Arizona: spectacular in any season

Author: By Robert F. Cutting, Globe Staff

Date: SUNDAY, January 11, 1998

Page: M15

Section: Travel

As lifetime New Englanders, we were not unnnerved by seeing snow on the ground in November. But there was something incongruous about having snow on the ground when three hours earlier and less than 200 miles away the temperature was in the mid-80s and the ground dry.

Such is what life is like in Arizona at this time of the year. You can be hot in Phoenix and cold in Flagstaff; you can be driving in desert-like conditions at noontime and be eyeing snow banks by midafternoon.

But regardless of weather or temperature, Arizona is a spectacular place to visit. From the majestic Grand Canyon to the distinctive red-rock formations of Sedona to the desert warmth of Phoenix and Tucson, there is something for everyone. Likewise, there is a growing awareness that there is much, much more to Arizona than just the desert heat of 100-plus degrees that makes headlines across the country in summer.

On our visit, we had the opportunity to see three very different Arizona attractions (as well as spending some time in the state's two largest cities, Phoenix and Tucson). And we left with a new and renewed appreciation for the natural beauty of the state.

The timing of our visit -- in early November -- meant we could enjoy the natural treasures of the state without fighting the big crowds of summer in the Grand Canyon, and at the same time, we could miss the growing number of snowbirds who spend winter in the warmer desert climates.

Arriving in Phoenix, our first leg of the trip was a two-hour drive south and east on Interstate 10 to Tucson to visit a longtime friend. The interstate weaves south and east through Tempe and Mesa and onto long stretches of desert land, punctuated by mountains that stand out starkly against the clear, blue skies. You'd like to pull off the road every few minutes and just admire the scenery, but since I-10 is a very heavily used highway, with a speed limit of 75 miles per hour, pulling off the highway is limited to rest areas along the way.

Tucson is a large metropolitan area that sprawls across the Arizona landscape. Once a small Western town, the city has been a drawing card for people from all over the world because of its location and warm, dry weather. For our short visit this time, we opted to spend our tourist time driving through the eastern section of Saguaro (pronounced sah-WAR-oh) National Park.

The Saguaro cactus is familiar to all; it is the cactus most associated with the American Southwest (remember all those western movies with the cowboys and Indians and lots of cactus?). It forms a variety of odd, all-too-human shapes and sizes (up to 50 feet tall) and has a life span of over 200 years. Owls and woodpeckers drill holes into the stems of the cactus, which later become homes for some of the desert animals such as lizards, rodents, and smaller birds.

The eastern section of the park is framed by the Rincon Mountains; the park has a loop of about eight miles, which allows you to see the cactus and some of the desert animals and plant life in their natural habitat. As far as the eye can see, there are Saguaro cactuses growing through the desert area and up the sides of the moutains. Thirty miles away, in the park on the western side of Tucson, the cactuses are found in much denser stands. Both parks give the visitor a taste of Western plant and animal life, and if you have more time, there are numerous trails you can either walk or ride horseback through. In fall, the daytime temperatures are in the mid-to-high 70s, but nighttime temperatures can be chilly, dipping into the 30s. In April, May, and June, the cactuses take on another look, when their flowers bloom. We saw the various cactuses in full bloom on our last trip to Tucson; the blooms add many hues of red and pink to the desert landscape.

From Tuscon, we headed north to Flagstaff, about 250 miles away. After an hour-and-a-half drive, we reached Phoenix, stopped for lunch and then continued on our trip, turning onto Interstate 17. This part of our journey was deceiving at first: We seemed to be driving along a road that appears to be basically flat. The roadside signs pointed out that the elevation was rising from Phoenix's 1,000-foot level, but you have no sensation of this until you come upon the first sign warning truckers of a steep downgrade ahead. From this point on (near the location of Black Canyon), the road was a series of steep inclines and downgrades, until we began to level off about 30 miles before Flagstaff, where the elevation is about 6,500 feet. The cactuses and desert terrain changed to trees and finally to spruce firs; spectacular sweeping views of the mountains and landscape captured our attention at almost every curve and turn on the highway. There were even hints of fall foliage on some of the leaf-bearing trees; shades of yellows and browns add color to the landscape.

We made Flagstaff our home for the next 36 hours. From there, we proceeded north, skirting the San Francisco Mountains and Mount Humphreys (elevation 12,633 feet, the highest point in Arizona). There is snow on the top third of Mount Humphreys, and on slopes of adjacent mountains. On both sides of the road are spruce firs; you could be driving on almost any road in Northern New England, except there are no smaller trees or bushes under the fir trees.

There just isn't any other way to describe the Grand Canyon than ``spectacular,'' ``awesome,'' or ``breathtaking.'' And you can never really appreciate its grandeur from pictures or movies; you have to visit the canyon to experience its broad visual impact on your senses. And the canyon has an even greater impact on visitors, because the roads leading to it are on relatively flat terrain. As we drove through a forest of mostly spruce firs and white birch, there was just a hint of the canyon's vivid colors off to our right. Not really expecting to see the canyon so abruptly, we passed by the entrance to the Mather Point lookout area. We turned into the second entrance to the point and were stunned by what we saw: As far as the eye can focus, the many levels of rock and sediment of the North Rim of the canyon were spread out before us in a great mosaic of colorsred, brown, yellows, and greens.

