Daytime temperatures get into the 70ºs (Fahrenheit) and the sun is shining. Soon, we’ll have a profusion of flowers – yes, it really can flower in the desert!

So, on a day when most of the country was socked in with snow, I’ll show you where I hiked.  With a jacket that I wound up taking off since I became too warm while hiking, I headed out on a trail that gave me views of downtown Phoenix, Camelback Mountain and a panorama of the whole surrounding area.

Take a look – South Mountain Park – the largest city park in the USA.   These pictures show the Javelina Canyon Trail (Easy to moderate difficulty) that you can enter from 46^th Street (south off Baseline Road).

Beginning of the trail - Javelina Canyon Trail in South Mountain Park

Camelback Mountain in the distance

The trail

Phoenix downtown (in the distance) from South Mountain Park

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.

Evolution of lights

Changing lights

Changing again

And changing yet again

Unfortunately, despite trying a number of settings on my digital camera, the photos don’t do justice to the inventiveness, whimsy and movement of the light displays that use over three million lights – mostly LED – we are assured, so they use less electricity.

An elephant

An elephant that playfully squirts water

There is a horse that seems to move, trotting along as each subsequent display is set up.  An elephant playfully squirts water. There are “dancing trees’ that are the most impressive display with colors flashing red, green, white.  There is an orb that changes colors while floating shimmering on the lake.

Dancing trees

There are hundreds of different sculptural lights displayed as everything from flowers to an enormous orangutan arch.   Children seem to be the most awed by the exhibits.  And, there are other things to experience –  Camel rides, a “Polar slide,” wagon rides, a merry-go-round and other rides.

However, in the entire zoo, only a real komodo dragon was available to be seen, since the other real animals were tucked away for the night.

ZooLights is held annually from around Thanksgiving until early in the new year during the evening hours after the zoo is closed.

Other cities have a zoolights event and it could be one of the more delightful family events that people can share.

Catch the light show next year!

Sometimes, it is just a good idea to relax, take a walk and enjoy nature.

If you are visiting the desert, it is surprising to find that there are actually spots with water and ducks.

Ducks, ducks, ducks!

Riverview Park - a small park with water, picnic areas and playground

(Riverview Park is located in Mesa at Dobson Road and 8^th Street.)

And, if birds are your thing, head to see another park that has an even greater area and an abundance of birds, the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, Arizona.

See more on my other website,

http://hiking.forthecouchpotato.com/hiking/

(We have had some “technical difficulties” and the website is not quite as complete as we had hoped, but you can check this link and see three great images.)

So, take a peek at the site and look at the second image near the top.  When you do, you’ll see an almost other-worldly location where the rocks have encircled a watery, breathtakingly beautiful lake.  If you look really carefully, you’ll even see a mountain with snow on it off in the distance.

Where is it?

The shot is of Granite Dells, just north of Prescott, Arizona at Watson Lake.  It’s a park, a picnic place and a fabulous place to hike.  There is a small entrance fee, but just sharing the view is worth it!

Take a look at our previous blog on this site that tells you more.  http://traveltipsandadventures.com/?p=1687

Enjoy!  We certainly have and we’ve been back several times.

Traveling up Scottsdale Road, you see other major retailers like Crate & Barrel, restaurants like Cheesecake Factory, and several shopping plazas.  Although it might seem counterintuitive with Arizona’s months of extreme heat, most of the newer shopping locations are open air centers  where you travel outside from shop to shop.

A street in Kierland Commons

Banana Republic in Kierland Commons

Take Kierland Commons.  It is an extremely upscale shopping area that resembles a small city with multiple blocks of shops and restaurants.  Called a “mixed use” center, it also has some pricey places for people to reside (not just live, note, but “reside”) so they are just above or down the street from the retail locations of their choice.  Kierland Commons has retail establishments not found just anywhere like Restoration Hardware; Tommy Bahama’s Restaurant, Bar and Store;  7 for All Mankind; and other unique brands – plus a few people would know like White House/Black Market, Sur La Table, and Morton’s, the Steakhouse.  In other words, bring plastic and lots of it!

There are some even newer centers recovering from the economic boom that slowed down occupancy like the Scottsdale Quarter that was a sensation when H & M moved in with their trendy and reasonably priced fashion.  There is a large Apple Store and a unique Williams Sonoma Home.  We were surprised to walk in and find furnishings – couches and other furniture galore in room arrangements – instead of the kitchen gadgets and cookbooks we had expected.   The staff were obviously used to that reaction as they explained that their more traditional store was at Scottsdale Fashion Square.  Scottsdale Quarter bills itself as an “open air urban lifestyle center.”

H & M's trendy store in Scottsdale Quarter

Even the grocery store is not the ordinary convenience store married with catering.  The Oakville Grocery has high-end nibbles, a bakery, wine selections and a small deli with a few tables for someone who might like to grab something with friends.  A “coming soon” eatery is “True Food Kitchen” which is in the Phoenix Biltmore area and features regional sourced food and elegant presentations in a trendy, ultramodern eatery.

