Scottsdale

Yesterday we flew across the country to Scottsdale, Arizona. This is a true vacation, no children, no grandchildren and no schedule. We have never been here before and just decided now was a good time. We exchanged a week of our Florida timeshare for a week here at the very posh Weston Kierland Resort. The weather is warm, about 100 degrees today, but it really doesn’t feel that hot. Our room overlooks the golf course so we are surrounded by green. Once we leave the resort, though, the world becomes dry and brown with a beauty that can only be seen in the desert. Saguaro cacti dot the landscape. The McDowell Mountains rise up from the desert and the sky is clear and blue.

We went into Scottsdale’s historic district today and looked through lots of interesting shops and galleries. We ate lunch at the Rusty Spur Saloon. It is advertised in all the tour books as the last of the real cowboy salons. It was a lot smaller than I expected only eight tables and a small bar. It was a fun place with good food though. I did wonder how my daughter, the roving restaurant reviewer would describe it. The walls were covered with dollar bills that people had thumb tacked to the wall. Many of the bills had hand written notes on them. There was a board covered with names of all those who had made it into the worm club. I’m sure some of you who go to bars more often than me can explain the purpose of this club. A country musician was in the corner singing county western songs. He added a nice sound to the place. There was a catalogue of all the souvenirs they sold. It had the usual tee shirts and caps. They even sold souvenir condoms. I could see this might be a useful item, but not something I had ever thought of as a souvenir. Would I put it in my scrapbook?