{"id":372,"date":"2009-05-31T11:10:21","date_gmt":"2009-05-31T18:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lastgreatroadtrip.net\/?p=372"},"modified":"2009-06-07T13:33:50","modified_gmt":"2009-06-07T20:33:50","slug":"picks-and-pans-from-scottsdale-to-flagstaff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.lastgreatroadtrip.net\/?p=372","title":{"rendered":"Picks and Pans – From Scottsdale to Flagstaff"},"content":{"rendered":"

PICKS<\/strong>:
\nSedona<\/a><\/p>\n

Sedona is where we got our first taste of the amazing Southwestern scenery awaiting us. I was on the phone with Sten, and, at some point, I exclaimed “Oh my god!” and went silent. At which point, Sten said, “You just saw the red rocks, didn’t you? I’ll talk to you later.” That was a wise decision on my brother-in-law’s part because I was literally breathless for quite some time. Sedona’s red rocks are beautiful; Sedona itself, however, seems a little over touristy for my taste, so if we were to go back it would only be for some hiking time.<\/div>\n

Flagstaff<\/a><\/p>\n

Just a small note on Flagstaff, since it’s the most recent place to make our “maybe we could live here” list. It’s a little on the small side, but, for it’s size, Flagstaff has a lot going on (probably since it’s a college town) . It’s also smack dab in the middle of some incredible mountains. The people seem incredibly nice. There are bike lanes everywhere. Generally, it seems like a pretty ok place to be.<\/div>\n

Altitudes<\/p>\n

Altitudes is a laid back bar and grill kind of place in Flagstaff, that’s run by some serious ski bums (thus the name). We had a nice dinner with Cesar on our first night in town and managed to sample a few of their on tap brews.<\/div>\n

Nightlife in downtown Flagstaff<\/p>\n

We spent a couple of nights roaming the streets of downtown Flagstaff, sampling the nightlife, which is pretty hopping, if a little college student heavy. We heard live music at Mia’s <\/a>on two separate nights (no cover, yea!) and enjoyed hanging out on their back porch. We also checked out Charly’s<\/a>, which is actually located on two levels of an historic old Flagstaff hotel. The upstairs has a cool Old West feel to it, and rumor has it that it may be haunted. The downstairs had live music the night we were there (even though we didn’t roll in until after midnight). Another great place to hear some music, Monte Vista Cocktail Lounge<\/a> has a tightly packed area right near the stage, but up a few short steps and there’s lots of loungy space to hang out on the couches.<\/div>\n

Arcosanti<\/a><\/p>\n

Arcosanti is an experiment in urban living created by architect Paolo Soleri, which was started in the 1970s. The idea was (and still is) to build a multifunctional space that allows people to fulfill their social and creative needs like they could in a city, but to efficiently build that space so that it doesn’t encroach on the surrounding environment, which allows people to live near nature. The experiment still hasn’t reached the goal population of 5000, but the people that live there continue to work on the structure and to run workshops to teach people how to build sustainably (Mr. Soleri also gives weekly talks). It was definitely a reminder to me that there are so many ways to live a life and the options are only as limited as your imagination and resourcefulness. Sean, however, said that being at Arcosanti reminded him that you could work a lifetime toward something and never come close to seeing it realized. What an optimist!<\/div>\n

Jerome<\/a><\/p>\n

Jerome is a crazy little town up in the mountains south of Flagstaff. It used to be famous for its mining and brothels. Now it’s famous for the number of artists living there and a certain plant it produces (one of the town’s residents informed us that High Times named the locally grown herb the second best in the nation. Guess it’s nice to be famous for something.).\u00c2\u00a0 There is an incredibly high concentration of art galleries, and although we only got to see a few, the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative <\/a>was definitely the highlight. The artist that was manning the front desk that day spotted Sean’s Truth Wristband and promptly asked him when he was planning on moving to town.<\/div>\n

Hanging out with Cesar<\/p>\n

Not only did Cesar let us park our van in his driveway, he also showed us the cool spots in Flagstaff, cooked up some killer grub (yum, carne asada and habenero salsa!) and gave us a refresher course on the pop culture of our youth (Lost Boys, Dazed and Confused and a little National Lampoon’s). We’re still bummed that the hail and lightning on Saturday kept us from running in the local Hash Run<\/a>, but we’re hoping next time we swing through the weather will cooperate. Thanks for an awesome time, Cesar! We can’t wait to see you again soon!<\/div>\n