Sunny Scottsdale

Wide open sunshine and 70* temperatures were a definite highlight for this sun-starved New Englander.

Our 2nd Annual New Year’s Eve camping expedition was memorable, once again. Watching the last stars of the old year fade away and the first sunrise of the New Year make its mark has become my favorite way to celebrate. Something unexpected always happens!

Quick Tips:

There are great hiking possibilities within the heart of the city making a stroll through the desert or a chest thumping hike up Camelback or Squaw’s Peak available at a moment’s notice.

Scottsdale/Phoenix is brimming over with arts and cultural events. The Thursday edition of ‘The Arizona Republic’ contains an entertainment guide or check it out online at azcentral.com/rep

From Scottsdale you can easily travel to Sedona, Flagstaff, Prescott or Tucson, all in 2 hours or less.

About an hour out of the city you can enjoy the vast wilderness of the Tonto National Forest and traveling a bit further will bring you to the mountain town of Payson. The higher elevations and cooler temperatures of the mountain region make visiting Arizona, even in the summertime, an option.

Las Vegas is about 6 hours away but gamblers will find plenty of casino action right in the valley. Casino Arizona, on the Salt River Indian Community is adjacent to the southern Scottsdale border. A little northeast is Fort McDowell Casino, an enterprise of the Mohave Apache community.

Bring plenty of credit cards. Scottsdale is a shopaholic's dream come true. There are stores everywhere.

Best Way To Get Around:

You will want a car.

Scottsdale/Phoenix is laid out in a grid pattern, making it very easy to navigate. Everyone knows their orientation by the cardinal directions. Natives will say the store is on SW corner rather than right or left side.

Those of you not from the East Coast may not find this unusual and if you want to learn to appreciate the grid system again I invite you to visit Boston & try to find your way around in a rental car.

On the other hand, Boston has outstanding public transportation; something I’ve been told is almost non-existent in Scottsdale. There are buses but they are infrequent and travel, for the most part, on the main streets only. But the buses do have bike racks, making biking & busing an option. If you don’t need a car and just want to get to your hotel or other destination, there are several shuttle services out of the airport that will take you anywhere for a good price. 1-800-258-3826 will connect you with one of the shuttles

The Scottsdale Condos are a very well-kept secret that I am about to let you in on. There are 200 units in the complex. Some folks live there full-time but a lot of the units are owned by retired snowbirds from Minnesota who live here just through the winter. And then there are some units, from studios up to 2-bedrooms that are available for rent through the winter months.

Depending on size and degree of décor updates, the typical monthly rent would be $800 - $1200 for the in-season months of January thru March. To keep the place from feeling like a motel, there is a minimum one-month rental requirement. At those prices, it’s worth it to rent a condo for the month even if you only stay 2 weeks! Rental availability is made known by word of mouth or a posting on the community bulletin board. Many people come back year after year, staying anywhere from 1-3 months. Rents drop as low as $600 for the months of November, December and April.

There are 2 pools; one heated, one unheated and a hot tub. The grounds are meticulously maintained and (this is important) green! I absolutely love the desert but my eyes crave some bold color every now and then.

The regulars are friendly but unobtrusive. There is a mix of ages; it is not exclusively retired folks.

Some of the 2nd floor units have a beautiful view of Camelback Mountain. Small pets are allowed in 1 of the 3 buildings.

The location is nice – 20 minutes from the airport, a few blocks from ‘Old Town’ (tourist shops, art galleries, restaurants) and Fashion Square Mall (2-story mall that spans 2 city blocks) and fairly easy access to freeways. Despite the proximity to all this; the buildings are situated in a way that creates the feeling of being away from it all, especially when lounging at the pools.

Of course there are other lodging options. Scottsdale boasts numerous 5-star resorts, such as The Camelback Inn or the Phoenician Resort.

Or you could get a good room for under $100 just outside of Old Town at the EconoLodge or Ramada Inn. The last time I stayed at the Ramada Valley Ho (I swear to you, they actually call it that!) we got a perfectly adequate double for $68.00.

