Arizona

Having endured miserable road-trips and company here years before, I was blown away at how much better and amazing things got when I was invited to experience its legendary canyon.

 

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Table of Contents:

  1. Phase 1
  2. Phase 2
  3. Phase 3
  4. Initial/Overall (Images Begin — parent-category for many of the following)
  5. Maps
  6. Airport
  7. Hotel
  8. Bus to the Trading Post
  9. Bridge
  10. Float
  11. Camp
  12. Hike
  13. Float
  14. Cave Beach
  15. Float
  16. Hike to First Falls
  17. Camp
  18. Float
  19. Petroglyphs
  20. Float
  21. Slant to Canyon
  22. Challenge Coins
  23. Elf Chasm
  24. Float
  25. Creek Waterfall Lizard
  26. Float to Phantom Ranch
  27. Phantom Ranch
  28. Chupacabra
  29. Tent View
  30. Guitar Canyon
  31. Float
  32. Cactus Cliffs Camp
  33. Digital Camera’s Last Battery Moments
  34. Helicopter Medical Evacuation
  35. Havasu Falls
  36. Last Camp Feast
  37. Brandy’s Photos
  38. Josh’s Photos & Others
  39. Bright Angel Trail
  40. Skywalk
  41. Back to Flagstaff
  42. Airport Out
  43. Nicest Neighborhoods
  44. Best Hotels
  45. Vegan Restaurants & Shops
  46. Ancient Ruins
  47. Other Sites

 

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Phase 1:

My first trips here were during the hellish Phase 1; I had to make long drives straight through, slept in ratty hotels, and was always in the company of the worst people I could have ever imagined meeting.  One time, the entire northern half of the state snowed and froze over, narrowly missing blocking my entire critical route.  Never once did I get to see its greatest feature; the Grand Canyon.

I did manage to check out the Petrified Forest, though (and have since figured out how to re-green such places).

 

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Phase 2:

Phase 2 kicked off with just that, however; I got invited for a free, fully-funded, 10-day, 226-mile, white-water rafting expedition from start to finish of that deep and massive canyon so sacred to the local tribes.  It all started at a hotel with at least a dozen flawless shorty Native girls working there in various capacities; the receptionist, the bartender, and the red-shirted black-haired girl who walked by our bus right outside, just to name a few.  I was then introduced to one of their Chiefs and Medicine Men, as well as to two of their sons.  A variety of service-members and expert-guide civilians went with me, and I felt safe even in the most horrifyingly powerful dips and other rapids this country has to offer.  I even saw a flawless smiling teen in aviators riding another J-rig passing us one day, and a flawless teen Blood Elf hottie (perfect teenified Sylvanas manifested at last!) standing in only her onesie swimsuit right along the reed-covered shore we passed during one of the later days of this floating trip; she looked right at me for the longest time, waving and giving me the feeling she was not with any of the other families or rafters that were around.  I also heard, one night while somewhere between sleep and waking, the tiny voice of an unmistakable fairy.  “Hi!” it happily, excitedly, effervescently exclaimed.  And then there was the infinitely hotter version of Rain Ocampo standing there on a trail near the only post office when I walked by; sneakers, boy-shorts, sports bra, and sunglasses.  My, how she caught my eye.  I still wonder about the two elf-like male guards who stood with her, and why they all greeted me, seeming to want to speak more.

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2020 update:  Late this year, as I was returning from Mexico, none other than IRL Ambi herself was at the first motel I stopped at, waiting for me, somehow knowing I’d be there even before I did, thus able to rendezvous/intercept.  She showed me her height, looks, voice, and so much more were all perfect.  Thank the gods females are FINALLY shaping up like this.

