About the author
Curt is an avid traveler who has been sharing his travel stories on the Internet since 1994. Read more about Curt and his travel blog.
Tag Archives: Arizona
Latest adventure underway
Our latest adventure is now underway. The most stress-inducing part of any trip by air for me — the TSA gauntlet — is safely behind us.
Hiking along Horton Creek Trail
Kathryn and I decided to take a break from our usual summer routine of doing absolutely nothing in the sweltering Phoenix heat. Instead, we made a day trip to the slightly cooler Payson area to do some hiking along Horton Creek, just under the Mogollon Rim in Tonto National Forest.
Posted in Travel Tagged Arizona, Hiking, Horton Creek, Mogollon Rim, Payson, Tonto National Forest Leave a comment
Another road trip to Las Vegas gets underway in just a few hours. We’re going to try some new places to eat this weekend, and we’ll return to some old favorites too. As always, you’ll find updates and maybe even a few photos here.
Southwest go-around
I’ve never been on a commercial flight that’s had to make a go-around, so it was fun to watch a Southwest flight do one at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport a few minutes ago. I’m sure it was a lot less fun for those aboard.
How to order coffee at McDonald’s in Phoenix
I like coffee. I enjoy fast food. I live in Phoenix. You might be inclined to think I’d be a master at ordering a cup of coffee in a local McDonald’s. You’d be mistaken.
I managed to get out of bed this morning in time for an early hike before work. It’s one of those few beautiful weeks we see every spring in Phoenix. The sun is up early enough to start a hike at 5:30 am, but it’s not too hot outside. Today was gorgeous. There was no discernible wind, and yet the air was clear. The brown cloud that normally covers the city during the week was nowhere to be seen.
St. Mary’s Basilica in Phoenix
I took this photo of St. Mary’s Basilica in Phoenix several weeks ago, just before dusk. I was at the church for a meeting, and I liked the way the bell towers looked through the trees.
Additional tips for hiking
After not hiking for three straight weeks, I ventured out early yesterday morning and did my favorite hike at Shaw Butte in Phoenix. It’s amazing how quickly I can get out of shape. As I struggled to climb the south side of the hill, I thought of some additional tips I forgot to mention in my earlier posts.
Observations from Sky Harbor
I recently uninstalled all the social networking apps from my mobile phone, so I’ll make my pithy observations here on the blog. The following are a few of my thoughts from Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix.
Pilgrimito at Shaw Butte
If there’s one thing this blog has too few of, it’s recent photos of me. On that note, I’m posting this photo Kathryn took of me Sunday while we were out hiking at Shaw Butte here in Phoenix.
More photos from Shaw Butte
Not a lot of words in this blog post. Just some photos from a recent hike at Shaw Butte. The hike was later in the morning than usual. The sun was bright, which put me in a black-and-white mood.
Posted in Travel Tagged Arizona, Cactus, Desert, Hiking, Phoenix, Photography, Shaw Butte Leave a comment
Smog cloud over Phoenix
During a hike last weekend at Shaw Butte, I pointed my camera south and took a picture of downtown Phoenix under a thick layer of smog.
Halfway from Phoenix to Las Vegas: Wikieup, Arizona
On previous trips, we’ve often stopped at the Wikieup Trading Post. They make a pretty mean patty melt. The problem is that it became played out for us, stopping the same place every time. That, and the fact their bathrooms are beyond disgusting. This time, we stopped at Dazzo’s Chicago Style Eatery. I can’t speak from experience to the authenticity of the place, but the food was pretty good.
The opposite of a travel photo
What’s the opposite of a travel photo? A photo you take while sitting at home in front of your computer. I captured this sunrise over Phoenix this morning by rotating my swivel chair 90 degrees to the right.
Incomparable sunrise at Shaw Butte
It was another beautiful morning in Phoenix. I arrived at the trailhead for the Loop at Shaw Butte at 5:48 am, and the temperature was 68 degrees. At a stopping point on the way up the south side of Shaw Butte, I snapped a photo of the sun rising over the mountains to the southeast.
