ROAD TRIPS

More than ever, I'm thankful to live in Arizona. Here are 10 ways the state soothes my soul

Roger Naylor
Special for The Republic

It’s that time of year when we ponder things we’re thankful for. In 2020, that feels like a challenge. This has been a year of pandemic, drought and wildfires. Lives have been disrupted. Stress levels seem to be at an all-time high. Yet ultimately none of the trials and tribulations of these past months alter one very significant fact.

I live in Arizona.

It’s the old real estate mantra: location, location, location. My address alone accounts for a bounty of blessings. This is a land of endless beauty and staggering diversity. That’s not something to be taken for granted. Here are some of the Arizona things I'm most  thankful for.

Really, we have it all

Jump in your car in the morning and by afternoon you can be …

Peering into the Grand Canyon. Skiing down a mountainside. Kayaking on a lake. Cruising down Route 66. Walking across London Bridge. Touring a cave. Exploring a ghost town. Searching for wild horses along the Salt River. Hiking among the red rocks of Sedona. Watching a gunfight in Tombstone. Picnicking in the desert. Sitting on a sandy beach.

None of it involves a plane ride or requires much planning. It’s just a matter of deciding which direction to drive and what clothes you want to wear that day. How many other states offer such a delicious range of options so easily accessible?

Hiking trails are practically at our doorsteps

Here’s a detail I just made up but I’ll bet it’s true. Everyone in Arizona lives within 15 minutes of a trail. For people like me who live in small towns (Cottonwood rules!), trails are even closer. But it also applies to the Valley of the Sun, ringed as it is by county and city parks and sprawling mountain preserves.

Abundance of open space pulls us outdoors where the scenery soothes us. This is where we can relax, refresh and breathe a little deeper. Every minute spent hiking or biking on an Arizona trail is an investment in health and happiness.

Flowers bloom every month of the year

Such a small thing. Such a wonderful thing.

We are loaded with mountains

Arizona is rugged and snowy and surprisingly vertical. We have 3,928 mountain summits and peaks poking holes in our azure skies. There are 26 peaks that top out above 10,000 feet. That's a lot of cool hiking opportunities in summer and ski potential in winter.

Autumn brought a luxurious leafy display

Nearly every day I hike at my local park, Dead Horse Ranch State Park, which is beautiful all year long. But something truly special happened starting in late October. The cottonwoods and willows that provided such welcome shade during summer turned as golden as a ripe sunrise.

The riparian corridor sheltering the Verde River in at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood blazed with color this fall.

When it comes to fall colors, cottonwood trees are not as consistent as aspens, maples and other showboats of the forest. Some years the changing leaves are muted, and an early freeze can wipe them out.

Yet this season was absolutely dazzling. It was as if someone flipped a cosmic switch and the riparian corridor that lines the Verde River burst into shimmering yellow hues. Every day I made a point to hike into that golden tunnel, to listen to the river flowing past and to be showered with falling leaves.

The season is winding down in the Verde Valley, but there should still be some nice colors at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, east of Phoenix near Superior.

DAY TRIP:Boyce Thompson Arboretum is a desert oasis

Our history is full of weird quirkiness

I love all of Arizona’s rich and storied history. But some of my favorite tales are the small and odd ones. For example:

The longest poker game in history took place downstairs at the Birdcage Theatre in Tombstone. It started in 1881 and despite the $1,000 buy-in the action ran continuously for eight years, five months and three days, when the Birdcage closed. Plenty of famous names handled the cards during the marathon session, including Bat Masterson, Diamond Jim Brady, Adolph Busch, George Randolph Hearst and Doc Holliday.

Criminals in Wickenburg once were sentenced to sit outside in the shade. From 1868 to 1890, legend says Wickenburg scofflaws were chained to a mesquite tree that served as the town hoosegow.

Arizona has its own Bigfoot. The reclusive creature, said to stand over 7 feet tall, was first reported in a 1903 edition of the Arizona Republican in which I.W. Stevens said he encountered the hirsute humanoid near the Grand Canyon. He discovered it drinking the blood of two young cougars it had killed. Sightings continue, and today it is known as the Mogollon Monster.

The open road calls to us

It's hard to imagine a place more perfectly designed for road trips than Arizona. It’s a big old state, the sixth largest in the union, covering nearly 114,000 square miles. With most of the population centers clustered in bunches, that leaves vast tracts of backcountry to explore. Our state is sprinkled with just the right number of small towns to keep travelers gassed up and well fed.

There are 27 officially designated scenic and historic roads rambling across Arizona, including five national scenic byways. They include classics like White Mountain Scenic Road, Patagonia-Sonoita Scenic Road, Organ Pipe Cactus Parkway, Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Road, and Coronado Trail National Scenic Byway.

WHAT A VIEW:Here's how to do one of Arizona's most gorgeous scenic drives

Dare to be grape

There are more than 100 wineries producing some 22 varietals of wine in Arizona. Cheers!

BEST ARIZONA WINES:The 2020 azcentral Arizona Wine Competition winners

Winter is coming

That sounds ominous in a “Game of Thrones” kind of way. And those of us who have lived elsewhere know how bleak and soul-draining those dark months can be.

Not so in Arizona, where we spend much of winter under a clear sky. The sun gleams, yet there is a tenderness to it that’s hard to recognize from its summer fury. Can this be the same star that rages and roars in July? For a few months, the sun is candy-sweet, polite and most welcome.

Local flavors create memories

There are so many great mom-and-pop restaurants spread across the state. That’s one of the things I’ve missed most in 2020. Since I’m not traveling as much, I’m not eating at the little cafes and diners I love.

HUNGRY?:Here are Arizona's best hidden gem restaurants outside of Phoenix

It’s certainly been a hard year for them, so as things return to normal I look forward to indulging in amazing homemade meals from one end of Arizona to another. Here are 10 locally owned restaurants I can’t wait to visit again.

Zoom talks with Roger Naylor

Arizona Republic contributor and author Roger Naylor is doing Zoom talks and slide shows to share his latest book, "Arizona’s Scenic Roads & Hikes."

Join him for a virtual tour of Arizona’s most scenic highways during the hour-long presentations. He'll guide you from sun-kissed deserts to snow-capped mountains, from the cosmic abyss of the Grand Canyon to the red rocks of Sedona and the soaring monoliths of Monument Valley.

Call or go to the websites to find out how to tune in.

6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3: Changing Hands Bookstore hosts. There will be giveaways, including Arizona State Parks passes, with each Naylor book purchased. A book purchase or a contribution of $5 is requested. 602-274-0067, changinghands.com.

2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12: Peregrine Book Co. hosts. The talk is free. 928-445-9000, peregrinebookcompany.com.

Find the reporter at rogernaylor.com. Or follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/RogerNaylorinAZ or Twitter @AZRogerNaylor.

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