Arizona Adventures: Roadtrippin' the Desert

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Landing in California for a day of jam-packed Ontario, CA, outlet shopping was the perfect beginning to my whirlwind week long adventure in California. Knowing Julie and I, we packed every hour of our trip with amazing ideas and are still on the road, trying to make them reality - and running into the craziest obstacles on the road!

Thursday morning much needed sleep-in delayed our departure by a couple hours, although we made great time. While LA's traffic is ridiculous, the giant highway stretch to the desert is a peaceful drive with amazing mountain views.

Good for Goodyear! - Wow, we learned quickly how much you have to watch your back on the road. After three hours driving on a long but beautiful road, Julie and I stopped at the highway Shell station for gas. An attendant quickly pulled us over to tell us we had a flat and that he (apparently a mechanic) should look at our car. I didn't notice any flat, but he insisted we turn our wheels and look at chunks coming out of the tire in the shop. "Well, that's weird," we thought, as he tried to convince us to rashly buy $233 Nexen tires, claiming they were top quality and our car wouldn't make it to Sedona without them.

"Really?" I thought. Kinda freaky considering the hour drive between rest stops on Highway 40 is almost an hour. Their demeanor got more agitated as we called Julie's family to check up on the situation. Finally, I just called the mechanics at work and sent them a Blackberry messenger picture - and found out that it's likely just Arizona's extreme heat that's wearing out the tread and they were nowhere near dangerous. What a bunch of scam artists. Thank you for real mechanics and smartphones!

Sedona, Arizona is a cute little touristy town with the famous Pink Jeep Tours that take you on a Scenic Rim tour - and then the Broken Arrow - better than any off-road tour I've ever been on. With Wrangler MTRs with Kevlar on their Jeeps - yes, I noticed - they climbed red rock walls, swerved around cliffs and hung onto rocks sideways to show us the best of Arizona scenery. Sedona is the cutest little town - Arizona's Banff!

Check out the slideshow below for hot weather and beautiful landscapes.




Coming soon - the pics I take tomorrow of the Grand Canyon - I'm on the road and LOVING the time off work, tutoring and writing, but stay tuned for more blogging!!!