Weekend in Scottsdale, Dec 2013
We traveled to Phoenix for a Weekend in Scottsdale. We left on a Thursday and returned on Sunday. We stayed at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale with our room being in one of the Casidas on the perimeter of the resort. We were right across the lane from the golf course and one building over from the Centre for Well-Being Spa — a great location.
I golfed on the Desert course on Friday and the Canyon course on Saturday. These were really very nice courses. They run along the foothills of the Camelback mountain, with several elevated tees and greens making for a beautiful views. I was thrilled to see a roadrunner and a group of quail. We timed our golf and spa time for the morning so for the afternoon, we could go hiking in the afternoon.
Our first night, we ate in Scottsdale at Olive & Ivy, for our second night we ate at the US Airways Center, watching the Raptors vs Suns basketball game, and for our last night we ate the super fancy J&G Steakhouse at the Phoenician.
Big for me was hiking. We knew we wanted to go to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. We skimmed the web and picked the Lost Dog Wash Trail for our first hike. We followed the trail maps, provided at the nice access area building, and followed the loop that took us upto the Lost Dog Lookout. The trail was rugged; lots of loose rocks with some unsure footing. I recommend hiking boots and walking sticks. It was lots of fun!!
The night before we left for Phoenix we decided to get tickets to the Suns basketball game. We are Chicago Bulls fans and really enjoy watching basketball. We were able to get tickets on Row 8, even with the free throw line. It was fun seeing the game up so close. But it was also very entertaining during timeouts. The floor announcer, the gorilla and the dance crew put together a really good show!
Our Weekend in Scottsdale getaway weekend was over, we had just over an hour to spare before we had to be at the airport and we wanted to visit another hiking trail in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. We decided to go back to the Gateway Trailhead and go for a hike to the Saguaro Loop.
This is a very nice short walk from the Gateway Trailhead parking lot, through the visitors area, passed the amphitheater, following the trail markers to the Saguaro Loop Trail. This is nice little loop was very nice, with a gentle climb and a rocky but sure footing trail area.
We saw the now familiar grand Saguaro Cactus. There were also Barrel and Buckhorn Cholla Cactus. We had a distant view of the iconic Tom’s Thumb mountain top. We heard several birds, but weren’t able to get any bird pictures until we got to the parking lot.
The Gateway area is different from Lost Dog Wash.
This area had a bigger visitor’s center; the center was staffed with two friendly and knowledgeable docents, who referred to themselves as stewards. We were there on a Sunday morning; there were several walking groups. Some people on mountain bikes, and even some people walking dogs. This is a very friendly and sociable hiking area.