Wasted opportunity
I wrote off any chance of getting out for a hike in the early morning today because I had a 9 am meeting scheduled with my team lead. So what did I find when I arrived at work?
It’s another beautiful morning for a hike in Phoenix. After two days hiking the Loop at Shaw Butte, though, I think I’m ready for a break. My knees are a bit wobbly today.
Favorite Phoenix urban hikes: The Loop at Shaw Butte
One of my favorite urban hikes in Phoenix is what I call the Loop at Shaw Butte. It’s a roughly five-mile hike, has a lot of changes in elevation, and is relatively uncrowded. My preference is to start this hike about 20 minutes before sunrise.
Posted in Travel Tagged Arizona, Hiking, North Mountain, Outdoors, Phoenix, Shaw Butte, The Loop, Urban 2 Comments
Mission San Xavier del Bac: White Dove of the Desert, Tucson
During our recent weekend trip to Tucson, Kathryn and I took an opportunity to visit Mission San Xavier del Bac, just outside the city. As luck would have it, there was a Mass scheduled there Saturday morning. It was to celebrate the 366th birthday of Fr. Eusebio Kino, the Jesuit priest who founded the mission way back in 1692. So we made sure to schedule our visit to coincide.
Posted in Travel Tagged Arizona, Church, Eusebio Kino, Franciscan, Jesuit, Mass, Mission, San Xavier del Bac, Tucson Leave a comment
Sonoran hot dogs at El Guero Canelo in Tucson
A Sonoran hot dog starts with a standard frank. The frank is wrapped in bacon and fried. The fried, bacon-wrapped frank is put into a soft, split roll which has been filled with beans. Then it’s topped with diced tomatoes and onions, mayonnaise and mustard, and a drizzle of jalapeño salsa.
Posted in Travel Tagged Arizona, Eating, El Guero Canelo, Food, Hot Dogs, Sonoran, Tucson 2 Comments
Things you probably don’t know about me
Here’s a list of things you probably don’t know about me. It’s in no particular order.
Posted in Thoughts Tagged About, Arizona, Beer, Coffee, Croatia, France, French, Gambling, German, Holy Father, Keno, Korean, Massachusetts, Mexico, Montpellier, Phoenix, Russian, Zagreb 2 Comments
St. Mary’s Basilica in Krakow
Usually when I talk or write about St. Mary’s Basilica, I’m referring to the beautiful Spanish mission style Catholic church in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. I was looking through some of my old photos recently, and I found a picture of another, much older St. Mary’s Basilica. This one is in Krakow, Poland. It’s also beautiful, built in a Brick Gothic style in the 14th century.
Home from New York City and then gone again to Portland, Oregon
I’m back on the road again after enjoying three nights of sleep in my own home. Actually, that’s not quite true. I spent one of those night’s at Kathryn’s place. I’m aboard a flight to Portland, Oregon. I have about … Continue reading
We’re safely back in Phoenix. More later.
Arizona road trip: Tonto Natural Bridge, Strawberry, Jerome
I had a chance Sunday to get out of town for several hours and enjoy some parts of Arizona I hadn’t ever seen before. The weather was warm and the sky was clear. It was a perfect day for an Arizona road trip.
Posted in Travel Tagged Arizona, Bushmills, Jerome, Payson, Road Trip, Strawberry, Tonto Natural Bridge Leave a comment
Drinking in Pasadena, redux
I spent last weekend in Pasadena, visiting the same buddy I saw in August. I’ve spent the time since then sobering up.
Delay in follow-up
I had hoped to post some follow-up on my travels, but I came home from Europe with a nasty cold, so I’ve spent most of my time catching up on sleep. In some sense, I was lucky that I didn’t … Continue reading
Long story short, I’m home.
Summer fun begins
At last, my voyage is underway. A friend had breakfast with me, and then she gave me a ride to the airport. For a while, I wasn’t sure I was going to get out of Phoenix. When I checked in … Continue reading
Day trip south of the border to Nogales, Mexico
I took a day trip today to Nogales, a city that straddles the Arizona-Mexico border, and I went on the other side of the fence for a couple hours to have a look around.