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I fell ill in Phoenix (food poisoning I think) but we did manage some side trips with Kate's colleague Sam. We drove out to the Casa Grande National Monument. It's a very large ruin of an old Pueblo native village constructed out of adobe. Oddly it's in the middle of some very flat land but I suppose that's where they were able to divert the river and farm the land. If you're looking for the ruins hugging cliffs that's in another part of the state (eg. we visited Canyon de Chelly many years ago). We also did a drive out to Tortilla Flat (if only for the name). You see lots of desert country, cactus and rough mountains out there and some water too. The Salt River is dammed to form Canyon Lake for boating and water supply to Phoenix (I seem to recall that the bulk of water for Phoenix comes from the Colorado River but I could be wrong).
Anyways, the Saguaro was a delightful hotel for a visit to Scottsdale. You're far away from the towers of downton Phoenix and close to an entertainment/market district that they call Scottsdale Oldtown. Hanging out at the Rusty Spur and watching the dancers was fun. There's tourist shops with shaded verandas over the side walks, adobe churches and and old time feel. There's a waterfront area in Scottsdale as well -- that's more chic than they cowboy centric old town.
We took a day trip and headed north to Sedona (it's midway between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon). That's an interesting area with distinctive mesas and trails to explore them. It's at a mcuh higher elevation and we met some snowy weather. I understand that Sedona is a good place to get away from the summer heat if you live in Phoenix.
Here's an album of photos from our visit for those who are interested.
