Author: paperbackdragon

Grand Canyon – South Rim

First of all, I apologize for the length. I took notes along the road so that I would remember things I wanted to talk about–and there ended up being quite a few!

The day started out early. At 7:10 the tour bus met mom and I at our hotel in Sedona and we headed out to pick up the rest of the people. One couple was in Sedona, the rest in Flagstaff.

Our first sight, which only us and the other couple got to see, was Oak Creek Canyon. It’s where all the water in …

I experienced it like never before yesterday, hiking the Boynton Canyon Trail. Mom and I chose it because the pamphlet said “easy, 2.5 miles one way.” We chose not to bring water (looking back, I don’t really know why we didn’t prepare more) or food. I think we figured it wouldn’t take very long.

It started out great. Lizards and butterflies everywhere, looming red rock all around us. After a while, we figured it had been two miles, and asked someone how much farther. They said it was another 3/4 of a mile. After a time, we asked again, and …

South Mountain is a city park, though it’s more of a nature preserve. Hiking and biking trails are everywhere. Mom and I didn’t do much hiking because of the heat, but we drove to the lookout point at the top and I took some pictures.

The stone building is for visitors to look out of and get some shade. Or that’s what I assume, anyway. Hundreds of people have written their names on the rocks inside, professing love or that they “were here.”

On the way out we looked all over the place for a flowering cactus I could take …

I’m a day late, but so it goes when you’re on vacation. The Japanese Friendship Garden was gorgeous. They’ve kept it true to customs, including the rule that you can’t see everything from the entrance–instead you continuously discover different areas.

They let you feed the koi fish, so they came right up to me when I took pictures. I didn’t even have to use food, they just thought I had some (sorry, fish). There were so many of them, in so many different colors.

The heat’s been intense, but bearable. Today we’re going swimming at a friend’s pool, which will …

Yesterday morning, mom and I went on a walk to Dreamy Draw, a local park and hiking/biking path. I particularly liked this cactus. It’s been very hot and is getting hotter, with tomorrow’s forecasted high at 100F/38C. Thankfully that looks like the highest it will get, as it will start cooling down after that. Our plan is to hang out in the mall and movie theater all day and take advantage of the AC.

My mom’s reasons for moving to Arizona were in no small part influenced by the weather. In Washington she started getting tired of the wet and …

The last leg of my flight to AZ was an interesting one. Almost the entire time I could look out my window and see distant lightning in the clouds. The turbulence was a little intense at times as well. And seeing Phoenix from the air was amazing, lights as far as the eye can see. Apparently it’s the second most populated city in the US.

My first day in AZ was fun. Brunch at a nice cafe where I got an “Egg Sammie,” or eggs (I chose scrambled) with my choice of other things, of which I chose provolone, ham, …

I’m now at Philadelphia Airport, finishing my first ever Philly cheesesteak. I feel a bit sick, though it tasted good. The first thing I noticed after leaving the plane was the humidity, despite the temperature not being that high. This didn’t make the coffee I got at the cheesesteak place any more enjoyable. I maybe should have bought a cold drink.

The flight was long but not horrible. I got very few hours of sleep last night so I kept dozing off… only to be repeatedly woken up by flight attendants asking me if I wanted a drink or a …