Grand American Tour Day 08: Scottsdale+Phoenix

Today is the chill day. While my friend goes to work (LOL!), I ran around town to get some chores done, like close my bank account, get some clothes for the coming portion of the trip and so on.



First of all, I have say that the intensity of heat is beyond description. It's HOT, like.... oven HOT. Just a few minutes in the sun will make you medium-well. The air itself is hot, and it doesn't really cool down at night either. It's not humid, but not as dry as I thought. It really makes me wonder how it is like to be working outdoors as a profession here? Is it fatal?

Another very interesting side of this part of the country is the weather elements. How can I describe this...... it's like a party of random elements of extreme. First of all there's the intense heat, then there's the dust storms that are basically mini tornadoes. These tornadoes are everywhere although not damaging for the most part. They can be far away or right across the highway. People are used to them so they don't really care. Then, there are lightnings in clear sky because of the dryness. Lastly, there are regional rains that you can see far away, in this heat and the clouds are not really low. So nothing here meets the norm of what I was used to, even though I've lived in both tropical and temperate climates where there's either extreme humidity, heat and rain as well as icy and snowy conditions. The desert environment is entirely different, and it's not clear cut either.

Scottsdale is also like the high end of this entire area, the Beverly Hills if you will. All the ladies are well dressed, all the shops are well kept up and all the cars are expensive. The downtown area is very neat with interesting contemporary architectures, million dollar apartments with unique architecture and planning, as well as homes built into the desert hill slopes that no one can afford. The rest of the city is very clean, everything looks new like a very young city. It's almost too perfect, until you factor in the heat. I guess people are willing to tolerate the 6 months of intense heat for the other 6 months of paradise.

Will I want to live here? It's a dilemma. Weather wise, I cannot stand the heat. It's just too brutal. Environment wise, there's too little green for my liking. I like the randomness of the weather, makes life a bit more interesting. The city is clean, but I do like some grit to diversify the experience a bit. I also find the demographics a little too narrow. It seems that most people are.... well-to-do to say the least.



Phoenix reminds me of the trade towns that are formed when desert nomads meet in the middle of no where, somewhere along the ancient trade routes that their ancestors have established. They bring their own products, meet and exchange, then leave. That's when the "town" disappears, but the cycle happens annually. In the case of Phoenix, it's more like a permanent trade town in the middle of the desert. Geographically, I don't see any reason why there's a city here. I mean, there's no apparent water source, no apparent energy source (other than the obvious solar and wind), no apparent opportunity for food production. So why here? Plus, there are plenty of flat desert land else where, why this exact spot?

I guess I need to do more research. In Chinese, the Phoenix is often the female counter part to the dragon. It's a bird that is reborn from fire( or something like that). May be Phoenix city has the same meaning, a city that thrives among the heat.

I think Phoenix and Miami NBA teams should trade names. Phoenix Heat and Miami Suns. That's more appropriate I think.

Not many photos today, just not the right time of the day, may try to get more another time.

Grand American Tour Day 07: Drive to Scottsdale

El Paso is interesting. It's not like a typical US city, more like.... Mexico. The whole town is Mexican. In fact, the only non-Mexican are the guests in the hotel.

After gotten oil change done that came with free car wash, I tried to find "downtown". I didn't have a proper map, so I looked on the GPS for spots where the streets are more dense. After driving around for a while, I still can't find "downtown". You see, El Paso is kinda flat and there isn't any distinction in city scape as well, so I can't just look up and find the tallest building. Everything was flat.





Just as I was giving up and time was running out, I pulled up at a gas station and saw a little Mexican burrito joint. Sounds interesting. Since it was almost noon, I decided to lunch there.

One problem, everything is in Spanish and I don't speak a word of it. But that's the beauty of it, let's see how things will turn out!

