PHOENIX RISING
For eight days the Radio Sport Breakfast team broadcast their show from Arizona. This is Nathan Rarere’s story
It’s a state keen to shed its image of “the deserty, conservative one next to California”, and we found much to enjoy in Arizona.
DOWNTOWN PHOENIX
Downtown is compact and easy to get around with MLB and NBA stadiums right in the middle. Just 100m from the front door of Talking Stick Resort Arena, the Phoenix Sun’s home court, is The Arrogant Butcher, a modern eatery that embodies the sophisticated entertainment side Phoenix would like the world to know about.
On the northern side of downtown is Roosevelt Row, Phoenix’s artsier, less-exclusive version of
Ponsonby Rd.
Roosevelt Row’s community of artists give this part of Phoenix a vibrancy that is different to the rest of the city.
For the proper Roosevelt experience, start at the western end, eat lunch at local favourite Taco Chelo (tacochelo.com), then spend a couple of hours browsing through the craft shops and wandering through the Row’s alleyways to admire the art.
THE SPORTING EXPERIENCE
Phoenix is home to top-flight basketball, American football, ice hockey and baseball. Attending the Arizona Cardinals NFL game was like going to a massive stage production.
The 70,000-seat stadium is fully air-conditioned and everyone gets free, high-speed Wi-Fi for the all-important social media posts. #TheCardinalsLostAgain
Locals tell us they know the “Cards suck”, but they come for the experience of a day at State Farm Stadium, with its 20m-tall video wall and the sound system cranked up to 11. GETTING ABOUT
Phoenix has good public transport and some excellent characters driving for Uber and Lyft (we met a former-NFL player called Lester, who does Uber for fun and “the six grand a month you can bring in”). But you get to know a city properly by renting a car and driving around its suburbs. Phoenix’s grid-based town planning makes it easy to navigate. As you drive through the streets you notice that most houses have varying shades of brown “desert gardens” instead of front lawns.
Tiny taco joints pop up every few blocks with brightly coloured walls and hand-painted signs advertising empanadas, enchiladas or tacos to go.
HEADING NORTH
Another reason to self-drive is the experience of the Arizona countryside. You can make it to Flagstaff in three hours if you head straight up the Insterstate 17.
But if you detour on Highway 89A, the scenery changes from desert to tussock to deciduous trees. You’re taken over the peak of Mingus Mountain, which rewards you with a spectacular canyon view (not that canyon. . . not yet) and a stop in Jerome, a “haunted” town perched on the side of a mountain that feels like a Coen Brothers film come to life.
From there the road winds north through the Red Rocks of Sedona and into the stunning woodlands of the Coconino National Park to Flagstaff.
EVERYBODY LOVES FLAGSTAFF Everyone in Phoenix told us “Oh, you’ll love Flagstaff”. They were so right.
Flagstaff is nearly 2km higher than Phoenix
and enjoys a climate similar to Queenstown. The air is crisp and the streets of Old Town Flagstaff are decorated with murals and character buildings. The city prides itself on its Dark Sky streetlighting policy, and the myriad craft beer bars and restaurants.
I ate the best steak I’ve had in years at Root Public House and then enjoyed the sky full of stars on the walk back to the hotel.
One of our hosts moved to Flagstaff for college and never left. I can understand why.
THE QUIETEST PLACE IN AMERICA
The drive to the Grand Canyon takes two and a half hours from Flagstaff, so we start the day at MartAnne’s, the famous Mexican diner on Route 66 that was “built on chilaquiles”, a breakfast dish with the punch of jalapenos.
The vast landscapes on the way to the canyon make the best music video in the world for the tunes we play in the car.
A fee of $35 per vehicle gets you into the Grand Canyon National Park. Its tree-lined roads teem with elk and other wildlife.
I hate saying this, but it’s impossible for a picture or description to do the Grand Canyon justice. I had been from the Las Vegas side before, but the views from Arizona’s South Rim make the Vegas canyon look like a crack.
It’s the quietest place in America. People stand staring at it in amazement and we found ourselves speaking in hushed tones. The width of the Grand Canyon means that there is nothing for sound to bounce off, so there is no echo.
SO, WOULD YOU GO BACK THEN?
Absolutely.
Arizonans are more laid-back and “Kiwi” than Californians and they’re oh-so welcoming. They want you to visit their magnificent state, and I think you really should take up their offer.