Waking up on day 1, we still had to decide what the heck we were going to do for the next 3 days. We guessed that one day would be spent driving around, another hiking and another walking around Scottsdale. With Anne still getting over a cold, driving seemed to be the best idea for the first day.

Looking at some maps and travel guide websites (free in-room Wifi is a necessity these days), I found the Apache Trail, which is a long and partially unpaved road from Phoenix out to Roosevelt Lake.

It really was a good time. We saw some great scenery, found a few geocaches, and even took our crappy Aveo off-roading a few times. The guys in their trucks towing their ATVs laughed at us.

I always though of Phoenix as a desert city and not a place where one would do a lot of boating, but there were a few lakes up there (all man-made I’m sure) with a fair number of people on them.

We were surprised to see Dunkin’ Donuts in Arizona. If we had more time and didn’t have a free continental breakfast at the hotel, we definitely would have stopped for some Munchkins!

I also learned that a cactus can make a sound. As the wind passes through the needles, it makes a strange whooshing noise. It would be fun to camp underneath one some night.

We drove home the long way, grabbed a Slurpee, and ended up getting dinner at Fuddruckers for some big, satisfying burgers.