48 hours in Phoenix, Arizona
“He’d always had a quickening of the heart when he crossed into Arizona and beheld the cactus country. This was as the desert should be, this was the desert of the picture books...”
It all started with Marty Robbins. Something stirred in me, curious about the dusty corals, robust purples, and golden hues of the desert. That landscape seemed so gentle and hostile all at once. Maybe it was just a cheap escape from the same news cycle that’s keeping all of us up at night. But Marty sang about soft evenings and sunsets, driving cattle against a pale morning and cactus blooms, and shoot, I believed him.
When we saw round-trip flights to Phoenix dip below $90, we didn’t hesitate. We knew nothing about Arizona, save for rumors about the heat: I’d never seen the Grand Canyon and couldn’t imagine anything hotter than my home state of Texas. And yet there we were a few weeks later, sweaty, optimistic, squinting in the Valley of the Sun.
Exploring outside of the metro area, it became abundantly clear that the best thing about Phoenix… wasn’t the city. Phoenix’s geography is a strange one. Built in a bowl-type valley, heat gets captured and dragged down to the streets and buildings, where it absolutely menaces. Locals chastised us for running errands at midday (the average temperature was 102℉ before 10 AM). Escape outside the bowl to the more rural areas, they said, and the temperature will dip by a merciful few degrees. You’ll hear rumors about the “dry heat” being more tolerable, by the way, meaning there’s little humidity. Because, again, desert. But speaking as someone who regularly experiences months above 100℉ — it hits different. We began to imagine Phoenix as our home base for our desert adventure, and the rest of Arizona as the true conquest. But that’s not to say Arizona’s capital city didn’t have its charms.
Where to stay
As budget travelers preferring neighborhoods to hotels, we knew we’d be picking an Airbnb for our stay. We landed on a cute apartment in the “Arts District,” a.k.a. Roosevelt Row, a strip close the metro featuring abundant murals. While I’m not sure it deserves the its moniker (some street art, but no studios, museums, or galleries), Roosevelt Row is definitely worth a visit. The Saguaro, a very Instagrammable spot out in Scottsdale, should also be on your list. Although it’s pricier than most parts of town, the design and aesthetic can’t be beat. You may have to beat off the influencers, though.
What to do
➤ Food + drink
Our Airbnb was a minute’s walk from CIBO, a quaint Italian spot that checked the boxes for stellar pizza, pasta, and wine. Locals insisted that CIBO has the best patio in the whole city, and it didn’t take much to convince us: twinkling lights, live jazz every night, and the city skyline in the background. When we weren’t eating at CIBO, bright and sunny Ollie Vaughn’s offered tasty sandwiches and sumptuous pastries in an unsuspecting spot downtown. Matt’s Big Breakfast is another local gem that’s sprouted several locations around town. Their menu of classics (eggs, salad, sausage, toast, jam) is simple, homegrown, and done to absolute perfection. Go in for the jam alone!
Besides food, we found a few bars that we’d happily bring back to Austin. Our first find was Gracie’s Tax Bar, a dimly lit dive with a former life as a tax office. Bartenders sling $4 drinks (with tax, obviously) amidst charmingly earnest decor that would read as ironic in any other setting — plaid pleather booths, art you might find at your grandma’s yard sale, the like. Another night we slunk into Undertow, a reservations-only basement tiki bar housed in the belly of the unassuming Sip Coffee & Beer Garage. TV displays embedded in the bar walls as “portholes” display various scenes at sea, and Undertow fully commits to the theatrics, even going so far as to drum up a storm with flashing lights and thunder to accompany their boozy rum concoctions.
Sights
➤ Outdoors
Bite the bullet and do everything you can to survive the heat, because the most precious treasure Arizona has to offer is her flora and fauna. We were stunned by how varied the landscape could be in one state. Drive a few hours north, and you’re dwarfed by Saguaro; keep driving, and you’ll swear you’re in Colorado. Locals recommended Camelback Mountain in Phoenix proper for hiking, and we spent the better part of a day at the gorgeous Desert Botanical Garden ($24.95/adult). If you’re hoping for something more rugged, Sedona’s about two hours away and stuns with mesas, vistas, and some very steep hikes (not for the faint of heart; our hike in Sedona was challenging enough that we didn’t do anything else for the rest of the day). If day trips aren’t out of the question, definitely bookmark Saguaro National Park, too — home to the world’s largest cacti, these are the Sequoia of the southwest.
➤ Arts + culture
Although Phoenix doesn’t have a reputation as an especially artsy city, I was excited to experience my first installation from Yayoi Kusama. Her immersive infinity rooms are wildly popular (just see what you have to do to see her work at The Broad in Los Angeles), but you won’t have to wait in line for this one. You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies has been a permanent exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum since 2005, and it was blessedly empty when we visited. Another artist of interest is Kehinde Wiley, who moved into the mainstream after being Barack Obama’s choice for his 2018 portrait.
Nearby
We expected Arizona to be miles and miles of desert, but there’s so much more than that (if desert’s your thing, there’s plenty). Driving north, the temperature dropped exponentially, and the landscape gave way to piney woods, sloping hills, and dozens of rock formations to climb. If we could do our trip again, we’d start in the southernmost bit of the state in Tucson to visit Saguaro National Park, then move north to Phoenix, Sedona, Flagstaff, and Page. All of these trips are measured in their distance from Phoenix.
Tucson (1.5 hours) — Saguaro National Park
Sedona (2 hours) — Red Rock State Park and Chapel of the Holy Cross
Flagstaff (2 hours) — Piney hikes and Sunset Crater Volcano
Page(4.5 hours) — Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend
The Grand Canyon (3.5 hours)— Grand Canyon National Park
Antelope Canyon is widely popular, and given this shot, you can see why. You will need a reservation to take in camera equipment, and groups that tour the canyon are quite small to help preserve the rock formations from any damage. Book months before you go.
What to pack
Besides necessities like sunscreen (lots and lots of sunscreen), bring a straw hat, bandana, and sunglasses to keep the rays off your face and skin. Our saving grace for our trip was a pocket-sized mister. Usually reserved for knocking wrinkles out of our tightly-rolled luggage, we spritzed ourselves for quick relief from the heat. Speaking of water: if you’re planning on hiking, bring a massive refillable bottle, and plan on a smaller container for exploring the metro area. We spent most of the trip wishing we had two bottles, a smaller container for day trips and goofing off around town and our huge canteen for longer days outside.
Sunscreen
Cooling bandana
Hat with neck protection
Pocket-sized mister
Water bladder
Nalgene
When to go
Being a (mostly) desert state, Arizona’s weather is fairly uniform: hot and hotter. You will experience colder temperatures in Flagstaff, Page, and at the Grand Canyon, so plan accordingly for those hikes. We (very foolishly) visited in May, when days regularly reached over 110℉ in the city. November through April are the best months for temperate weather, and you’ll skip out on families visiting over summer break. During the fall and spring, expect daily temperatures between 65℉ and 80℉ with gentle breezes at night.
Arizona is a harsh, beautiful place, one that we’ll return to over and over. Southwest Airlines regularly offers deals to Phoenix, and if you can rent a car inexpensively, the state is ripe for exploring. We recommend this album for your long, long drives — tell Marty we miss him and that we’ll be back soon.