We lunched at one of the developed areas near the visitors' center (and, of course, we had to walk through the gift shop) before beginning our tour of the canyon. We drove through Grand Canyon Village, where the hotels, restaurants, and stores inside the park are located and headed for the West Rim Drive, an eight-mile roadway that follows the rim of the Grand Canyon, with several overlooks provided for increasingly spectacular views of the canyon. Being able to traverse the West Rim Drive is an added pleaure of visiting in the off-season; private vehicles are banned on this portion of the drive in summer. (Starting in the year 2000, the US Interior Department plans to ban all vehicles from the Grand Canyon Park, and will instead provide light rail and bus transportation services throughout the park.) After taking in the sweeping view of the western part of the canyon, we returned to the visitors' center briefly before heading onto the East Rim Drive, a 25-mile stretch that takes you to the eastern entrance to the park. Once again, there are numerous overlook areas with parking areas; you think to yourself that it's foolish to pull off, yet you do, and the view is breathtaking -- and very different -- at each point. At the desert view site, not only can you see the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon but also the Colorado River as it wends its way into the canyon, the expansive Navajo Indian reservation, and the flat, but colorful Painted Desert.

Departing the park from the east entrance and heading south to Flagstaff, we couldn't imagine that we'd ever see anything as spectacular and colorful as the Grand Canyon. But only a few miles down the road (and we were descending), the Painted Desert stretched out before us; in one case, the road began a series of hairpin turns, and as we came out of one turn, the Painted Desert in all its glory was right there in front of us. As the sun set, we reached Flagstaff and agreed that it was a day full of natural wonders and scenic panoramas.

The stark desert terrain of Tucson, the urban sprawl of the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, the splendor of the Grand Canyon are part of Arizona's appeal. But so is Sedona, and once again we were visually overwhelmed by the massive red rock formations rising out of the landscape and the cool sensuality of Oak Creek Canyon.

Sedona is about halfway between Flagstaff and Phoenix, located west of Interstate 17; if you are approaching from Flagstaff and the north, you can take the exit for 89A and wind your way down Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona; if you are approaching from Phoenix, you take the exit for Route 179 and go directly to Sedona first. Having friends from Phoenix as our guides, we took the Route 179 approach.

As we followed this winding, two-lane highway into the village of Oakcreek, two huge red-rock formations -- Bell and Courthouse rocks -- rose up on the horizon. These are landmarks; soon others dotted the horizon: Cathedral Rock, Coffeepot Rock, Steamboat Rock. You don't have to use much imagination to see where the names came from; the images are clearly reflected in the names. As we got closer to one of the rock formations, we could see how much the rocks have been etched by the passing of centuries. One place that inspired us was the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a ``sculpture church'' built between two huge red rock formations. Equally spectacular was the view from outside the chapel, surrounded on two sides by the red rocks and facing a sweeping panorama of the plains and mountain ranges in the far distance.

In addition to the Red Rocks, Sedona is known for its art galleries, boutiques, and special arts shops. One of the more interesting places is Tlaquepaque, a two-story complex of specialty shops and eating establishments built in a Spanish Colonial style. Inside the stone walls, the courtyards around the buildings are laced with flowers; visitors walk on sand and cobbled streets and rest under the shades of Arizona sycamore trees and oak trees. Tlaquepaque was built in 1971, and was the first arts and crafts village of its kind in the United States. Its appeal to visitors helped create the large arts and specialty business in Sedona.

Sedona also appeals to people interested in the mystic. Centuries ago, the Indian tribes traveled to this area, long considered to be sacred ground, to worship; today, New Age believers come to Sedona because of its reputed energy points called ``vortexes,'' or places where it is believed that energy, both positive and negative, enter and leave the earth.

And finally, there is Oak Creek Canyon, named after the creek that carved out the canyon over the eons of time. We traversed the canyon from its lower part up the constantly winding road to the top of the canyon, where the view is almost as breathless as it is at the Grand Canyon. Traveling through the canyon in November was like traveling through the White Mountains of New Hampshire in October. Lush vegetation thins out to rock and sturdy fir trees; leaves were turning colors. While they were not as vivid and bright as the foliage in New England, they still managed to paint a palette of yellow and orange hues across the valleys of the canyon.

Without the crowds and bustle of the tourist season and before the arrival of the winter residents, Arizona is a wonderful place to spend an off-season vacation. Good weather, warm daytime temperatures and cooler nights, spectacular scenery, and life at a leisurely pace were just a few of the positive enticements we discovered.

The Phoenix/Scottsdale area is a large, sprawling urban sector located in the middle of the state. Accommodations range from the top-of-the-line resorts of Scottsdale to familiar hotel and motel chains. Tucson is also a large metropolitan area, with fewer large resorts but numerous hotels and motels. The Flagstaff area has seen a big increase in hotels and motels over the last several years, due to its relative proximity to the Grand Canyon and the Mount Humphreys ski area. Sedona also has a large selection of resorts, inns, and motels.

You should pack for both warm and cold weather if you go to Arizona in late fall: Daytime temperatures are often in the 70s and low 80s in Phoenix and Tucson; in Flagstaff, they can be much colder. After the colorful and intense sunsets that are a part of life in Arizona, temperatures can drop into the 30s and 40s during the night.