Be sure to check out the full trip photo album.
Sat and Sun: I had some extra time off and had been wanted to get out to Arizona to see my dad and Sharon. With other time constraints, including the desire to avoid the hot weather that would be there during my mid-August week off, I decided the first week in March would work well. Kyle and I hopped a plane for the nearly six hour trip from Newark. After a bit of a rough descent, we landed a bit early and met my dad and Sharon at the airport. We stopped for some good pizza at Picazzo’s in Glendale on the way to their place in Sun City West. We had a nice evening of just hanging out. On Sunday, Sharon, my dad and I headed up to Cave Creek for some nice hiking, good Mexican food at El Encanto and a wander around town. After dropping Sharon off back him, my dad and I hit up the State 48 Brewery right near them. (Decent enough beer.)
Mon: This was a quiet day. I got a morning run in and then we spent most of the day around the house. In the afternoon, my dad and I headed up to do the really nice Waterfall Canyon Trail in White Tank Mountain Regional Park. On the way home, we stopped by O.H.S.O. Brewery in Surprise for a couple of burgers and some decent beer.
Tues: We had originally talked about going overnight to Sedona but ended up making the roughly 2.5 hour drive just for the day. (This ended up being fine.) After a quick stop at the visitors’ center, we all headed out on the Bell Rock Trail. Kyle and I went a bit further than my dad but eventually got to a point that involved rock scrambling. I went up one tricky bit but am glad Kyle did not as getting down was interesting. After the hike, we headed up to the wonderful Airport Scenic Viewpoint. This is supposed to be spectacular at sunset but was still very nice midday. Is was then back into town for lunch at Sedona Pizza Company (good pizza but pricey) and a wander around town. Next up was the drive to see some Native American ruins at Tuzigoot National Monument before a quick stop in the old mining town of Jerome.
Wed: Another quiet day. I got a morning run in where I saw two coyotes. (I had seen a single one Sunday morning as well.) Late in the afternoon, Kyle, my dad and I popped over to one of the Sun City West the rec centers for some time playing pool and then a round of mini-golf. We had a ton of fun.
Thur: Sharon, my dad and I headed up to the old town of Wickenburg, about 40 mins away. After some good Mexican food (though way too many Trump signs) at Anita’s Cocina, we had a nice visit to the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. This was quite a nice museum and includes a reconstructed bit of town inside the museum. After the museum, we wandered town and headed back to Sun City West. Later, my dad and I headed over to the Cactus Taproom and Beer Store in Peoria for some really good beer there and to bring home.
Fri and Sat: Friday morning, it was actually raining quite hard. We spent most of the day just hanging around. In the afternoon, I grabbed and Uber downtown (a bit over an hour) to hit up Arizona Wilderness brewery (great beer) and then Greenwood (good beer as well). I had planned to hit up Roses by the Stairs as well, going as far as to do the 25 min walk there, but decided just to head home. On Sat, I snuck in a short morning run before finalizing packing and heading to the airport. The flight home was fine, even getting in a bit early.
We had a great time being out in the Phoenix area, which was the first time for us. It was great to see my dad and Sharon. I hope to get back at some point and see more of the area as well.
