Monday, March 3, 2014

Life Lately: Arizona

I spent a few days down in Scottsdale, Arizona visiting my sister and her boyfriend, who moved down there so her boyfriend could play golf professionally. It was nice to escape the Minnesota cold for a few days (when I got back on Thursday, it was a "feels like" temp of -35°F, making it over a 100 degree difference from AZ to MN - yikes!). My sister and I aren't particularly close, but this little trip was full of bonding time over eating burgers at In N Out, watching House Hunters, and meandering Old Town. Scottsdale is a weird little town as it's in the middle of a desert and they pump in a lot of their resources (read: water), making it uncomfortably non-sustainable and with this weird dystopic feeling as if it could just collapse in upon itself at any moment. My photos probably make it seem more beautiful than it really is, though the Desert Botanical Garden was indeed beautiful, the sunsets were tremendous, hiking Echo Trail of Camelback was unlike hiking in Minnesota, and I thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the expensive cars - Teslas, old Chevrolet sport cars, and Jaguars from the '80s. It's not going to become my favourite place anytime soon, but family is there (and my cat niece Willa) and it's a nice little escape from everything happening here in MN. I'll be going back down in the Fall and I'm actually already looking forward to it a bit - though that might just be this endless winter that MN is facing!































































6 comments:

  1. These photos are beautiful! Kinda ironic for your new blog title, because they're a little more Of South, haha!

    Rachel

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  2. So gorgeous. Makes me want to travel. . . Stupid responsibilities.

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  3. These shots are amazing! And Willa's such a beauty :)

    sampzandsuch.blogspot.com

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  4. Lovely collection of gorgeous photos. Cacti are so interesting to look at :)

    ~ K
    bluehairinbelgium.blogspot.be

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  5. I live in Tucson (2 hours south of Scottsdale) and it's always interesting to me to see the desert through the eyes of people who are new to it. Thank you for the beautiful shots of the cacti and the mesquite trees in bloom (Hello, major pollen!). I hope that you do come back to experience the Sonoran Desert again! Maybe in the fall your sister can take you to places outside of Phoenix too to see more of the beautiful things the southwest has to offer! I firmly believe the entire Phoenix area is less beautiful than other parts of the state! And it's MUCH hotter there in the summer... Glad you were able to bond some with your sister as well!

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    1. Hi Allison, thank you! Yes, I would love to go check out Tuscon & other parts of AZ! My sister & her boyfriend only just moved down there and I don't think that even they have taken the time to explore much outside of Scottsdale. The metro area there does seem pretty ugly (and Phoenix seems scary!) but with pockets of beautiful things throughout. That's the way it is for most metro areas really, though.

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