It was the first time in Arizona for me, as we got close I could see the Grand canyon from the little window in the plane, it looked like a large crack with a smaller crack inside of it and yet a smaller crack inside of that. To me the crack was exactly like one you would see on a sidewalk with little smaller ones branching off from the main one, except the Grand canyon is on a massive scale.
I was also very surprised to see a ski hill and snow of all things, as my understanding of Arizona was that it's supposed to be hot, there was snow on the ground too, and mountains. My envisioned trip here was supposed to be flat earth for as far as the eye can see, it appears my understanding of this place has been very flawed.
We landed in Mesa city, which was our actual destination, very close to Phoenix in fact. Going through the airport after landing was probably one of the best experiences I have ever had when dealing with an airport. We had to go through one door, and we were in baggage claim then we were outside after another set of doors. No line up, no crowds, no security check, just off the plane and out the doors. It was probably 15+ degrees Celsius.
We rented a car, a Mazda 6 and I have to say I was impressed yet again, it's like a sporty sedan and much nicer than the junker I thought we would be driving. Before we hopped into the rental we took pictures of any and all damage as the company did not go through any sort of damage checklist. Then we turned on the GPS and my wife and I headed to her parents trailer park.
Another surprise, this trailer park is not like the slum areas in Alberta, I was expecting a trailer park boys type of scenario, but this is a gated community, meaning manned security gates to enter the premises. See where I'm going with this? The trailers are not mansions by any stretch, yet they are cozy little places that are inexpensive and secure if you wanted to be a snow bird on the cheap.
My wife's mother has a friend who lives right across the road from her, but she is sick in the hospital, she offered up her place to us! It's like having a full kitchenette hotel room with three TVs for free for a week. This lady has never met us, ever. The kindness of others is truly astonishing sometimes.
Today we are off to see the Grand canyon from the ground, and we are being told we need to have winter jackets and mittens...What?!? Guess we will see what the day holds and let you know tomorrow.
Scott Goerz
