2023 Arizona Roadtrip
We love roadtrips! From the planning, packing & driving, we’ve discovered it’s all about the journey versus the destination. On Feb 24th, 2023 we packed up our little Dodge Dart with suitcases full of of Seattle Mariners gear & golf bags full of aspirations to drive a loop down to Phoenix for vacation & back home. You can jump right into our YouTube video here:
Day 1 we drove 300 miles from our home in WA state to Albany OR. Knowing this was a short travel day, I googled things to do near Albany & discovered the historic Hoffman covered bridge. This 90ft bridge was built in 1936, crossing Crabtree Creek on Hungry Hill Drive. Before today, We’d only seen covered bridges in the movies… what a joy to drive thru our first one!
Turns out, there are over 50 covered bridges in OR state! What a fun adventure it would be to plan a vacation to find each one!
We only stopped for two on this roadtrip, the 2nd was Grave Creek Bridge on day 2 north of Grants Pass. This one was built in 1920 & is the state’s most viewed bridge due to it’s proximity to I5.
We pulled into San Francisco 570 miles later at 5pm, parked in a garage & wheeled our suitcases to Uncle Tim’s apartment. Not understanding how the old elevator worked, we hauled them up the stairs, where he met us with warm hugs & cold beers. We only had one night in the city, so the three of us went on our own beer crawl thru Chinatown. It was a night to remember, ending with burgers at Sam’s - also visited by Anthony Bourdain!
Budda Bar
Sam’s
On Day 3 we made out way to LA to walk down Hollywood Blvd but were delayed by traffic accidents & detours. Sometimes, plans just don’t work out & so we choose to smile & move forward. Over 500 miles later, we made it to our hotel by about 8pm, grabbed a quick dinner & went to bed… completely missing Hollywood.
“When things go wrong, don’t go with them.”
Day 4 was fantastic! We made good time traveling 370 miles to Phoenix, with a long break in Quartzsite. There we learned about Hi Jolly, the Army camel herder from 1857 to 1861! The civil war ended the USA camel experiment & they were sold off as pack animals.
We also walked thru many rock shops as James shared stories of his parents rockhounding in Quartzsite. Before leaving, we wandered off the path & into the desert, where he picked a spot to send off some of their ashes. We love & miss you Jim & Maxine!
Finally a break in travel, when we checked in to the Legacy Golf Resort, where we stayed the next 4 nights. Day 5 of vacation took us out to the baseball park! This is the 2nd time we’ve traveled to watch the Seatle Mariners during spring training at Peoria Sports Complex. It’s also the 2nd time we hit cold weather, good grief! We dream of 75F this time of year up in the old PNW, thinking AZ will treat us… but we keep hitting 55F & stormy weather LOL
We packed day 6 full of fun, starting with 9 holes of golf at the resort. Sticking to a budget was easy with their special weekday pricing that included breakfast! The early morning start also allowed us to finish before the rain started!
Later that day, we traded our golf shoes for cowboy boots to walk thru Old Town Scottsdale. The streets were empty, due to the rainstorm, so you can imagine our shock when we walked thru the doors of The Rusty Spur Saloon & into a standing room only, day drinking crowd! We ordered a couple of beers & joined the party.
By Day 8 it was time to start heading home. We chose a route to make a loop so that we could sight see along the way. Well 520 miles of desert was a lot, but it certainly has its own beauty.
Our desert desination for the night was The Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah NV but first we made a quick stop in Goldfield. I’m a huge fan of the TV series Ghost Adventures & they visited both places! So I downloaded 2 fun apps onto my phone, GHOST and Ghost Detector Radar to search for ghosts.
Goldfield Hotel: Redemption
Ghost Adventures: Season 7, Episode 16
The Mizpah Hotel
Ghost Adventures: Season 5, Episode 2
We didn’t see a soul as we drove into the town of Goldfield & parked in front of the haunted hotel. It was sunny but cold as we stood in front of the abandoned building. Was it the temperature, or the ominous vibes that put the extra chill into the air? I turned on my Ghost Detector Radar app to scan the area… but it did not detect any spirits. On to The Mizpah!
This beautiful hotel is a member of the Historic Hotels of America, & was ranked #1 in the USA Today 2018 Best Haunted hotels in the US. Opened in 1907, there are reportedly at least 6 resident ghosts which include The Lady in Red, a soldier, 2 children & 2 men in the basement. I looked for them all… & even ran into 2 other ghost hunters wandering the halls with their ghost apps too. I hope they had more luck than us, because we didn’t come across anything supernatural. Next time, I’ll sign up for the hotel’s official ghost tour!
Day 9 we drove over 600 miles to Bend OR on our mad dash for home. We booked a cheap hotel, ate dinner & went to bed. Day 10 was another 370 miles back home again. Roadtrip loop complete! Glad to be home but already missing the adventure of traveling. Where will we go next? How about you… what is your next adventure? Thanks for tagging along & making it to the end of our blog. Hope you are inspired to plan out your own roadtrip & GO DO IT! #JACTventures
GO MARINERS!