We're not in Tucson anymore, Toto.
Ok, all my favorite peeps, get ready for a somewhat rambling post about all the little things I noticed over the past 24 hours.
Yesterday, Deb and I checked out of the Airbnb in Tucson. She stayed to meet up with other friends and I left for Flagstaff, about 4 hours north. My plan is to spend the next couple weeks here to explore Sedona and visit the Grand Canyon.
Taliesin West
On the way to Flagstaff, I stopped in Scottsdale (suburb of Phoenix) to see Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and architectural school, built in 1937. Thanks to Deb and Dustin F. for the recommendation!
I totally want these chairs!
It was cool to see how Wright experimented with natural light, recessed light, natural resources, and his incredible affinity for arts and the color red. You can see how his design of both the house and the furniture inspired the mid-century modern movement, which went mainstream in the 1950's/1960's. This place must have looked totally space age when he built it.
Flagstaff
After Taliesin West, I left the overcast 60-ish degree weather there, headed north to Flagstaff, and was met with THIS!
Where in the world did this SNOW come from? I instantly wondered why I left warm and sunny Tucson for this cold tundra and how could the weather change that fast?
Well, according to my google machine, Flagstaff is at an elevation of 7,000 feet. Yes. Seven thousand feet. To put this in perspective ...
And also, yes. That is a bar chart on my blog. #nerdalert
First of all, Flagstaff rolls its eyes at its shrimpy neighbor, Denver, who brags about being a whole one mile tall.
Second, Flagstaff is a full half-mile higher than Tucson, so it's no wonder I'm seeing snow here and not in Tucson or Phoenix or Sedona. It's also a full 1.24 miles higher than my home in Virginia, which totally explains why I'm so winded when I take the stairs to my fourth floor room. It's the only explanation.
Also, for those of you as good at geography as I am, here's a little map to show you where all these places actually are:
My First Impression of Flagstaff
THIS is an outdoorsy town and also has the highest rate of 4Runners per capita. #fact
(actually NOT a fact, but I personally have never seen more 4Runners in one place in my life, including Toyota dealerships.)
Everywhere you look, you see hiking boots, stocking caps, and high-clearance vehicles. In Tucson, I felt like it was total overkill to buy a huge AWD Highlander. Now I'm here where cars look strangely out of place and my Highlander feels like a minivan compared to all the high-clearance 4Runners and Tacomas and Jeeps. Magic Mike, your Jeep would fit right in!
Also, the scenery is just incredible (and I haven't even been to Sedona yet!). The mountains, the trees, and yes, even the smattering of snow are all gorgeous. It all contributes to that hiker vibe I love so much.
One of those memorable, but un-replicable, travel stories
The greatest thing happened today that made me love Flagstaff even more. After getting snow overnight, I went out to my car this afternoon after work and here's what I found:
Someone lifted my windshield wipers so they wouldn't freeze to the window - HOW THOUGHTFUL!!!
It never even crossed my mind to do this, so it totally warmed my heart that someone thought to help out a stranger. I called my sister to tell her about it. Her first reaction is that someone walked by, grunted "idiot" to themselves, and lifted the wipers for someone too dumb to do it for themselves. #differentperspectives Regardless of why they did it, it was a very nice gesture.
My Second Impression of Flagstaff
I left this afternoon for a hike (more on that in the next post). I took the 89A to the trailhead, halfway between Flagstaff and Sedona. This road winds down through Oak Creek Canyon, which almost makes you cry, it's so beautiful.
To illustrate just how gorgeous the scenery is here, I stopped for a split second to snap this shot through my windshield, no filters, no edits. It looks like a postcard. And people say there is no God!
Ok, I think that's all the commentary I have about my first impressions of Flagstaff. Next up, blogs about my hikes through Sedona.
Happy Hump Day, peeps!
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