With all this talk of food, I’m getting hungry, so I’m off to make dinner.  Needless to say, I’ve barely touched on all of the shopping locations in Scottsdale Arizona.  However, next week I’ll be back to shamelessly promote my new book —–

Come back next week and I’ll share more as I’m just days away from launching – Hiking for the Couch Potato: A Guide for the Exercise Challenged. It is a humorous book suitable for gift-giving!  Get ready to join the community!

Horses and the Wild West are still very much part of Old Scottsdale

Get your cowboy on

Visit Old Town Scottsdale and you almost feel like you should be purchasing a cowboy hat and boots.  The theme is horses and the Wild West.  Native American shops also show some really gorgeous craft items from pottery to jewelry.

Even the street signs are western in Old Town

Next door to Old Town you’ll see 5^th Avenue Shops.  The streets remind you of Boca and Palm Beach with many small, unique shops and eateries that pride themselves on having the right vibes to attract the crowds of Scottsdale.

Fifth Avenue Shops

More shops in Fifth Avenue

Nearby, you’ll also find the several blocks of the Scottsdale Arts District, with galleries waiting to tout the newest artiste.

Hop in your vehicle and head up the road

Travel up Scottsdale Road and your “shop ‘til you drop adventure” really begins. Scottsdale’s Fashion Square is the location for Nordstrom’s, Anthropologie, an array of other stores, both on the street and inside the mall.

Marquis for Scottsdale Fashion Square

If you’ve never been in an Anthropologie, it is a very unusual store that features clothing, but also has dishes, cookbooks and other eclectic gadgets.  The floors are rough wood and some of the displays are hard to describe, so I won’t.  I didn’t dare take a photo, because I got the distinct feeling that it wouldn’t have been appreciated!  The owner/buyer, I read in an article, travels the world to find the items for the stores and he does snag some of the most unusual finds.

A courtyard at The Borgata

An arcade at The Borgata

Next up, several miles up the street, stop at The Borgata.  Fountains splashing and a courtyard that makes you want to explore all the nooks and crannies leads you to probably my favorite shop of the day: Two Plates Full.  A gift shop, Two Plates Full has a colorful array of gift items.  And, color is the operative word here!  Such a profusion of colorful gadgets, doodads and gift items is a joy!  My special favorites were the funny mugs equating the months of the year with Jewish food, like a Chinese calendar (the Year of the Ram, etc.) but with bagels, knishes, and the like! Hilarious! Cards, fused glass, woven items, pottery, you name it!  I had to restrain myself or I would have bought out the place.  Terri, the owner has a real eye for the special and irresistible.  Twoplatesfull.com

Two Plates Full - a great gift shop

(The above was an unpaid endorsement – I just viscerally loved that shop!)

Come back next week and we’ll finish our short shopping tour of Scottsdale.

When you arrive, you pay your admission fee ($15 per person for adults) and are handed a set of headphones with a transmitter.  Unlike some museums, the music follows you.  No need to turn the receiver on or off if you arrive at a display and your timing is off.

Gorgeous inlaid floor with the continents - entrance to a Mim gallery

The customer service people suggest that you start with the first floor display, which has an array of guitars, a massive chime –(see last week’s blog for an image of the giant boat-like gong).

Next, head upstairs where the exhibit halls are arranged by continent.  The United States and Canada displays are housed in one large area and contain exhibits, screens with music that repeat with the performances heard through your headphones, and displays that show everything from a piano being skillfully constructed by Steinway craftspeople to Bluegrass music being energetically performed.

Amazing craftsmanship goes into constructing every piano (Steinway)

It is a dizzying and convincing parade of musical instruments that does convey the sense that music is truly the one unifying concept of the human race.

Many countries have their own versions of bagpipes

Take bagpipes.  You might think that they’d be in a display in the Scottish area.  They are, but it appears that many different cultures and countries have their own versions of bagpipes, too.

Every country has an exhibit of musical instruments, augmented with a performance that you can see on screen and hear with your headphones.   The color and array is exhausting and exhilarating to behold.  Junkanoo in the Bahamas and all manner of colorful and well-crafted instruments catch your attention.

Junkanoo in the Bahamas is a colorful pageant with steel drums

Downstairs – The modern masters

In addition to live performances, MIM has a hall with some pop, rock, jazz and other favorites on loan.  See the piano that John Lennon composed “Imagine” on, along with a video of him singing  “Imagine” and breaking out of the melodic line to editorially intone – in a deeper voice – “and I’m not the only one” (referring to  the desire for peace).  It gave me shivers!

John Lennon's piano on which he composed "Imagine" and a video of him playing

Eric Clapton performs several songs on video and you can see his instruments while you listen.  Carlos Santana, the Jonas Brothers, the Black-Eyed Peas, Paul Simon, George Benson and many others are all represented.  George Benson’s Platinum record for “Breezin’” is on display, along with Eric Clapton’s Fender – his “Brownie.”

Carlos Santana highlighted

Although we were tired after about three hours, we could have stayed twice as long.  There was so much to see and hear!

