Travel News
Arizona 2000

Click on the small image for full size view
Use "BACK" to return to text.
This page was last updated on March 17, 2000

 Home    Previous Page    Next Page


We spent a few days at Canyon Vistas RV Resort in Gold Canyon, relaxing at the pool, playing pool, and touring the nearby mountains and lakes.

The pool at Canyon Vistas..Phoenix from South Mountain Park (where I ride my bike)..Mountains near Saguaro Lake..Sagauro Like..Tony and Glenda's hotel at Gold Canyon Golf Resort

Took a tour from Phoenix to Globe and then down the Apache Trail. The highlight was the drive from Tonto Cliff Dwellings (which were built by the Salado Indians 700 years ago), past Roosevelt Dam, and through Fish Creek, which looked unsafe for traffic as it was just a dirt road carved into the side of a canyon without any warnings or safety rails, and with almost vertical drop-offs.  The washboard surface made us glad to get through there in one piece!

The hike up to Tonto Cliff Dwellings..View of Roosevelt Lake from the Cliff Dwellings..Present inhabitant of the Cliff Dwellings..The Ruins ???..Tony and Glenda at the Cliff Dwellings..Roosevelt Dam

Left Phoenix on March 1 and headed for Sedona, which would be our base for exploring the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest, etc. Stayed at Dead Horse State Park south of Sedona, while Tony & Glenda stayed in a hotel in nearby Cottonwood. Sedona is in one of the most beautiful settings in Arizona - it's surrounded by red rock cliffs and canyons - and needs to be explored on foot or a bike. Our priority was the Grand Canyon so Sedona has to wait until we come back on March 17 (for the Internet MTBR Passion Spring Fling ride - http://www.angelfire.com/az2/springfling/).


There had been 6" of snow the day before we arrived at the Grand Canyon and most was gone but it was still quite cool due to the elevation (mostly over 7000').  The feeling of standing at the edge of a 10 mile wide canyon, several thousand feet deep is too hard to describe - you have to see it - even the photos don't come close.  To really experience it you need to hike down to the Colorado River (1 full day), camp overnight and hike out in 1-2 days.  Hope to come back here next Fall and do just that.

The Grand Canyon..Just one step back, please......The Grand Canyon..More Grand Canyon.... and more Grand Canyon ....... and more ....Guess what ....

Poor quality panorama - it's just to give you a feel for the scene (you'll need to scroll across it)

A panoramic view of the Grand Canyon


We should have gone to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest BEFORE the Grand Canyon.  It was still good but obviously couldn't compare.  The biggest let-down was the Petrified Forest - there might have been a forest there one time but the few petrified log fragments we saw needed lots of imagination to grow to a forest - and it was spread out over about 30 miles - no kidding!

The pink part of the Painted Desert..The Blue Mesa in the Painted Desert..Ancient Petroglyphs..Where's the Forest?..There's more petrified wood in the Visitor Centre


Montezuma's Castle (Indian cliff dwellings) was OK but you couldn't go inside - like the Tonto one's - and we balked at the $10 admission fee at the Meteor Crater near Flagstaff so we never got to peep over the rim there (or go to the washrooms either!).

Montezuma Indian Cliff Dwellings..Montezuma Indian Cliff Dwellings


Moved back to Phoenix on Saturday as Tony & Glenda had to go back to Toronto on Monday. Unfortuately the dry weather came to an abrupt end Sunday morning when we were at the Phoenix Flea Market. A monsoon struck with torrential rains. With no signs of stopping and no volunteers to go get the car I got soaked going for it. Two days later when it stopped there was 2.2" of rain. It was the first in Phoenix since October and the average for the entire winter is just over 1". 
Had a lazy 2 weeks at Casa Del Campo RV Park in the Phoenix suburbs - everything close by - Wal-Mart, Costco, Fry's, etc. Spent a lot of time at the pool - this is just like being on holiday!  Lots of mountain bike riding - covered all the recommended trails for the AZ Spring Fling - and it eventually arrived yesterday.  Rode with about 80 guys (and about 6 girls) from all over the US. One guy from Vancouver and me were the only Canadians there. Had our South Mountain Epic ride today and now we move on to Sedona tonight for two more days of group rides.  We will stay there a full week and then move on to Las Vegas for a week. After that it's Utah - Zion State Park, Moab (the absolute Mecca for mountain biking), and then back home by mid-April.

 Home  Back to Top of Page   Previous PageNext Page   To send comments