5 posts tagged “arizona”
On my way home from Phoenix, I had a 4-hour layover in Lost Wages. Since I had time to spare, I took a $6 shuttle from the airport to the strip, which you could literally walk to if it weren't on the other side of the runway: I took these shots from the terminal waiting for my flight back out:
Walking around Las Vegas is like being in some kind of crazy malarial dream. Everything is familiar, yet somehow intensified, woozy and wrong. Pyramids. Roman temples. A condensed, Disneyfied New York skyline. A roller coaster right downtown. Everything all jumbled harum-scarum together. Kind of like a cheap stripper: all enthusiasm and no grace.
I wandered into the MGM Grand. The lobby appears to be the size of downtown Ottawa. I look to my left, and there are two girls in leather bikinis dancing on a bar to Prince's Let's Go Crazy. I look to my right, and there's an indoor lion safari area, with real lions sleeping everywhere and fat Midwestern tourists taking pictures of them. The din from the slot machines is constant and deafening. It's not even noon.
I had Singapore noodles at the Chinese restaurant in the hotel. I was looking for someplace a little swankier, thinking I'd treat myself for my last vacation meal. But all the better places seem to only open for dinner.
I could have wandered around longer, but I started feeling really anxious and physically uncomfortable, and eager to get back to a more recognizable dimension. I think an hour and a half is about my Las Vegas limit. I certainly won't be dropping any cash there on holiday, but it was fun to hang out for a bit. Thank you, thank you very much.
Since we're both culture vultures of the highest order, it only made sense for AmyH to show off Phoenix's artistic side. Here's just a sampling.
This is the brand spanking new Tempe Center for the Arts on the shores of Tempe Town Lake.
I took a little tour of the inside and visited a Roy Orbison exhibit. Bonus: clean public restrooms!
Here's an example of the fine public art that can be found around the city. This is a recently unveiled statue in a trendy new part of Scottsdale. It represents the Pony Express post, handing the mail from one rider to another.
This is the art museum at Arizona State in Tempe. I thought the architecture was quite striking.
I spent a pleasant couple of hours wandering around inside. I was practically the only visitor. There was a provocative and intriguing exhibit of pieces from the private ceramics collection of the Besser family. Many of the works featured weird, grotesque portrayals of animals. Here is a crucifixion scene with greyhounds.
According to the panel, the artist, Adelaide Paul, is commenting on the martyrdom and suffering of animals at the hands of humans.
There was an artist-in-residence named Josh Greene working on a social studies inspired project with the museum. I dropped by his area, but a handwritten sign said he had gone out for lunch. He had this mobile hanging by his desk in the gallery where he was working.
The caption on the picture at the bottom right with the two boys says, "Jump in. The water is warm." Note spreading yellow puddle. *snerk*.
To the left is a photo of a homeless guy holding a sign that says, "NINJAS KILLED MY FAMILY, NEED MONEY FOR KUNG-FU LESSONS."
Naturally, I also went to the world-famous Heard Museum in Phoenix, but that was before my luggage had arrived. Since I didn't have my camera charger, I couldn't take any pics that first day.
On my last night in AZ , the lovely and multi-talented AmyH deigned to share the secret of her world-famous napkin chicken with me.
Step one: take a large cloth napkin and lay it flat, like so:
Steps four and five: grasp firmly in left hand at the fold. With right hand, tease out the inner rolls at each of the four corners:
Step six: unfold carefully...
Amy says, "I didn't say it was going to look like a LIVE chicken."
Apart from US(eless) Air losing my luggage on the way down, it was a delectable and perfect holiday from start to finish. every day was 90 degrees and sunny and filled with fun and margaritas and great food and margaritas and museums and awe-inspiring natural monuments and margaritas.
There's almost too much to tell in one post. So while I get my thoughts together, I'll share a few pics and highlights.
The photo above was taken after a day at the spa. We got up at the crack of dawn to go horseback riding. I got a bad-tempered mare (me: "is she in heat?" them: "no, she's just a bitch all the time."). Amy got a cute cowboy to flirt with.
This is Sedona, land of the red rocks and hippie candle shops where you can get your chi realigned for only $50. We went for a hike and Amy flirted with a couple of cute guys from Chicago (notice a pattern here?).
At the Grand Canyon, majestic and rare California condors, which have recently been reintroduced into the park, flew so close to our heads you could count their feathers. They fix you with their reptilian yellow eye and say "I can haz carrion?"
More thumbnail sketches:
Most embarrassing/hysterically funny thing uttered by an American tourist:
"I wonder if it's Easter in Brazil" (overheard during lunch in Sedona. Tequila almost came snorting out of our noses.)
Runner up:
Ditzy blonde girl visiting her ASU BF sees a sign for the Arizona Republic, a local paper: "Do you think that's like Banana Republic?"
Best margarita:
OMG, they were all sooooo good. How to choose? But I'm going to have to go with the Organic Margarita at El Barrio in Phoenix. Made with agave nectar. Yum. This place also had the best guacamole I've ever had in my life, people. Chopped fresh at your table (by a hot latino waiter). With pomegranate seeds. I could have just eaten that all night.
Best random encounter:
The impossibly good looking young Danish couple who were at our B&B. We went out for dinner with them in Flagstaff. They were both tall, fit, blonde, blue-eyed doctors. She's pregnant. I started calling them The Aryans in my head. They were totally funny and cool, and really sick of French fries.
Runner-up: The woman selling elk and buffalo jerky on the side of the road outside Flagstaff. Her story: "12 years ago, I was driving up to Flagstaff with my then husband. I saw this guy selling jerky out of the back of his truck. I wanted to stop. My husband said, 'don't be crazy, you don't just buy jerky from some guy selling it on the side of the road.' Well, here I am, the husband is long gone and I'm still with the guy who was selling jerky by the side of the road."
On Friday, my much-awaited 2008 Hidden Trails catalogue of horseback riding vacations arrived in the mail.
Most of their Canada and US trips are variations on the dude ranch/city slicker cowboy experience, which admittedly I'm not into as much. However, one place in Arizona caught my eye: the Rancho de la Osa (ranch of the she-bear), near Tuscon:
It's in one of the oldest continuously operating haciendas in the US. The decor, as you can see, is subdued and elegant--none of that cheesy knotty-pine/bandana print hoe-down gone wild crap you see at a lot of these ranches. The horse all look beautiful and well cared for. They have a luxe heated swimming pool in the courtyard:
In the evenings, guests all sit at long communal tables for gourmet Southwest cuisine with a twist:
I can totally see myself spending a few blissful days in the desert sunshine there. I have enough air miles to fly to Pheonix. I could even meet up with AmyH! Heck, maybe we can go on a trail ride together, and she can show me her mad roping skillz :)