The Tequila Grill is a snazzy, upscale, pleasingly designed place and the food is pretty good too. The first time I ate there I couldn’t help but feel like I was part of a sophisticated scene. I had the Phoenix Cheese Steak Sandwich and it was different & delicious. A friend had the Tenderloin and although it was small & over $20 it was absolutely melt in your mouth.

With my next visit, my friend and I had the place to ourselves at 4:30PM. Eventually a few people drifted in to the bar; the start of the after-work crowd. This time I had the Drunken Chicken. It was ‘presented’ beautifully, as they say on the cooking shows. The rolled, stuffed and wine-drenched chicken breasts, mound of spicy rice and grilled vegetables sat on a light green tortilla, which had been cut in a sunburst pattern.

The chefs here appreciate and do right by the vegetables. The carrots, broccoli and miniature squash were crisp-cooked perfectly, and made to feel an important part of the meal, not regulated to a mushy side dish.

There was enough of everything to have another full meal to take home.

The fancy Margaritas were a disappointment; although they are served in a glass the size of a small bucket they didn’t have much punch but did have a hefty price tag. So on the second visit we ordered just water & lemon but our thirst was squelched when we learned that it was tap water! Like Mexico, you don’t drink the tap water in Scottsdale.

Something besides the water left a bad taste in my mouth. We ordered a crème broulee with 2 spoons for dessert. Our waitress brought over a huge plate with 2 dessert dishes of the stuff. When we commented that we had only ordered one dessert she assured us that this was a single dessert. But this was not reflected on the bill unless the going price for dessert is $8.95 these days. And to top it off, the broulee at Tomato’s at Fashion Square Mall was better!

Despite all this I do enjoy the Tequila Grill for a ‘fancy’ night out. Just have a Margarita somewhere else first and make sure to ask for bottled water. Better yet, make a statement and bring your own bottled water. Then check your bill carefully to be sure they don’t charge for a glass of ice. Make a fuss if they do. This young, not-a-chain (yet) restaurant has possibilities but we must do what we can to keep it from becoming overly ostentatious!

Can you recall how the masses dined out pre-MacDonald’s? If you do, you’ll love the 5 & Diner. If not, you’ll love it too. The 5 & Diner is a fun place to eat. There are 9 of them scattered throughout the metropolis. I ate at the location on N. Tatum Boulevard near the Paradise Valley Mall.

The whole place is vintage 50’s right down to the swivel stools at the counter and the functioning tabletop jukeboxes at the booths. (2 plays for a quarter!) Even my waiter played the part with his slicked back, impeccable blond hair and all-American boy looks.

Like any diner worth its salt you can order breakfast all day. The food is pretty good – ranging from traditional diner favorites like homemade meatloaf with mashed and gravy or a turkey club to updated versions of diner food like Veggie Burgers and Taco Salad. The fountain drinks span the generations too; you can get a malt or egg cream or a yogurt shake.

Prices are very good. I didn’t see anything on the menu costing more than $8. Even so, there are breakfast, lunch and dinner ‘blue plate specials’ every day. These are between $4 and $6.

Bring the kids! They’ll get a good meal and a history lesson!

Having arrived back in the city by late morning on New Year’s Day I was twitching to do something else. My local buddy suggested Squaw’s Peak. By mid-afternoon I jumped in the car and headed northwest from the condo. About 15 minutes later I found the entrance to the Park.

My plan was to scope out the area and come back the next day. What happened was… a parking space presented itself. This was nothing to slight. The place was jammed with people trying to keep their New Year’s Resolution of more exercise.

The car rolled smoothly into the space and I sat there watching the steady stream of people following or returning from the Summit Trail.

Usually, I am the kind of person who doesn’t like to hike trails that have as much traffic as a city sidewalk but something was pulling me. And, the hiking shoes had slid out from under the front seat and were nudging me. So up we went.

It’s 1.2 miles to the summit. The trail begins with a wide, meandering, fairly smooth path with some rocky areas. As it gets steeper it gets rockier with some big rock ‘steps’. The views all along are great for stopping to catch your breath. There were a lot of very fit people who jog up and back! Another impressive sight was a man coming down the trail with his 8 or 9 year-old daughter, sitting on his shoulders – a stunning portrait of balance, strength and teamwork.