Transport yourself to MIM and you’ll spend an exciting and inspiring time.  All ages can enjoy the museum and there’s even a room to try the instruments.  Adults and children were banging on the drums and trying out the chimes.

Joey Wan enjoyed trying out the Gamelan, a xylophone

Note: There are video screens in most galleries that, using the headphones every visitor is loaned, start playing in the headphone when a visitor is near that particular exhibit.

MIM – the Musical Instrument Museum has a gift shop, a café (which prides itself on using “fresh local ingredients”), a coffee shop, and spaces for performances.  A great place to visit!

Trendy Kazimierz World Wine Bar calls itself a speakeasy and has its entrance around the back!

On a recent visit, we saw the epitomy of Scottsdale: an obviously well-to-do 30s-ish shopper in a trendy grocery on her cell phone the entire time we were there, discussing a friend’s dating woes while she put things in her cart.  The items in that grocery weren’t the typical things you’d find in a Safeway or more “ordinary” grocery store and price was obviously no object.

For Divas & Dogs - Trendy shop in Scottsdale 5th Avenue Shop area

Another Scottsdale scene involved about five young women, outside a bridal shop.  They were very energetically discussing how the bride-to-be looked in the dress she had chosen.

Courtyard at Borghata shopping Center

If these two encounters are any indication, the recession is definitely over – at least in Scottsdale.

Scottsdale's Fashion Center at night

In the next few weeks, we’ll visit a new, world-class musical instrument museum, “MIM,” the Musical Instrument Museum in northern Scottsdale.  We also visit two restaurants, and show you some other shopping areas in trendy, upscale Scottsdale.

A Bat Khine - gong chime from Thailand in the Musical Instrument Museum

Next week:  Everything from Eric Clapton’s guitar to how to build a piano to the wildest instruments you’ve ever seen!

With a population (at last count) of over 13,000, they are a giant metropolis in comparison to Strawberry and Pine, the neighbor burgs we visited the same day.  There is more of everything, but the scenic backdrop of the mountains gives everything the “aah” factor.  You can relax in Payson.  It’s that kind of place.

There is shopping along the main street, including the Swiss Village shops which a resident we met at the Natural Bridge told us not to miss. We missed it, because we weren’t there for shopping. We just wanted to see what it was like for someone visiting and looking for scenery.

Things to do – besides shopping

Green Valley Park is a central recreational place where we saw people fishing, picnicking and just relaxing.

Fishermen do their thing at the scenic Green Valley Park

Green Valley Park - another view

Nearby, we saw a statue honoring firemen in front of the Rim Country Museum, which also had a reproduction of the Zane Grey Cabin (the Western writer who had lived in Rim Country).

With heavily treed areas in Rim Country, firemen are honored with this statue, acknowledging their part in keeping the citizens safe.

We drove around some more and located three golf courses, the location for their annual rodeo days, and the Mazatzal Casino and Hotel.   The casino, run by the Tonto Apache Indian Community, was a typical Arizona casino with all of the gaming action most people look for – slots, bingo, etc.  The hotel seemed well-kept and attractive, but we didn’t get to see a room.

Mazatzal Casino and Hotel - with another large wing not pictured

Dinner at Macky’s

When we finished driving around, we figured we were due for either an early dinner or a very late lunch. We headed to Macky’s , which had gotten good reviews online.  Although it was only around 4 PM, the staff treated us with great attention, like they always have people showing up at unusual hours.  The menu was voluminous, with everything from burgers to full dinners.  Mostly everything was in the $7.95 to $12.95 range.  I opted for a burger, but I didn’t make it easy for my very friendly waitress. (Sorry, I forgot her name!)  There were so many burgers with very exciting combinations, but what I wanted wasn’t any of those.  So, she gave me my guacamole on my bacon cheeseburger and we were both happy.  And unlike some restaurants, where they act like they’re being put out and doing you a favor, they were very nice about it.  My husband had the Philly cheesesteak and pronounced it “good.”

Macky's Grill

Did I mention that they are a Western-themed restaurant?  They have western music playing, interesting carvings on each booth, and even have the theme in the restrooms.  (No, I did not take a photo in the restroom!)

Carving on the booths is unique

We finished our meal with their “Southwest Cheesecake,” which had a combination of cheesecake in fried tortillas with ice cream, strawberries, and enormous clouds of whipped cream.  The cheesecake, nestled inside of the tortillas was warm and rich, was definitely enough for two.  It was unique and worth having. We were polite about sharing, but we ate every drop!

Southwest Cheesecake - sooo good!

Macky’s also has an outdoor patio and obviously likes to make guests feel welcomed.  We did!

So, we ended our visit to Payson with full bellies and glad we’d stopped.  As a place to vacation, it is really a quiet haven with outdoor activities as the central focus.

Find out more  at  http://www.paysonrimcountry.com/ – there are inns, small hotels, RV parks and other places to stay in if  you plan a visit.

Next up … We visit Scottsdale, AZ