Road Trip v.2 (Part 8): Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona, and Phoenix

Condor. Chillin'.

Would you believe we went to all four of the places in the title in a matter of two days? Well, you should, because we did. After leaving Vegas, we drove straight to the Grand Canyon. It would be my second trip to the natural wonder, but Kim's first. This was the second time we lucked out at a national park and were exempt from paying the entrance fee that day (the first being Crater Lake). Paying for my second trip to the Canyon would have been worth it anyway because of what we saw that day. First, we drove straight to one of the many South Rim overlooks right off the main road. At one of the overlooks, I saw a curious looking bird perched on the cliff in front of us. "Hey Kim, check out that buzzard....Hey, why does that buzzard have a numbered tag on it?" As we stand there taking pictures of what I assumed was a buzzard or vulture, we overheard the man next to us. "This is probably the only time in our lives any of us will come this close to a condor. I don't understand how everyone can stand here talking so loudly." We immediately felt like idiots, but got over that fast because we were standing in front of a condor! He just sat there chillling, while me, Kim, and the disgusted dude stood there taking pictures. Of course the numbered tag was probably a tracking number to aid in condor preservation. Nobody else really knew what they were looking at either. In fact, another girl came up behind me, talking to her friend, and we overheard part of her conversation, "...yeah, maybe it's like some sort of buzzard or something...." (A few hours after I originally posted this, a friend informed me that a condor is a type of buzzard--as is a vulture. I guess I wasn't completely off-base. Still, all our loud-talking could have scared off the rare bird. Whatever, he seemed to be cool with it.)

Next, we drove to the Desert View overlook and took in the views from the watchtower. Just before sunset, we started driving toward Flagstaff. Dinner for the evening was at Beaver Street Brewery near Flagstaff's quaint downtown area and off of historic Route 66. I practically licked the fondue pot we ordered clean and, as usual, proceeded to demand ice cream. Kim tried to look up a few places on her iPhone, but we quickly discovered that ice cream wasn't a priority for Flagstaff. I was flabbergasted. Instead we bought some cake at a nice cafe/bar and headed to our hotel room, which was, thankfully, much better than what we had left in Vegas.

The next day we drove around Flagstaff to see some historic Route 66 spots. After nearly being assaulted by drunk vagrants in the train station/visitor center parking lot; and after discovering that Kim would have to fly home prematurely the next morning from Phoenix for a family emergency; we decided to brighten our day with a new adventure. We quickly called a horseback riding ranch in Sedona and scheduled a trail ride for the late morning. I sped the 45 minutes to Sedona to make our 11am appointment. Tucked down a gravel road outside of Sedona, we found M Diamond Ranch. After we paid, our trail guide brought out our two horses. Mine was Tick, a cute black horse with a white strip on his head. We both became immediately attached to our horses. Neither Kim nor I had ridden a horse before. After getting a quick tutorial, we took off on a slow saunter down the trail. Guiding the horses was not at all confusing or scary like I thought it would be. There were a few rocky spots where I thought either the horse would slip or I was going to fall off. The hardest part for both of us was trying not to laugh when the horses farted. After the ride, we both got in the car. There was a moment of quiet reflection. Then, I started to say, "it took everything in me not to giggle every time a horse let one loose," which Kim immediately seconded "I know! Me too!"  We're pretty much always on the same page when it comes to being fatties and laughing about bodily functions. Neither one of us wanted to start giggling at the time, for fear of being even more apparent as the stupid city girls who didn't understand the ranch life.

Hills of Sedona

We both agreed that the trail ride was the most soothing and peaceful activity we had done, even more so than the uncomfortably romantic spa day (which was too awkward to be very peaceful). Afterwards, we both wanted our own horses. Until then, I didn't understand the appeal of riding horses, which to me just seemed like a lazy way to go for a walk. Now, I totally get it.

After the ride, we drove through the windy road to Sedona, through some amazing rocky hills. Sedona, though a little touristy, was so much more beautiful than we had expected. We stopped somewhere for ice cream and to make our lunch sandwiches. It was the last of our road trip sandwiches. The cheese from Oregon was still good! The sausage, however, was no longer edible. We reluctantly threw it away but were a little distraught about it. That sausage was with us through the whole trip since Cave Junction. It had been through the same adventures we had. Throwing it out, as silly as it sounds, made us feel like we were acknowledging the end of our trip together.

Exhibit at Musical Instrument Museum

We could have played here all day.