There was quite a variety of people hiking. From the very fit to those who quite obviously had no idea what they were getting into. Everyone observed excellent trail protocol, which means downhill traffic always yields to the upcoming, no matter the speed.

The summit is a jagged crag, 2600’ above the valley floor where folks rest, scan the views and silently pat themselves on the back.

The sun was just setting as I headed back down and I was rewarded with a magnificent, fiery crimson sunset to cap off the 1st day of the New Year.

Arizona has a vast amount of wilderness areas and free, primitive camping is allowed on most of it. Primitive means no facilities; you carry in what you need and bring everything back out with you, leaving no trace that you were ever there. There are plenty of full-service campgrounds too for those requiring restrooms, showers and other amenities.

We like to ‘car camp’. That is to find a primitive spot that we can drive to with our trunks loaded up with most of the comforts of home.

This year, to allow for everyone’s hectic schedule, we chose a campsite just an hour outside of Scottsdale in the Superstition Wilderness Area of the Tonto National Forest. About 20 minutes past Apache Junction we took a left off of Rt. 60 onto the road that goes to the community of Queen Valley. Less than 2 miles up this road we took a right onto a dirt track leading to our destination.

Right off the bat things seemed a little peculiar.

Mary & I were to meet Lloyd and Johanna at a particular location. We found the spot easy enough but imagine our surprise to find two militiamen types there, shooting what looked like high-powered rifles into targets set up on a small hill. We cruised past them trying not to gape and they pretty much ignored us.

We pulled over a short way up the road. Mary had to make a pit stop. She came running back to the car exclaiming that it was like being in a war zone with the sounds of the shots echoing off the hills.

Fortunately Lloyd arrived soon. He was looking all good and happy. But he had some disappointing news. He had previously scouted the area and had chosen 2 potential campsites. Now he had just discovered that his first choice had already been nabbed. Well, site number two would have to do!

It was a fine site with huge mesquite trees and green, grassy areas thanks to the heavy fall rains this year. We set up camp and had a little lunch.

Lloyd & Johanna told us that the people over at our first choice site were “re-enacters.” They dress in 1800’s style clothing and could have nothing in camp that existed after 1840. Their tents were canvas, utensils handmade and most of them were pretty good marksmen with gun powder muskets.

We decided to take a little cross-country hike to visit with our neighbors and a short while later we walked into their camp. Their presence was so complete (once you got past the cars) that I felt as though I was visiting them from the future!

They welcomed us warmly. The head honcho was called CowCatcher and he spent a lot of time answering our questions and showing us around. He explained how some of the marksmen competitions worked and made very sure we knew where the courses were set up. We could hear an occasional shot and if you heard the ‘ting’ after the shot you knew the target hidden in the brush had been hit.

Some of the women could shoot those heavy guns too but they also had the “Bobbitt Throw” to hone their skills. There was a slab of tree trunk hung up on a tripod. A hot dog (hhmmmm… are hot dogs pre-1840?) was pinned to the slab with a couple of toothpicks. And then, as you may have guessed, the women bring out their hatchets!

A small, dark-haired woman called “Grasshopper” had the deadly aim and cleaved the dog to win the contest!

Soon after that we headed back to the future and our campsite. We settled in for the night, had some dinner and kept the fire going till the arrival of the New Year.

As interesting as this trip was, I wouldn’t recommend this area, at least not on popular camping days. We had some other neighbors, whom we never saw but we sure could hear and the fools were shooting off guns at midnight. A number of innocent people get killed every year from idiots shooting bullets into the air. Fortunately we all lived to see the New Year.

This was the trade-off for the short drive time. Last year we drove way down past Tuscon and camped in the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge and pretty much didn’t see or hear anyone else for the three days we were there.

New Year’s Day, Mary was up long before the dawn because her new sleeping bag wasn’t working too well and she froze all night. She had just about everything packed by the time the sun was coming up. All that activity was enough to get me up in time to see the first sunrise of 2001.

It was a piddly little event with some pale gray and pink streaks shooting out over the top of a mesa. As far as the universe was concerned it was just another day.