Sticky and icky!

I just returned from a business trip to Arlington VA. I spent two nights at the Doubletree Crystal City hotel. In general, the hotel was ok, as long as you didn't eat in their restaurants (bad service and mediocre food).

My room was functional, but left a lot to be desired. When I walked into my room, I nearly gagged. There was a smell that was a combination of stale smoke (this was a non-smoking room), mildew, and sewage. Yummy! When I asked to change rooms, I was told that the hotel was completely full and no other rooms were available. I sprayed the room with Febreze and cranked up the a/c hoping to get rid of the smell. It was only about 10% effective.

The a/c worked great, but sounded like a jet was taking off. It was so loud I couldn't hear the tv or talk on the phone while it was on. I ended up turning it off while I slept.

Though not a problem, I was a bit baffled as to why many of the outlets were crooked. Below is a picture of the bathroom wall, with very crooked light switches. Just to the left of the outlets, you can see lovely brown spackle on the wall. There were also various stains on some of the towels and the bathroom counter. Other than that, it looked like the bathroom had at least been cleaned, and all the plumbing worked well (other than the shower head placed way too low).

The light switch and outlet on the wall next to my bed were also installed at odd angles. In addition, there was a large area that looked as though a picture used to hang there. The hardware was still on the wall.
But the real pièce de résistance of the room was the sticky wall! Yes, sticky! In order to not be too grossed out, I decided that a spray adhesive was applied to the wall behind the (missing) picture to keep it from moving if bumped. Since there was no longer a picture, I was left with a big sticky spot.
After getting over the initial gross out factor, I invented a fun game to see what would stick to the wall and for how long.

The wall was sticky enough to hold a Kleenex forever (or at least until I got bored and removed it).

A piece of note paper only stuck for about 30 seconds.
A washcloth only stuck for about 15 seconds.
A hand towel was too heavy and wouldn't stick at all.
A pen didn't have enough surface area to stick.

Gila Bend is out of this world!

About 70 miles southwest of Phoenix is the small town of Gila Bend. If you are traveling from Phoenix to Yuma or San Diego, or heading down to Rocky Point Mexico, you will probably find yourself driving through this town. I have to admit, I rarely stop for more than a quick bathroom break, fill the gas tank, or to grab something cold to drink.
Outside one of the gas stations on the east side of town are a couple of metal sculptures. Being that it is the desert southwest, I understand the rattlesnake.

Watch out for the fangs on this guy!
I'm still not quite sure how the brontosaurus fits in. At least make it a T-Rex.
If you decide that you must own your very own sculpture (unpainted) just drive a few blocks west and one can be yours.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was that one of these giant beauties wouldn't fit in my car. I so wanted one for my front yard!

Giant metal animals aside, when I think of Gila Bend, I think of one thing. The Space Age Lodge!
Although I've never stayed here, I can't help but think of how hip you would have been to stay here in the early 60s when it was brand new!
There is amazing detail in the exterior design of the building and the signs.

I love how the rooms have little space ships on their doors. It also looked like glitter or something was embedded in the exterior paint. When the sun caught it just right, the building glistened.
Even the detail around the pool is amazing. All the pool hardware is stored in the geodesic dome on the left side of the picture.

Globe trotting

If you're craving a bit of western and Americana kitch, a quick day trip to Globe, AZ should cure that craving.

Globe is full of historic buildings.


From central Phoenix, it is about an hour and a half drive (east on Hwy 60) to Globe. As you approach Superior and continue to Miami and Globe, the scenery is beautiful - with interesting rock formations.

Tucson Mountain Park

Tucson Mountain Park is found on the west side of Tucson, just outside of Saguaro National Park. This picture shows a wash (dry river bed). These areas flood and become very dangerous following a rain (even a small rain of 1 cm!)
There is a lot of plant diversity in this area of the Sonoran Desert. Some of the plants you can see in this picture are cholla, palo verde, mesquite, prickley pear cactus, creosote, and saguaros.

Hiking trails run throughout Tucson Mountain Park.
Watch out for the Teddy Bear Cholla. It isn't as cute and fuzzy as it looks.
It is full of very spiny sections that attach to you or other animals like giant burrs. I found this out the hard way when I first moved to Arizona. I took my dog out hiking, and within 5 minutes of hitting the tail, he bumped into one of these chollas. Several 5-inch-long segments stuck into his flank. He tried to pull it off with his mouth, but instead ended up with the spines on his face and in his mouth. As I tried to help him, he panicked and transfered the remaining pieces of cactus to my arm.

Neither of us enjoyed the subsequent removing of the spines. The tip is slightly barbed, so even when you pull the main spine out, a tiny bit is left behind.
To this day, I still have scars on my arm from that incident - and it's been 17 years!
As you drive northwest through the park, you enter Saguaro National Park.

Saguaro National Park - West

Saguaro National Park is split into two sections: West and East. The east side is a bit more developed, while the west side blends into nearby attractions of Tucson Mountain Park, Old Tucson Studios, and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.
I recently visited the west side of the park.


May and early June are a wonderful time to visit. The weather is still reasonably cool (90s to low 100s), and the saguaros are in bloom.


Here you can see the beautiful saguaro flowers.