Scottsdale, Arizona - The Desert Adventure- Tipping, News, Dog Parks & Wildlife-Yah, it's random

First subject: Tipping
This post will just be a rambling, smattering of random thinking provoked by experiences while in Arizona. The first being on tipping. Now I know tipping wait staff has been cussed and discussed more often than I want to think about but I'm going to bring it up anyway. While we were on vacation we ate out - ALOT- and most experiences were pleasant. We ate from the fast food sector and we dined at some very nice places (Don and Charlies in Scottsdale- YUM!), and we adjusted our expectations accordingly. But one specific instance caused me to ponder, yet again, why we don't just pay for our meal and extra 10-15% up front and let the restaurant pay the staff what they deserve.

A tip, or gratuity, is a small amount of money given voluntarily as a token of appreciation for a service rendered. We tip our servers as a way of thanking them for good service. We might also leave a very low tip, or no tip at all, as a signal that the service was substandard. 

Now that is a very good definition of what tipping is but what if the service is crappy? and what level of service should one expect? I believe many times we tip more out of moral obligation than as a show of appreciation of good service. But the event that brings this up is a particular lunch......let's just called it edRa obinRa......or something like that.... We get there, been to one before, no big surprise expected. We are seated at a very small table for two when there are plenty of bigger tables around and it is the middle of the afternoon. The waitress comes takes our drink order and asks.....do you want me to bring the basket of steak fries before your meal (those are like baskets of chips at a mexican restaurant, an appetizer of sorts) and we reply yes that would be great. She disappears.....the drinks show up........we are thirsty drink them down........no refills offered, matter of fact she walks by several times and also we never get the fries. Our food comes, is delivered by yet another person. Finally, the waitress appears to see if we need any refill (food is half gone at this point), and then, only THEN does she seem to care about us. Now the restaurant is not busy, and we see she has only one other table, seems a bit hard to feel sorry for her. Now we left the customary 15% but was it because of good service as intended? no, it was moral obligation.

Why have only certain service industries been given license of expectation to be tipped? What about the guy at the auto parts store that fills the order? or the lumber yard? or the florist? I don't have any answers to this conundrum, just simply verbalizing a little frustration.

Next subject: Television in Arizona.
Something that perplexed me while visiting here was why, oh why, do they have soooo many news/variety shows. We had Good Morning Arizona, Good Afternoon Arizona and the news show was basically Good Evening Arizona......same stuff different hosts....and TMZ the entertainment (and I use the word loosely) gossip show. I swear if it was on once during the day, it was 3 times. The only thing I can figure out is that maybe the people that watch all this have alzheimer's and don't remember seeing it the first couple of times and every show is like a brand new episode... sorry, I'm just saying....


Next subject: Dog Parks
While in Scottsdale our condo was very close to a huge dog park, about the size of a baseball field, matter of fact it was in the park next to a couple of diamonds. It was separated into small dog or large dog sections. It was always busy, but on the weekends.......my gosh, I'd say 100 dogs at least, all romping and playing and it was a hoot to watch. At first I thought- my goodness these people really love their dogs, (we would also see many people out walking their dogs) but then I came to a conclusion, they walk their dogs and take them to the park because they have NO YARDS! The yards if any are either small with very little grass or all rocks, not conducive to really let a pet get the exercise it needs. So that answered that.


Next subject: Wildlife
And now just the final observation. There is no wildlife (other than the geese and ducks in the parks and dogs on leashes) in Arizona. BUT, coming home and driving through New Mexico we saw a site that was beautiful. A herd of antelope in the field by the road. Totally made my day. And then in the next mile I saw tumbleweeds.......lots of tumbleweeds......oh well, take the good with the bad.

Scottsdale, Arizona - The Desert Adventure - The Grand Canyon

Yesterday was a trip to the Grand Canyon, although very excited about seeing it (I think I've only seen it from the air before) the four hour, one-way drive did not excite me. But we loaded up and headed that direction early in the morning. My first picture was sunrise from the vehicle going down the highway and then once we got to the Kaibib National Forest I saw Smokey the Bear.

Then it was on up to the canyon, what is normally a $25.00 entry fee, was knocked down to a mere $8.00 because my mother (whispers.....a senior citizen) was in the vehicle.

Seems like a steep price to pay but when driving through and seeing all the improvements and nice amenities around it was understandable. As you might guess, the pictures don't begin to do it justice. It should be on everyone's bucket list.

 How the Canyon Came to be the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is probably the world’s most spectacular example of the power of erosion. Scientists estimate the Grand Canyon began forming 6 million years ago with the downward cutting (erosion) of the Colorado River, which flows through the Canyon. The work is by no means finished. The powerful forces of the river, rain, snow, heat, frost and wind are still sculpting the fantastic shapes of precipitous bluffs and towering buttes.

The Numbers
Grand Canyon

• Length: 277 river miles
• Average width: 10 mi. (max. 15 mi.)
• Average depth: 4000 ft. (max. one mi.)
• Acres: 1,218,375
• South Rim elevation: 7,000 ft.
• North Rim elevation: 8,100 ft.
• Phantom Ranch elevation: 2400 ft.
• Average high temperatures:
  Jan. - 41o F (rim), 56o F (gorge)
  July - 85o F (rim), 107o F (gorge)
• Average rainfall: 16” (rim), 8.44” (gorge)
• Average snowfall: 62” (rim), 2” (gorge)

Colorado River (within the park)

• Length: 277 mi
• Average width: 300 ft.
• Average depth: 40 ft.
• Average speed: 4 miles per hour

 The definite changes from the different levels and types of rock were clearly visible. There are 3 groups of types of rock, 18 different kinds.

