Thursday, April 7, 2022

Days 8-11: Phoenix and Tucson

 Day 8: Blythe to Phoenix

This morning we left Blythe and headed east towards Phoenix, bypassing the interstate as much as we could.  This meant that we passed through Brenda, Arizona, but unfortunately there were no signs that we could steal as souvenirs (or photograph).  We stopped for lunch at the Coyote Flats Café, in Aguila, Arizona.


From there, we drove to the Phoenix area via Wickenberg, which seems like a very nice town, although we didn't stop there.   In the Phoenix area, we drove through the western suburbs until we got to our hotel in Goodyear.  Along the way, we stopped at State Farm Stadium and Gila River Arena (across the street).



Day 9: Phoenix to Tucson

We drove through downtown Phoenix, and then to Scottsdale for lunch.  Downtown Scottsdale has an "old west" theme and is composed entire of art galleries.

Downtown Scottsdale

There actually was one restaurant

Happy tourist in downtown Scottsdale

We then drove across Scottsdale to see the Arizona Biltmore resort.  

Royal Palms Resort, on the way to the Biltmore

Neighborhood around the Biltmore--never got a shot of the hotel itself

From there, we headed for Tucson, where we ate dinner and spent the next 3 nights.

For all your water needs


Day 10: Tucson

We started the day at the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, which had lots of doll houses and other miniature things.  Brenda was delighted.

A satisfied customer

A horse carved into pencil lead

From there, we headed to the western section of Saguaro National Park.  The park is in two sections, one east of Tucson, and the other west of Tucson.   If you like cacti, this is the place for you.





View of the Santa Catalina Mountains from Tucson


Day 11: More of Tucson

Most of today was devoted to a trip to the Tucson Botanical Gardens, in the middle of town.  Lots of cacti, but a lot of other flora and fauna as well.











And that's it!