SOUTHWEST ADVENTURE SUMMARY

Day 0 - I flew into Phoenix the day before the tour started in order to pick up the rental car (a 2024 Chyrsler Pacifica), buy supplies and get settled. As with all these tours, the hotel room was incredible!

Day 1 - I had the morning free, so I explored downtown Scottsdale. In the afternoon, I met up with the tour guests with whom I'd spend the next two weeks: a family from New Zealand and a man from Pennsylvania. We went to the Desert Botanical Garden and ate at Gertrude's, the fancy restaurant on site.

Day 2 - We started out the morning with a hike up to Hole-in-the-Rock and a quick visit to Hunt's Tomb. We then explored the Western Spirit Museum before driving out to the ruins of Casa Grande. In Gila Bend, we encountered a pack of marauding dinosaurs. I felt fortunate that my fellow travelers appreciated large goofy statues as much as I did (or at least tolerated my obsession with them)! Our hotel that evening was in the tiny town of Ajo.

Day 3 - Quail and other birds filled the hotel courtyard in the early morning. We quickly swung by the New Cornelia copper mine then continued on to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. A small pond behind the visitor center was filled with rare desert pupfish. As we drove the Ajo Mountain Scenic Loop, we enjoyed a wide diversity of cacti and geological formations. It was 97°F for our afternoon picnic! On our way to Tucson, we stopped in at the highly ornate Mission San Xavier.

Day 4 - Completed in 1991, Biosphere 2 was an enclosed artificial ecosystem. We were allowed to explore the various sections. At the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, we saw numerous animals including a mountain lion, ocelot, desert wolf, burrowing owl, black bear, mule deer, snakes, bighorn sheep and a very playful beaver. We drove around Saguaro National Park West (where we saw a coyote!) and hiked up Signal Hill to see the petroglyphs. We stayed long enough to catch an amazing sunset.

Day 5 - There was an exciting shoot-out at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, after which we visited the cemetery in which some of those men were buried. We spent the rest of the day exploring Chiricahua National Monument where we had the great luck of seeing coati (animals found normally in South America)!

Day 6 - It was a long driving day but we did get in a couple stops... a walk around the historic downtown of Silver City and some exploration of the City of Rocks. Our next two nights would be spent in Las Cruces.

Day 7 - We got an in-depth tour of Spaceport America, which was constructed for the vertical and horizontal launchings of commercial aerospace vehicles, including Virgin Galactic. I even got to go for a spin on G-Shock, a centifugal multi-axis trainer for commercial astronauts. I then dropped off some of the guests at the Riverbend Hot Springs in the town of Truth-or-Consequences while I took the remaining guest to some sites along Elephant Butte Lake. In the evening, we headed down to the historic town of Mesilla and had dinner in one of the haunted rooms in the Double Eagle Restaurant.

Day 8 - In the morning, we did the Dripping Springs hike in the Organ Mountains... complete with tarantula! In Alamogordo, we toured the orchards of Pistacioland. I also had some delicious homemade pistacio ice-cream! The Museum of Space History was stuffed full of interesting history and fun things to do. One could stand on a Star Trek transporter pad or don a spacesuit and walk on the moon. The final site of the day was White Sands National Park. The setting sun transformed it into a spectacular wonderland!

Day 9 - We drove out to the remote ruins of Fort Craig. At Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, we saw lovely fall color and flocks of migrating birds. Historic downtown Albuquerque was ramping up for its Day of the Dead celebrations. We then took the long way to Santa Fe, over Sandia Peak.

Day 10 - The weather was starting to cool off.... quickly. We spent the morning in Bandelier National Monument. We even got to climb a ladder into an old cliff dwelling. The second half of the day was free for folks to spend as they chose in Santa Fe.

Day 11 - It was a mere 32°F as we climbed into the car this morning! The day started with a guided tour at the Acoma Pueblo. At El Malpais National Monument, we made several stops... the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook, La Ventana Natural Arch, and the Zuni-Acoma trail where we walked on old lava flow which was filled with deep cracks and caves. In Gallup, I introduced everyone to a Muffler Men statue before heading to our hotel for the night, the historic Hotel el Rancho.

Day 12 - Our morning began with 27°F! (It would only get to a high of 48°F). We crossed back into Arizona, and at Petrified Forest National Park, we visited the Painted Desert with stops at several viewpoints and the historic inn. We did short walks in the Crystal Forest and at the Rainbow Forest museum to admire the colorful petrified wood. In Holbrook, we briefly stopped at the Wigwam Motel. It was then on to Winslow, where we admired the La Posada Hotel and also "stood on a corner" (as sung by the Eagles). We took a tour of Meteor Crater then headed north. We made a very brief stop at Sunset Crater, but it was already getting dark, windy and a mere 45°F. Our hotel for the next two nights would be at the lovely Cameron Trading Post.

Day 13 - The day began at 17°F but at least quickly heated up into the 40's. We spent it at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We saw the Desert View Tower, the Hopi House, historic hotels and visitor centers, many lovely canyon views and took a stroll along the rim trail. We were also graced by a herd of elk and other critters. We tried to stay long enough to watch the sunset, but the bitter cold eventually won and drove us back to the car.

Day 14 - We made the drive down to Sedona and were immediately greeted with miles of traffic. Not only was it a weekend, it was also Day of the Dead and several festivals were going on downtown. So we had to alter our plans a bit. We still were able to include hikes at Broken Arrow Trail and Courthouse Vista Trail, but we substituted the downtown galleries for the Chapel of the Holy Cross with its sensational views over the whole valley. We returned to Phoenix (which was warm again!) where we had a farewell dinner.

Day 15 - We shared one last breakfast then everyone went their own way. I returned the rental car and caught a late afternoon flight. It fortunately waited to snow until after my plane had landed and I was almost home on the bus. I awoke the next morning to a snow-covered view.