Category ArchiveEverywhere Once |

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.

Saguaro National Park

by Brian on June 13, 2012 in Arizona, Travel, United States

Even if you’ve never heard of saguaro (sa-WAH-ro) before, chances are you’ll immediately think of the American Southwest the moment you see one. The cacti’s stately silhouette is used to brand everything from Old El Paso food products to westerns filmed throughout the southwest. Only the saguaro doesn’t naturally grow within 250 miles of El Paso, TX or in most southwestern states, for that matter. The tree-like cactus makes its home exclusively in the Sonora desert, which covers parts of Arizona, California, and Mexico.