A short trip to the Desert Southwest

It occurred to me as I watched pictures of the East Coast deep in snow, that there might be some interest for readers to consider a quick get away to a bit warmer climate. There is no snow in the destination I am going to tell you about today and there are plenty of fun and interesting things to do in 3 or 4 days.

I just returned from Arizona, and I'd like to share with you one part of that trip as it is quite a nice little get-a-way if you are looking for a weekender.

I am lucky that my travel buddy, CJS, has her primary residence (when not on a travel adventure) in Arizona.   The day after Christmas I flew out early to Phoenix to met up with CJS and two other friends  from the east coast.  Phoenix is a good central place to gather before heading out to Tucson, Arizona. 

A word about Sky Harbor, Phoenix airport:  Southwest flies there and it is usually pretty easy to get a good price on a flight there.  The airport itself is very clean.  There are signs that say " Sky Harbor, the friendliest airport!" and I have to say, every encounter I had there was very friendly.  That being said, here is a warning to the driver that goes to the airport to get everyone one - it's a bit confusing.  Having a GPS is super helpful.  If renting the car at the airport, make sure your rental has one.

If you've never driven on the freeways in Phoenix, you will be pleasantly surprised by the cool art work on the sound walls.  It makes the 2 hour drive to Tucson colorful and interesting.  

We arrived at the Starr Pass Marriott in the late afternoon, checked in.  The greeting at the door was warm & friendly.  Jude at the front desk checked us in.  Jude was terrific, friendly and efficient. The rooms are large and have recently been renovated.  The resort fee is $29 and includes wireless internet, Parking, free guide hike, sage ceremony & Tequila Toast.  

We got warm beverages at Starbucks in the hotel and wandered around this beautiful property.  At 5:30 each evening the hotel does a tequila toast around the fire-pits out on the back terrace.  We decided to eat on property as we were all a little tired from flying and driving.  The hotel's restaurant is called 'Signature'.  It's your basic hotel restaurant with A+ service.  Food varies depending on what you are looking for.  The Pozole is excellent! The bread basket they set on your table has delicious breadsticks, cracker-bread with walnuts and rolls.  

The next day, after a little breakfast in Signature, we were off to Sabino Canyon -

Amazing colors in Sabino 

Cotton wood trees & cactus! Located on the northeast corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Sabino Canyon Road at Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. With soaring mountains, deep canyons, and the unique plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert found here draw over a million visitors a year to the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. The wonders of the desert foothills and rocky gorges of the Santa Catalina Mountains are marvelous and accessible.

The above description is from the Forest Service web site.  This is their web address if you would like more information on the hiking trails, Visitor Center, Rentals, guides & fees:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coronado/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=80532&actid=50 We arrived on a Saturday, mid-morning and it was difficult to find parking.  But with a little patience we found a spot.  For $8 you can take a narrated  tram ride to the top of the canyon. There are 9 stops along the way, and each is a trail head.  We all rode to the top and enjoyed the ride an informational narration from our driver.  Two of our group got out to hike the Phone Line trail.  The two others in our group rode down to stop 3 and hiked a loop trail from there.  Both were spectacular!  I would love to go back and hike all of the trails on another visit.   looking up from the Phone Line trail After hiking up the switchbacks to reach the trail head for the Phone Line Trail  After Sabino, we heading in to the older part of Tucson, to have an early dinner at El Charro located in Tucon's Historic El Presidio district.

Established in 1922, El Charro Café of Tucson, Arizona is The Nation's Oldest Mexican Restaurant in continuous operation by the same family.  We had discovered this treasure on our last visit and made it a point to have a meal there.  Check out their fascinating history on this website:

http://www.elcharrocafe.com/history.asp

They are famous for the Carne Secca, but all the food is fabulous!  Get there early before the crowds and enjoy happy hour pricing on Margaritas & Appetizers.  Needless to say we at way too much!  After a walk around the neighborhood to get some air, we headed back to the resort.  

We spent a nice evening in the lounge listening to live music.  It was off to bed at a reasonable time so we could get up for the 7:30 am Sage Burning Ceremony located around the larges fire pit on the back patio.

There was a good size group of around 20 people and the ceremony was a wonderful way to start our day.

After breakfast 3 of us headed in to the Older part of Tucson and a strip called the Miracle Mile, for a photo safari of old neon signs.  There is a website that has a discription of the area and a driving map.  Here is a modified excerpt from the Tucson.gov site:

Throughout the middle of the 20th century, Miracle Mile, Oracle Road & Drachman Street were together know as Tucson's Miracle Mile Strip.  For many, this area defined their Tucson experience and shaped their first impression of the Old Pueblo.  Swimming pools, flickering neon & lush grassy courtyards welcomed visitors to motels with names like La Siesta, 

El Ray, Frontier & El Rancho.  Today, these iconic buildings and glowing signs have emerged from history to provide a persistent reminder of the continuing American fascination with the Automobile. Classic Neon signes still evoke an era of fast cars & a slower pace of life.  These wonderful example sof mid-20th century commercial art are an experience day or night. 

It was Sunday and easy to drive around the area for the pictures we wanted.  Afterwords we hand lunch at the Resort Club house.  Excellent BBQ and the NFL Ticket made for a nice afternoon and after that, a lazy evening.  It is easy to relax at Starr Pass, and again we found ourselves listening to live music in the lounge before heading to our rooms for the evening. 

Hiking Starr Pass 

Monday morning came too quickly and it was time to head back to Phoenix, but not before one more Hike.   After a bit to eat, we crossed the street to do a short hike. The Starr Pass Resort is in the Tucson Mountain Park and you simply cross the street to access the trail heads.  There is a short loop trail as well as longer trails.  The Resort offers a guided trail walk every morning at 6:30 am.  We had done that hike on our last visit, so we decided to hike on our own.  It was a enjoyable way to start the day before getting on the road for the drive back to Phoenix.  

So many cool looking Saguaro 

As I have mentioned, we've done the little 3-day get away to Tucson before - here are a few other things to see and do when in the area that are really worth while:

• Pima Air & Space Museum
• Saguaro National Park 
• Tombstone (yes that Tombstone with the OK Corral)
• The Titan Missile Museum ( really cool!! Go if you can)
• Tubac Presidio State Historic Park ( this is a full day)
• Picacho Peak State Park

On our next trip we hope to spend more time at Sabino as well as going to the Mt. Lemmon Sky Center and Kartchner Caverns State Park.  

One new travel tip to add to this entry - when flying - do not where anything with sparkly stones on it!  This will cause you to get the full body search as the stones look weird on the X-ray machine!  Lesson learned!  

Safe Travels & Happy trails.....

Susan

Please note 90% of photos on this page are by CJS, great photographer!