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2024 June 7 Friday:

  • drove to the motel where I saw Ambi in person for the 2nd time for sure; Yuma, but no luck this time –though I now know she is real, thinks of me as her husband, and that I have/can time travel, apparently.  Maybe 2nd times anywhere are neutral, regardless of how many years after The Shift they occur.  Maybe in rd3 of that motel/city… we’ll have one of our amazing honeymoons there.  Amen.
  • learned what the unmarked/unnamed (in Google Maps) gray area is; the vast bombing range

 

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Phase 3:

In Phase 3, I will surely have time to meet all those perfect girls under much more relaxed and cooler terms; I was quite under the weather and on the verge of heat fatigue on that trip, and barely greeted any of them at all.  Something just didn’t feel quite right about our initial-encounter circumstances back then.  It will when I return… and I might even get to meet some of the Ant People and Snake People the Natives still quietly speak about in their innermost circles.  It is probable all those encounters were them scouting me and my vibe, seeking to experience and heal (or ‘level up’) from it, just as I had gone there to scout and benefit from theirs.

 

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Initial/Overall:

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Maps:

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Airport:

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Hotel:

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Bus to the Trading Post:

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Bridge:

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Float:

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Camp:

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Hike:

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Float:

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Cave Beach:

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Float:

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Hike to First Falls:

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Camp:

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Float:

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Petroglyphs:

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Float:

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Slant to Canyon:

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Challenge Coins:

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Elf Chasm:

This was not far from where I got to see Sylvanas in person for the first time; no coincidence, its name!

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Float:

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Creek Waterfall Lizard:

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Float to Phantom Ranch:

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Phantom Ranch:

This was where Rain manifested/revealed herself to be real for the first time, picture-perfect in every way!  I even saw her multiple times; she had set up her camp tent right in view of the post office / restaurant at this junction!  I remain star-struck to this very day and moment, missing her extreme and flawless beauty.  I know she’ll return and be wearing that same outfit she could tell I loved on her.

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Chupacabra:

That’s just the name of this area/feature; there were no goat-men observed here.

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Tent View:

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Guitar Canyon:

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Float:

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Cactus Cliffs Camp:

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Digital Camera’s Last Battery Moments:

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Helicopter Medical Evacuation:

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Havasu Falls:

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Last Camp Feast:

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Brandy’s Photos:

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Josh’s Photos & Others:

Another 1,000 photos of this 10-day expedition can be found here.

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Bright Angel Trail:

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Skywalk:

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Back to Flagstaff:

They had told us before the last/biggest rapids that it was good luck to paint one toenail.  Very weird superstition, and I obviously was not at all happy about hearing it, but whatever; “every little bit helps”.  Never again, though.

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Airport Out:

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Nicest Neighborhoods:

tba

 

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Best Hotels

For next time/s:

Esplendor Resort at Rio Rico:

images tba

Hotel Valley Ho – Scottsdale:

 

Hyatt Regency – Phoenix:

 

Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch:

 

Montelucia Resort & Spa – Scottsdale:

 

Ridge on Sedona – Golf Resort:

 

Saguaro, a Joie de Vivre Hotel – Scottsdale:

 

Sanctuary Camelback Mountain – Paradise Valley:

 

Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa:

 

Talking Stick Resort – Scottsdale:

 

The Hermosa Inn – Paradise Valley:

 

The Hermosa Inn – Scottsdale:

 

Westward Look Resort – Tucson:

images TBA

 

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Vegan Restaurants & Shops:

Chandler:

  • Nanas Kitchen
  • Vegan Eats and Drinks

Glendale:

  • The Vegan Taste

Goodyear:

  • Bereisheet 129 Vegan Plantbased Cuisine & Catering

Litchfield Park:

  • Loving Hut

Phoenix:

  • Earth Plant Based Cuisine
  • Giving Tree Cafe
  • Goji Berry – Eatery & Bakery
  • Green New American Vegetarian
  • La Vegana Madre
  • Loving Hut
  • Tacos Veganos
  • The Coronado PHX
  • Vegan and Vine
  • Veggie Village

Scottsdale:

  • Veggie Village

Tempe:

  • Early Bird Vegan
  • Loving Hut
  • Trash Panda Vegan

 

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Ancient Ruins:

  • Some say some are hidden in the Grand Canyon.  Some say the entire Grand Canyon is an ancient structure/ruin.
  • 2024 June 29 Saturday addition:  Lava River Cave (171B Forest Rd, Flagstaff, AZ  86001); possibly like Pluto’s Cave in California, which has megalithic blocks fitted together, perfect right-angle seams still clearly visible

more tba

 

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Other Sites:

tba

 

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Also see:

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