Phoenix was our next stop. The first place we went was the Musical Instrument Museum. I found the museum on the internet and was surprised by all the rave reviews. I didn't know what to expect, but it was easily one of the five best museums I've ever visited. The museum had exhibits, organized by global region, showcasing musical instruments and sounds from hundreds of countries and genres. The North American room had several exhibits on the evolution of familiar American genres, including jazz, big band, zydeco, and Appalachian. Most of the exhibits were accompanied by film clips linked to an audio guide that helped you get a sense of the different musical traditions and influences. The guide required no work. It was remote sensored to know which exhibit you were standing near. The audio for the given film clip switched accordingly. For music buffs, it's a wonderland of amazing sounds, relics, and information. Even though I could never remember every instrument or musical tradition, I could have watched those film and audio clips all day. At the end of the exhibits, we went crazy in the discovery room. Dozens of musical instruments were available for visitors' tactile enjoyment. Nobody else was in the room when we were there, so it was our very own playground. I don't know when I'll ever be able to pound on a gong again.

For dinner we had big plans. The main reason we drove out of our way to Phoenix was for food. After hearing about Pizzeria Bianco, purportedly one of the best pizzas in the country, we wanted to make the stop. We were meeting two of my friends, Krista and Troy, a couple who I had met at the ACS conference in August. They are deep in the process of opening a cheese shop in Phoenix. It should be awesome and opening in the the Spring. If you're in Phoenix, check out the Wedge and Bottle!

The problem with the pizza place: it's incredibly small, does not take reservations for small parties, is hugely popular, and thus, has ridiculous wait times. Usually a two- to three-hour wait should be expected. We happened to pick the unfortunate night with a wait time of almost four hours. Our cranky levels were high. On top of it, the night already had the sad and sour note of being the last for Kim's portion of the trip. Fortunately, the bar area was a lovely place to wait. Plus, I had a great time catching up with Krista and Troy. We finally got seats a little over three hours later at the bar. We ordered three pizzas: a white pizza with pistachios and onions, an arugula and ricotta white pizza, and a red pizza with salami. All of the pizzas were great, and likely would have been more delicious if we weren't so tired of waiting. The waiters and hostess, however, were really nice and apologetic about the wait. Plus, the food came out really fast.

Here's my critique: I didn't achieve the pizza nirvana I had the first time I ate New Haven pizza, which I still think is my favorite pizza on the planet. Of course, it may be because now the bar has been set so high. That said, overall, the Bianco pizza was outstanding. The ingredients were fresh, really high quality, and a step up from even a gourmet pizza joint. The pizzas came in one size and were smaller than one of your standard brick-oven New Haven or New York style pies. Thus, while the crust was amazing, I wondered if it was universally amazing like the New Haven pizzas on all sizes. I thought perhaps the crust was tailored to their limited offerings and would crumble like a soggy mess on a larger pie. The white sauce made the white pizzas the best white pizzas I'd ever had. Buuut, the red sauce was downright disappointing, bordering on gross. The only thing that saved the red pizza was the crust and the amazing salami.  If I could put Bianco's ingredients on the New Haven crust and red sauce (or just the New Haven crust for a white pizza), then it would be the best pizza on earth.

"Hole in the Rock" in Papago Park

Dinner ended close to 9:30, and our cranky and sad factor increased as we went to get Kim's plane ticket and had a bit of a mix-up at the hotel. We slept off our long, tiring, adventure-filled day, and woke up early to take Kim to the airport. Before our trip together was over, we had time for one more activity. On the way to the airport, we stopped at Hole in the Rock, a crazy rock formation where you can climb up into a hole and see views of Phoenix and the mountains in the distance.

Eventually, we had to say our goodbyes, and suddenly I had almost 1,500 miles of road tripping to do on my own. It was lonely without someone to share in the fun and sad not having good company in the car. Road tripping alone is a new kind of adventure. Being forced to discover activities, get lost and find your way, and make conversation with strangers, all on your own, builds a different kind of story. Of course, it can also be kind of intimidating and scary. Kim demanded I text her every night to ensure I hadn't been kidnapped or assaulted.

On my drive north from Phoenix to my next stop in Durango, Colorado, I was disappointed Kim wasn't there. I knew she'd go nuts over the mind-bogglingly odd Mars-like landscape through Northeast Arizona. More on that next.

Picture of a painting we thought was curious and funny, taken in Portland on our first full day. On Kim's last day of the trip, it suddenly seems omnisciently appropriate...but still curious and funny.