So I went up to the counter and spoke in broken English hoping that the lady will understand. Actually, I cannot help but to use the "stereotypical" approach to this. This is like when an American tried to speak with a non-English speaking Chinese. Psychologically, one will "lower" the standard hoping that the other party will be able to receive the message, except that this has nothing to do with "standard", but simply the difference in language.





Honestly, there is no need for language when it comes to food. It's all good.

So I got a barbarcoa burrito and another one that has potato and pork. While waiting, I got out my camera and started snapping away, and one of the ladies behind the counter started posing for me. That's what I'm talking about!

How was the food? GREAT!

Great not because of any exotic ingredient of super flavoring. Great because it was simple. Unlike American Mexican food that tends to over load the plate with stuff, cheese and beans, these burritos are just simple and humble. The barbarcoa came with just some chopped onions and cilantro, whereas the other one came with just the potato and pork. Taste is best when its pure. What I like about these burritos is I can taste the ingredients very well and the characteristic of each was well preserved and appreciated. The lady also grilled the burritos a little bit, keeping it warm and a little crisp which adds another layer of texture to the food. It was a humble meal that gives great satisfaction, accompanied by cheerful ladies who seem to cook like as if it was for their kids.







The drive then started. 7 hours of grueling road.... not as bad as the one between Austin and El Paso, but I wondered if I could take two days of driving.

The drive out of El Paso was interesting. First of all, I found where the downtown is. It's actually on the east side of the city. As I was driving out, I saw something unusual, something that will never happen in the US. It's an entire community of small concrete, brick or stone huts littered on the hilly desert landscape. No proper organization or planning. No road system as well. It was on the other side of the highway, and I realized that was Mexico.



Then I turned my head to the east, and there it is, big and perfect looking houses with well planned roads on the soil of the US of A. It was rather ironic, almost reminds me of the photo of a Brazilian high end condo neighboring a chaotic slum. That's perhaps why people from Mexico and the rest of central America are trying to get into the US, the illusion that life will be better.



Driving through New Mexico reminds me of Texas, except that it is more populated along the highway. The landscape is desert plain with bare mountains here and there. Then, the traffic slowed down, and stopped. It was the border patrol road block.

"Are you a US citizen?"
"No, but I got a visa"
"Ok, pull to the side and show me your papers"

What did I do? Alright, here inserts personal feelings about being a foreigner. Personally, I've been a foreigner all my life. Going back home is a reaction to how I feel like I am constantly a criminal without committing a crime. Anyways, not particular to the US, but being a foreigner in general means one has to be a lot more careful with what they do or don't. It's very to violate regulations without even knowing it.



Back to the drive, western Arizona is beautiful. The landscape changes quite dramatically. From flat plains with mountains to rocky climbs, to green laid rolling hills. The vegetation variety also changes from region to region. There was the short brush, then tall thin shrubs and then the iconic tall standing cactus. It's quite amazing that there is so much subtle differences between the different parts of the desert that result in different life form thriving. To humans, sand is sand, dirt is dirt. I guess even the minute difference in the amount of water will result in different type of organisms.

After 20 hours of desert driving, I don't know if I can take any more. The rest of the journey will be different. More deserts, but in entirely different manner. Here at Scottsdale, the air is hot, oven hot. At least it's not humid..... but hot.

Grand American Tour Day 06: Drive to El Paso

Another "What a day!"



Driving out of Austin takes me to the rural Texas. Actually, there isn't much of Texas that isn't rural. When I was driving towards Austin from the east, it's mostly brown with dry grass and sparse trees. The land is somewhat hilly but not very intense. Driving out of Austin through the west side is very different. The terrain climbs and dips very much and the vegetation is a lot more lush.





So this morning, I spent all of it driving through local roads to meet I-10. From town to town, it is interesting to see the change in landscape (however minute the change may be) and the neighborhood. I stopped many times for various reasons. Check the car, use the rest room, but engine oil, pump gas or just to take a photo. Every gas station I enter, the staffs are pretty friendly. For an odd Asian to walk into a Texan small town gas station is like a strange cow boy enters the saloon. Except, I ain't comin' in for a drink.



