L iquid gold sunlight splashed over the desert not long after dawn. Above me, the baby-blue canopy of sky was brushed with the faintest wisps of cloud, dissolving into the warming air. In the distance, craggy silhouettes of mountains looked like the edges of a torn map, their outline blurred by the morning haze — a silent promise of the adventure that can be found in Arizona. I was jet-lagged , that peculiar blend of exhaustion and exhilaration, where time feels unmoored. My body protested this trek through the Sonoran Desert, starting from a trailhead 25 miles outside of the city of Scottsdale , a winding walk along sunbaked paths, past creosote bushes and the occasional darting lizard.
But at the same time, a quiet energy captivated me. I was absorbed into stories around the saguaro cactus, native to and a symbol of the Sonoran its blossom is the state flower of Arizona. They live long — some can reach to years — and are woven into local Native American myths: that they embody the spirit of ancestors, that a lost boy became the first saguaro. In a surprise to myself, I was actually thankful to have woken at 5.
A friend familiar with my pseudo-healthy life — occasional gym visits between late-night bars and long hours working — suggested this invigorating Arizonan city. I was told of delicious dining and potent cocktails balanced by getting active outdoors, all at the end of a direct flight from London. Actors Clark Gable and John Wayne were visitors. Natalie Wood married Robert Wagner there. Many of the stars checked into Hotel Valley Ho , which captured the essence of mid-century glamour, embracing a sleek, minimal aesthetic at a time when grand and ornate was order of the day.
But head around 10 miles north and you find a place where modernism sits beside Spanish Revival architecture, home to around ,, and an unhurried pace that makes it feel more like a laid-back resort town. As my visit unfurled into a whirlwind of martinis, tostadas and cacti, it became a firm favourite. Read more: How to make the most of your city break in the USA. The natural beauty is undeniable. All shades of green burst from the flora as wind bristles the leaves of ocotillo and mesquite trees.
The stillness is punctured by little more than the raspy call of cactus wren. At the end of my walk, I know more than I ever thought I would about the desert. The reward for a morning hike was heading south to the city for a cinnamon roll from The Thumb. My new-found knowledge prepared me in no way at all. Read more: I went on the Graceland tour that allows you to get closer to Elvis than ever before. Every rock or dip could be felt rattling through the suspension and up into the steering wheel, rising into my shoulders, my knuckles turning white with tension.
