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6 cool traits that set Scottsdale AZ apart

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.”

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 Posted on April 10, 2019 by

 A hike and a bite, Arizona, cactus, Cityscapes, Desert, Desert Christmas, Destinations, Food, hiking, Lists, Near, Salt River, Sightseeing, trails, Travel, Uncategorized, Wildflowers

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

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.

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 Posted on March 13, 2019 by

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

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

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.

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 Posted on January 15, 2019 by

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

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Greatest hiking ‘hits’ of 2018

From trudging through snowy-white sand in New Mexico’s 90-degree autumn weather to venturing deep into the shady woods of central Czech Republic, my hikes of 2018 were varied, to say the least.

Also unique this year was my participation in the 52 Hike Challenge – a movement that encourages people to get out onto the trails at least once a week for the entire year.

It was fairly casual participation on my part, because I didn’t fully document every single hike I took on social media, and some of my hikes were repeats on local favorites. Even so, I had plenty of ‘first times’ too – from the beaches of Southern California, to the mountains of Utah, to the depths of the Grand Canyon.

So, as 2018 comes to an end, and as I close in on my 52nd hike of the year, I am taking a look back at the top 10 – my personal ‘greatest-hit hikes’ of 2018:

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 Posted on December 30, 2018 by

 Arizona, beaches, cactus, California, Canada, Cityscapes, Czech Republic, Desert, Destinations, Europe, European travel, Far, Grand Canyon, hiking, Lists, New Mexico, Prescott, Road trip, Sedona, trails, Travel, Uncategorized, Vysocina, Wildflowers

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Western North Dakota: More than just oil wells

For the past decade or so, it seems, each time I’ve mentioned my home state of North Dakota, I’ve gotten the same response, “Ah, oilfield country.”

An improvement, perhaps, over the previous “Oh, don’t you just love that movie, ‘Fargo?’” but still. It made me wonder if oil activity is what truly characterizes western North Dakota these days.

So, as I was planning my recent road trip to North Dakota, I decided to find out for myself. I hadn’t been back to the western half of the state in years, and I was curious about whether the oil industry had taken a toll on the spectacular scenery I remembered.

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 Posted on August 23, 2016 by

 Far, hiking, North Dakota, North Dakota, Road trip, Sightseeing, Travel, Wildflowers

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Chasing clouds (and wildflowers)

With an evening hike in my sights, I surveyed the sky. Arizona’s monsoon thunderstorms had been wreaking havoc on my plans to get outdoors recently, and I was hoping for a small window of sunshine to hit the trail.

What I saw was encouraging: An afternoon of intermittent thunder and lighting had given way to mostly sunny skies. And not a lighting strike in sight. A perfect evening to chase some clouds, I thought.

I quickly considered my options, and decided to head for Prescott’s northern Peavine Trail, where I knew I would have unobstructed views of the puffy clouds to the north.

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 Posted on August 22, 2016 by

 Arizona, hiking, Near, Wildflowers

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