Even as agricultural industry takes the dominant place here, other supportive business thrive too. Interestingly, one of these being the iron works business. Every town has one or two iron works factory, and these are not some big factory that pumps out mass produced cookie cutter designs, but small workshops that craft custom-made decorations and ornaments for the farmer's ranch. Of which, some iron workshops are more creative and radical then others. There was even a sculpture park of iron pieces, waiting for the right eye to appreciate them.

Along the way are also many abandoned businesses. Gas stations, grocery stores as well as feed supplies are most of what are left behind. I don't know where they've all gone. Perhaps taken over by bigger gas station chains, Walmarts and Ace Hardware.

50% of the cars on the road are pick up trucks.

75% of the pick up trucks are massive with steel front guard rails and armored bumpers for some real business.




LONG HORNS!!!!!







So it wasn't until lunch time when I finally reached the I-10 intersection. Wow, there's really nothing out there! 80 mph as the speed limit, it was open road all the way. Along the highway, there are exits and entrance ramps constantly, but they go no where! I mean, there's not a single soul, building or sign of human civilization around the exits. So I don't know what they are for.





Then I was just being too cautious and though, oh a gas station! So I pulled off the road onto the ramp only to realized that it was an abandoned gas station. At the same time, there was nothing out there.... nothing, except I drove onto something.

As I was coming down the ramp, I ran over a branch. A seemly harmless branch. Something felt weird, my car handles differently. So I got out of the car and..... really? A flat tire?

I checked my cell phone. Really? No signal?

Alright, time to prove myself as the worthy F1 pit crew. 3 secs per tire!



I put on my fishing hat, my cycling gloves (thanks to Scott to jinx me by reminding me to bring my gloves in case I need to swap a wheel) and got the jack out of the trunk. Then I emptied my trunk in order to get the spare out. After jacking my car up, I put the wrench on and...... alright, first nut is loose. Then second....... not breaking! This is when I learned new things today. When the wheel is freed and you are trying to loosen the nut, the wheel will tend to spin along. You have to position the nut that you are working on at the bottom, because this way, the direction of rotation of the nut isn't in line with the direction in which the wheel spins. You still have to hold onto the wheel, but it's much easier.









In the mean time, two cars came by, looked at me, and left.......

2, 3, 4, 5! Nuts loosen! Now time to put on the spare. The rest was easy. The only think I was worried about is just how far do I need to go to find a auto repair shop?

The cellphone was useless, but the GPS was the savior of the day. 15 miles. That's easy enough!

So off I went into this little town of 1500 people called Iraan. Yes, no spelling mistake, no joke about Iran being a part of Texas either.

This is a really small town. I am not sure what all the trucking in these rural area is all about. Is it some kind of mineral industry? Quarry industry? Oil? I really don't know, but there were all these chemical container trucks all over the place, and I think small towns like Iraan survives on them.

There is a school, but I didn't see kids. The streets are wide, probably for the trucks, and there it was. The auto repair shop!

The shop seems busy with people coming in and out. I walked in ( again, like a cow boy walking into a saloon) and said," Can you help me fix my flat tire"? Sure! Almost immediately, we are like a family. This wasn't like your typical chain car repair place where you have a greet and wait area and you are prohibited from entering the working area. I unloaded my punctured wheel and carried it into the shop and basically hang out there, talked to the guy and the boss, like all the other customers who come and go. In no time, the tire was fixed. I put everything back into the car and off I went. Total delay time? About an hour. Experience? Forever!



So today I felt like I've earned a medal. I've been upgraded to master road tripper for successful neutralizing flat tire situation in the middle of no where, especially in the desert.

Then it was the rest of the drive, all 300miles of it. It was strange that once I crossed the time zone ( CT to MT), the landscape changed suddenly from barren desert dirt and sparse vegetation to a much more lush and hilly terrain. The farms that followed are less about ranching but more about plantations. I am not sure what is being grown, but it's not about livestock anymore.