As many of you know, I am a total wildlife freak and was excited about the possibilities, but......aside from Smokey the Bear......this was the only wildlife I saw, a Raven. And yes, he was taunting me.

Wildlife and Vegetation

Home to 88 species of mammals, 56 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 17 species of fish (the Humpback Chub and the Razorback Sucker are on the US endangered species list). There are more than 300 species of birds within the Park including the Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, the California Condor (10 ft. wingspan) and the raven (largest of crows). Boasts approximately 2,000 species of plants, mosses and other vegetation.

Then the last thing that was a photo op......another picture from the vehicle......the Arizona sunset, and I can only describe the beautiful colors - bright oranges, deep turquoise, subtle yellows........gorgeous over the gigantic red rocks.

Scottsdale, Arizona - The Desert Adventure- FRESH JUICE!

Ok, when you go someplace and you see fruit growing on the trees everywhere you tend to think, oh it must not be good or buggy or some sort of problem with it. Well at the condo we are staying at a huge grapefruit tree in the back yard.

 

Greg decided he was going to try to make some grapefruit juice. We found an electric juicer in the pantry and set off to see what kind of mess we could make. It was actually quite uneventful, he sliced about 4 grapefruits and it made two tall glasses of grapefruit juice. The juice was not bitter and very tasty. I can only imagine what it would be like to have fresh juice every day and even though I don't like fruit, maybe this would be enough to influence my taste buds.

Scottsdale - the Desert Adventure- Day2

Today was not a well-balanced meal of events but several small snacks of activities. We started out the day doing a little shopping, because, well, who doesn't like to start their day out that way? Greg dropped us off to shop and was parked in a very empty parking lot taking a little nap. Snoozing away when a lady hits our Navigator! Needless to say he was not a happy bear when he was rudely awakened from his slumber. Evidently the lady was so worried about hitting the parking island that she was unaware that there was this BIG WHITE BOAT OF AN SUV right in front of her. She felt really bad and fortunately for us, hit directly on the tire.....her little camry, well, -  it didn't fair as well.

The next thing on the menu was to go to a place called Queen Creek Olive Mill. Now I've never really just had a hankering to find out how olive oil is made but I am always fascinated by learning in general, so it was an interesting day. Learned the difference between extra virgin olive oil all the way to light olive oil (it has nothing to do with calories, everything to do with processing and nutrients) and what the difference is in green olives and purple olives(it's the degree of ripeness) and the difference between cold press and heating. FYI- if I did like black olives before this, I would not really want to eat one now. Icky.

What is extra virgin olive oil?

Extra virgin olive oil is the highest grade of olive oil obtained only from the olive, using solely mechanical means which do not alter the oil in any way. It can be qualified as a natural product. Olives do not undergo any treatment other than washing, grinding, mixing, gentle separation and filtering. Oils extracted by the use of solvents or extreme heat are excluded from the extra virgin classification. Extra virgin olive oil has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, which must not be higher than 0.8 grams per 100 grams or 0.8%.

 

Then from the olive farm we went to the mall. Stopped by an ice cream store and yes, I did sample the "Funny Farm" ice cream (maple, brown sugar and bacon bits) and it wasn't bad at all.

Then went out into the mall and fell in love.........he was dark and handsome, very playful and had sharp little teeth but had horrible breath and was quite furry. He was a neopolitan mastiff and the cutest little thing ever.

Well tomorrow is my big day, balloon ride....WOOT!

Scottsdale, a tad bit warmer than Kansas

So here I am in Arizona. I left Kansas it was 20something degrees and arrived in Arizona it was 70ish.  So what have I done so far? Day 1 drove alot and saw lots of rocks.... and went up in the mountains where there was snow (wait, didn't I come here to get away from snow?), and I was in my sandals and capris.

Of course, lots of great food, some coconut shrimp to die for, and miscellaneous culinary delights. Been shopping, every corner has some big mall or shopping center and then in old town Scottsdale there are blocks and blocks of galleries. Saw some really interesting art.

Yesterday we went to the Phoenix zoo, being an animal lover I was very excited. I really didn't know much about it before going but the ad said rated one of the top 5.......top 5 of which, I didn't look to see, but thought he had to be great. I've been to some fantastic zoos, the San Diego zoo, the Houston zoo, even the Wichita zoo has some interesting exhibits. Well, we got there and the very first exhibit was................wait for it................the PRAIRIE DOGS! I'm thinking to myself....seriously? really? I see these every day in Kansas.

Then we went through the exhibit that showcases animals of Arizona....was interesting. Overall the zoo was nice and the people working there were very chatty and tell you anything you wanted to know. But I was disappointed that there were no penguins or bears or aquatics. There was one exhibit that I totally loved and that was the spider monkey habitat. There were dozens of spider monkeys just loose in a big caged area where you go in with the monkeys. You can't touch them and are told to move at least 3 feet away from them if they come toward you. They were jumping everywhere and it was fun. I missed not having my big camera with me.

One other animal that intrigued me was the komodo dragon, a lizard about 4 foot long and about 150 pounds! creeeeeeepy. 

My mother flew in last night and I'm sure we will find some fantastic shopping and then tomorrow........ A HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE! woot woot, very excited.