Arizona and the Navajo Nation: Phoenix to Tuba

Clean and efficient, the Clarion Hotel Phoenix Tech Center is a fine place to stay for a night or two. The rooms are small, but comfortable, and include a television and mini-fridge. All rooms include complimentary continental breakfast as well as a complimentary meal during the social hours. The meal is a small buffet; when we stayed there, meatballs in sauce were served and there were hot dog rolls to make hot meatball sandwiches. There was also macaroni and cheese and a salad bar. The pool is also a nice asset; it is heated, so it's not too cold to swim in even in January. My only complaint is that the rooms were a little too small for four people, even though there were two double beds. The food was pretty good. We had a late lunch and were only a little hungry at dinnertime, so a small hot meatball sandwich was a great option.

The Heard Museum is one of the most beautiful museums I have ever seen. You enter onto a beautiful patio area with trees, cacti, and a stone fountain with water flowing peacefully over smooth rocks. Inside, the museum is spectacular. There are many displays of Native American art, including an impressive display of clay and colored glass; it looks delicate, but strong. An important exhibit at the museum is the exhibit on boarding schools for Native Americans. The exhibit shows what happened to Native American children when they were taken away from their families and sent to boarding school where their culture was taken away from them. This exhibit is sad, but a must-see, take some time to reflect near the fountain afterwards. The gardens and courtyards at the Heard are vibrant, green, and serene with statues coming out from within the greenery. For more information on the museum including current hours and ticket prices check out their website: www.heard.org

The Devil’s Bridge trail starts out very easily- the path is wide with only a slight incline and is lined with cacti and other plants that we tried to identify as we went along. There was some snow along the edges of the trail, but the trail itself was clear. About halfway up we came to a lookout point where the rocks and cliffs of Arizona stretched out for miles. Then, the real climbing began. The trail became steep and rocky, I felt like a real climber even though the climbing was fairly easy. At the top of the rock formation the trees divide and you can see Devil’s Bridge and the mesas beyond. As we continued along the trail, now flat, but thin and a bit rocky, we discovered we could climb out onto Devil’s Bridge itself. Once on the bridge we discovered that it is wider than it looks, but still skinny enough that we had to be careful.

We sat and relaxed on the bridge and ate our lunch, sandwiches we’d bought at the Wildflower Bread Company in Sedona. Mine was Turkey and Brie on herbed bread, pretty fancy for a hike, but it hit the spot- a tasty, upscale designer sandwich out in the rocky landscape of Arizona where the sky seems to go on forever and the shadows from the sun make the view change constantly. The hike back down was easy once I got over the rocks and back to the gravel-y trail. The trees and cacti are so beautiful against the red rock, the trail is peaceful, if crowded at peak times, and I highly recommend this hike.