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Go Big or Go Home: Our Grand Canyon Rafting Adventure Continues

by Brian on June 25, 2012 in Arizona, Travel, United States

(This is the second part of a two-part series. Click the following link to read Part I of our Grand Canyon Rafting Adventure)

Bedding down in the Grand Canyon meant finding a spot along the surprisingly beach-like banks of the Colorado and pitching a tent; although our tent went mostly unused. After the first night, we found we preferred sleeping directly under the stars.

Without the overwhelming light pollution of our native Manhattan, the night sky lit up like a Christmas tree. Even though I was exhausted by sundown most days, I’d still spend a couple of hours each night watching satellites drift past billions of stars before drifting off to sleep.

Morning came with a rising sun that painted the canyon in hues of red light and bluish shadow. One of the things we found most rewarding about our trip was seeing how the canyon changed throughout the day and with each passing mile. From striated red sandstone cliffs illuminated by soft evening light to towering black schist shining beneath a mid-day glare, we didn’t just experience one Grand Canyon, but dozens. Every day and every hour offered something remarkable and new.

Go Big or Go Home: A Grand Canyon Rafting Adventure

by Brian on June 22, 2012 in Arizona, Travel, United States

Four years ago we embarked on what is still the best trip of our lives.

In what we now clearly recognize as a prelude to our current travels, in July 2008 we set out for a seven-day, six-night Grand Canyon rafting excursion. Before that trip, we had never pitched a tent under the stars; never rafted; and certainly never experienced whitewater of any kind. Yet there we were, flying off to confront some of the biggest whitewater in the country, on a trip that once started had to be seen through to its end. The only way out of the Canyon for us would be by medical helicopter.

That assumed we made it into the canyon in the first place. We almost didn’t.

Photo of the Day: Butterfly

by Brian on June 21, 2012 in Arizona, Photo of the Day, Travel, United States

Yellow butterfly along a trail at Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Winter Home, Taliesin West

by Brian on June 20, 2012 in Arizona, Travel, United States

Frank Lloyd Wright, Taliesin West Beijing Tiles

Beijing tiles greet visitors at Taliesin West

Few professionals were more prolific than Frank Lloyd Wright. Over the course of a 70-year career, Wright designed 1,140 works, ranging from personal residences to office buildings to bridges. That works out to more than 16 every year; roughly a new design ever three weeks. 532 of those came to fruition in completed projects, 409 of which are still standing today.

Of that amazing total, we’ve visited just three: the Guggenheim museum in our beloved Manhattan, Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, and most recently Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona.

And while the coiled design of the Guggenheim stands in a class by itself, we found many similarities between the other two properties. From our previous visit to Fallingwater, we could have easily identified Taliesin as a Wright design even if no one had told us.

Mainstream Microbrews

by Brian on June 18, 2012 in Arizona, Food & Drink, Travel, United States

Sleepy Dog Brewery, Tempe, AZ

Over a year ago I repented and confessed my beer bigotry. When we left Manhattan I expected to find most of the country awash in “light and refreshingly boring” American pilsners. I’ve since reformed but am still continuously amazed at the quality and variety of beer we find virtually everywhere we go.

When we rode into Tucson, Arizona, I wasn’t really surprised to find nine different local breweries. We’ve come to expect that. But one in a huge shopping mall? That was indeed a first.

After catching a rare movie at the Foothills Mall, we wandered into Thunder Canyon Brewery. In ages past, such a place would likely have served a line-up of similarly tasteless beers with various amounts of added coloring. The “brewery” a simple marketing gimmick designed to lure adults away from the food court.