Phoenix is a huge, sprawling city. Known as the Valley of the Sun, rain is rare here and the sun shines hot all day long - reminds me a little of Mt Isa as the heat is so dry that the higher temperatures feel more bearable than the wet heat of a Cairns or Orlando.
Didn’t get in til 2, so not much time to explore, so quick check in to a cute retro motel Magnusson Papago Inn. I immediately fell in love with this place when the receptionist was so friendly and chatty as I was checking in. It was like old friends catching up!
Out the door and walked with my umbrella and a hat on around Papago Park where there are some breath-taking red sandstone rock formations, desert oasis ponds, botanical gardens and the Arizona Cross Cut Canal, with so many bikeways around the area (both on-road and mtv/off-road) that I’ve already decided that a return trip will be required to explore them all sometime. So many cacti variants and interesting to see a lot of bougainvillea growing quite happily along the roadside. I walked back along the canal - it is a really impressive cycle network they’ve built here.
Quick stop at Circle K for a couple of hardened lemonades, a quick paddle in the pool while I listened to the 50+ budgerigars in the aviary next to the pool and then dinner in the hotel bar, and I’m ready for bed at 7.30pm but only cos I’ve been up since 2am their time! Tomorrow I catch a Greyhound bus to Flagstaff for my Grand Canyon orientation. Funny story, I was checking my paperwork to confirm what time I needed to be at the station, only to find out I’d booked the wrong day and my bus had left while I was still in the air. Held my breath as I booked a new ticket - all of that planning to fall at the last hurdle would have been absolutely heartbreaking!
I’m hoping the rest of this cold will have burned out by then as the thought of climbing at altitude is a little frightening with a chest cold. Only time will tell.
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