part desert, part mountain.

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6 cool traits that set Scottsdale AZ apart

Western chic meets outdoor splendor

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Wild horses ‘dragged me’ into the Old West

Finding the Salt River Wild Horses

Flower power: Arizona’s ‘super’-natural wildflower scene

‘The red lands and the gray lands’ of Arizona’s Mother Road

“Over the red lands and the gray lands, twisting up into the mountains, crossing the Divide and down into the bright and terrible desert, and across the desert to the mountains again, and into the rich California valleys.”

The Grapes of Wrath

‘Four seasons’ in a single day? Welcome to Arizona in January

A desert Christmas: Cooler than you might think

On the Green-Chile Trail

Iron Springs, AZ: Prime spot for a ‘hike and a bite’

A Hike and a Bite: South Mountain, Phoenix

Prescott’s most charming trail

Paradise – Arizona style

Yes, we get snow in Arizona, and it’s spectacular

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