The landscape is also like a mini grand canyon in the sense that there are peaks that have been eroded away, and I could see the tail end of the Rockies. Approaching El Paso, I see more and more Border Patrol activities with patrolling cars and check points. I don't think they would think my tiny car can traffic any human bodies.

So I am in El Paso. It's blowing warm air, but at least it's dry. Of all things, I had Vietnamese noodles for dinner. It's like the meal that has been awaiting for a long time. Not the best Vietnamese soup noodle, but good for the soul nonetheless.







Oh BTW, 150 miles later, I caught up with the cold bastards who came and left without even asking if i needed help.





More photos HERE


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Grand American Tour Day 05: Austin live music at Antones

What's great music?

Does it need to have great vocal? Or instrument? Or technique? Or beautiful and handsome looking performers?

No. Great music is those that stir emotions.

Last night, I spent the best $10 in my life. I was recommended to go to Antone's for live music and it was just two blocks away. As I got there, the cover band was already playing. I paid my $10 of cover fee and walked in. It was a very casual setting. Open floor with some chairs and people sitting with their beers listening to the band. At the back is a bar to serve the guests. When I visited Antone's website, it said "for all ages". I guess Texans don't mind mixing minors and alcohol together. Actually, it really isn't a big deal.

Mixing minors and....

So the cover band wasn't perfect. Technique is good but not professional. These guys look young! They looked like a high school garage band, but the music is meaty, I mean, meaty blues. These young guys have no reservation when playing, but shy and humble when addressing the crowd. The crowd kept asking them to play more, and they had to ask permission unlike those rock stars. After it was over, they introduced themselves... 13 and 14 yr olds!

Mixing minors and the big boys. Austin kids do hold up!

The actual band took a while to get ready, but then they started playing.... it was heavy! Not heavy metal heavy, but rock with very heavy beats, rattles the pants! The technique was amazing. Drummer was beating the hell out of the stick and drums, and the guitarists are definitely having fun themselves.

$10. That was it. If I lived here, I'd go there a couple times a week at least. It's way better than hollywood movies in some stinky theater on blurry screen. This is live, the real deal!

Grand American Tour Day 05: Elgin and Austin

Elgin is another historic town east of Austin. There really isn't a whole lot to say about it except that when I was checking out the train station, I heard some voice coming from the dense bushes. Then a bunch of cops walked out of the bush with equipment boxes and evidence envelopes, and a dude in hand cuffs. It appeared that they are CIS bringing the suspect back to the crime scene to reenact what he did..... ok.


When zombies rule the land, it's good to have a Texan to be on my side.













So why was I at Elgin if there was not much to see?



BBQ!!!!! A local highly recommended a place, so I came! No good BBQ is too far of a drive. After all, it was only 1657 miles!

How was it? Ok, so I got the pork rib + brisket combo. The brisket was solid! Good flavor and firm meat, not chewy. Skin is perfectly charred too! The pork rib is also good, almost fall off the bone type, but just enough to hang on to the bone until you try to pull it off with a dingy plastic fork. This is definitely a good BBQ place. Is it the best I've had? Not really, but I think this comes down to personal preference.



Then off I came into town.

They say everything is bigger in Texas. Yes. EVEN THE SUN IS BIGGER!!!
Today is just hot with the sun beating down like a ruthless SOB. After taking shelter in the state capitol building and history museum, I went down to the river park across from downtown. Over all, I like Austin. It's small, but it has a lot of diversity. The streets are clean, the facilities are well kept up. It is also quite unlike a Texan capitol I think. Austin is a very progressive city with good urban design. Sure, it's not busy like Houston, but I'd much prefer to live in a smaller city than one that is just too chaotic. In a nut shell, Austin is like the baby version of Atlanta.














So tonight will be Blues night. Will be heading down to Antone's some live blues. Need a cheap bite first!

MOAR photos HERE!!!