A few days ago, we didn't know that the the Grand Canyon would be reopened, and the last part of our trip could actually go according to plan. We didn't want to take the chance of Glen Canyon not being open to take a trip on the Colorado River on our wedding anniversary, or that we would be twiddling our thumbs instead of hiking South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We looked for the nearest stretch of water with a suitable boat trip ... and so here we are in Phoenix! It was a 300 mile drive from Monument Valley, but we came through some lovely scenery and we were welcomed at ZenYard by our hosts Eddie and Dale who have made a relaxing B&B with secluded courtyards, water features and a pool in urban Phoenix.

 




On our anniversary we drove to Lake Canyon which we discovered was in the Tonto National Forest (Chris felt right at home!) and took a trip on Dolly the Steamboat round the lake. We had a beautiful day and a very relaxing cruise and while we didn't see any critters, we did see lots of saguaro cacti which are amazing. They do not start to grow arms until they are 50 years old, so many are really old.





We couldn't resist a stop at Goldfield Ghost Town, an old mining town, 'Gateway to the Legendary Superstition Mountains' for lunch and a couple of snaps, then returned to ZenYard and had a dip in the pool. In the evening we celebrated with cocktails and enchiladas at Ticoz Restaurant.





An unexpected bonus of visiting Phoenix is that we were able to visit Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home for not just his family, but also his business and architectural school, summers being spent in Wisconsin.



We took an excellent guided tour, telling mainly of the time he spent here, how his philosophy, which he called organic architecture, shaped the buildings. He thought that buildings should fit in with the landscape, both in shape and materials, so triangles repeat the shape of the mountains and nothing is taller than the palo verde, the state tree of Arizona. The walls were made with the local stone, set into concrete to make building blocks he called desert masonry.





While I enjoyed my visit so much I could write an essay ... suffice to say Chris liked it and took some great pics, so I'll stop here!



Next stop ... Sedona, Arizona!