Travel Tips & Adventures

A few weeks ago, I promised to tell about the images on my new web site, Hiking.fortheCouchPotato.com That’s – Hiking for the Couch Potato – -http://hiking.forthecouchpotato.com

Head over there now!  (I’ll wait!) http://hiking.forthecouchpotato.com

Take a quick look at image number 4 at the top of the page (just scroll over) and you’ll see a reddish, sandstone rock that seems to have some people tucked in an opening.

Okay, now that you’ve seen that truly unusual natural development, wouldn’t you like to know where it is?

That image is the closest of the four to my home in Arizona.

It’s – Papago Park in the Phoenix, Arizona area.  Of the many natural formations in the central Arizona area, Papago Park allows visitors to come and hike up (from the area behind the photo you’re seeing) and look out at the world.  The walk is not too challenging, but since it’s terraced with some built in “stairs,” it would be tough for someone in a wheelchair.  However, most other people would be able to walk up to see the view.

Papago Park also is well-located, as it is near both the Phoenix Zoo and Desert Botanical Garden.  Plan a day seeing all of those sights if you’re planning to come to Arizona.

And, despite the bad press Arizona is getting these days about guns, most of us are not gun-toting, wild west types spoiling for a fight.   You can expect to be treated well here as some of the most luxurious hotels and exotic scenery of the US southwest is right here in the Phoenix area.  And, the majority of people are well- behaved, law-abiding citizens.

Well, really, that’s what the Grand Canyon is: It is a one-mile hole in the ground that is over a mile above sea level that stretches for nearly 300 miles.  But it is vast and a testament to what nature can do over the eons of time that the earth has evolved.

Grand Canyon - just a very small part of the vast view

A trip to the Grand Canyon is a “must see” when you travel out West in the USA.  Arizona recognizes it as one of its finest attractions by designating itself the “Grand Canyon State” on license plates. (more…)

The first time I flew into Phoenix, I was amazed at how spread out the metropolitan area is.   From west to east, Buckeye to Apache Junction, the metropolitan area of Phoenix, with all its suburbs, easily reaches 70 miles.

In some giant US cities, they build up with multi-storied skyscrapers. But, with the vast spaces available in Arizona, they have built out and even have had height restrictions on how high buildings can be built.

So, welcome to Phoenix.  Spread out and still in the desert.

Saguaro cacti and mountains are a short ride from the hustle and bustle

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A stopover on the way to Yellowstone, Idaho Falls was a great place to take in some scenery.  Some of the scenery is manmade, but the falls on the Snake River are impressive, anyway.

We used our time for R ‘n R and a business visit, but we enjoyed the peaceful community and the friendly people we met.

Since we were staying at the Ameritel Inn near the falls, we had an opportunity to see the falls close up.  There is a walking greenbelt on both sides of the falls that gives you a chance to see the falls from many different vantage points.

The falls - at Idaho Falls

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We spent two terrific days in Boise, Idaho and wished we had more time.  After starting in West Yellowstone and driving west on Interstate 86, then Interstate 84, and contending with construction traffic, we finally arrived.

Hyatt Place

We checked into the Hyatt Place Boise on North Milwaukee Street not too far from the highway, our first experience at a Hyatt Place.  We were impressed!

The friendly staff was smiling and efficient.  If we hadn’t had so many questions as first-timers, we could actually have used the automated check in.  However, our host was eager to show us around in the lobby.  Everything is easy to access.

The décor is sleek and inviting.  We really liked the room, too.  Technology is very much accounted for- you can use the free wireless Internet connections or dock your iPod. The bed is in an alcove-like arrangement so there is a feeling of a suite.  The “living room” has a fabulous couch that wraps around with an ottoman.  In the “office area” a desk with connections faces away from a small fridge with a wet sink and a coffee maker. http://boisetownesquaremall.place.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/place/index.jsp

Great space!

Boise Farmers Market

If you’ve been reading the blogs, you know that we wouldn’t miss a Farmers’ Market.  Boise’s Farmers Market is certainly worth seeing!  Such fun – and four blocks worth of scrumptious fresh produce, hand made items and entertainment in downtown Boise every Saturday, from 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.

Boise Farmers Market

A fun way to spend a Saturday

The atmosphere is entertaining and everyone seems to be in a festive mood.

Entertainers at Boise Downtown Farmers Market

Fresh cheese, delicious brittle pine nut candy, and some hand-carved wooden items were some of the great items we purchased.  If we had lived there, we would have chosen fresh eggs, meats, flowers and – well, it would be hard to hold us back!

Boise Farmers Market has almost everything everyone would ever want to eat - cheese, eggs, meats, fresh produce, candy - and crafts

Then, we decided on a fun café/pub-like restaurant, the Brick Oven Bistro, at 801 Main Street.  After review of an enormous menu of soups, salads, main dishes with so many choices I had trouble choosing, I had some terrific food.  The portions were enormous and the staff was competent, efficient and friendly.  I spilled my soup as I sat down and a staffer was so nice about cleaning up my messy spot at the table. Reasonable prices, great food, fun atmosphere – we recommend Brick Oven Bistro! http://www.brickovenbistro.com/

Come back next week when we take a jaunt to a penitentiary where they cultivate flowers!

Continuing our visit to Yellowstone National Park…

While we waited for Old Faithful to perform, we wandered over to Old Faithful Inn, an old dowager of a National Park’s hotel.  The fascinating thing about the Inn is that it was built from stones, wood and other materials that were primarily brought from within a 5-mile radius, according to a tour guide we heard in the massive five-story lobby.  The lobby has large, rustic logs that have been burnished by time.  Nearby stairways are mini-sculptural wood pieces that look like antlers.  The lobby’s giant fireplace is also most impressive.

The main part of the hotel, built in 1904, has a dining room, also massive.  There are newer wings as well.  If you decide you’d like to stay in the Inn, plan to book ‘way far ahead!  The rates, unless you are willing to do without an in-room bathroom ($96), range from that low to a $500 price tag for a suite.  There are no modern amenities – no phones, TVs, air conditioning and Internet hook-ups, etc.  You are meant to get your entertainment from nature while at Yellowstone and, if you look around, you won’t be disappointed.

There are two other hotel properties nearby, but since we were afraid we’d miss Old Faithful’s performance, we didn’t stop to see them.

http://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/

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Tucson is old.  On this blog previously we’ve featured centuries-old churches and other architectural sites.  Today, we’re highlighting some of the “modern” – 100 years or less – sights, plus scenery. (more…)

Traveling to Spooky Jerome, Arizona

A few miles and up the hillside – a very steep hillside/mountain – from Clarkdale and Cottonwood, Arizona is the historic town of Jerome, Arizona.  The fact that residents pride themselves on their probable insanity is based on the location of the former mental asylum and the fact that the town is perched precariously on hillsides.  Ironically, you drive through “Deception Gulch” to reach Jerome.

Sign in shop window - the mental state of Jerome

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San Felipe travel can be whatever you want it to be – A laid back vacation, a longer stay, a spring break, a retirement haven.  At an orientation we attended for potential homebuyers in San Felipe, they said, “You go to Florida to die, Mexico to live.”

Beach at sunrise

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Ever stayed at a haunted house?  We hadn’t, so we decided to book a stay at the Copper Queen Hotel in the Julia Lowell room, reputed to be haunted. (more…)