The Brad Hole

This past weekend, we went up to Flagstaff to enjoy the "Made in the Shade" beer festival with Paul, Maureen, his sister Lise and her SO Erwin. Since we've moved back to Arizona, we've attended two culinary festivals in Scottsdale (both with beer gardens) as well as a beer festival in Tucson last year. Each time, it's been a lot of fun and so we look forward to each upcoming event.

We didn't go to the Flagstaff festival last year for whatever reason, but we all felt that it would be a good venue, since it's up in the mountains at 7000 feet and the temperatures there are much cooler than here in Phoenix in August. In our enthusiasm for heading to the cool mountain air, we didn't really think about the monsoon season. And so it was that we found ourselves driving up to Flagstaff this past weekend with a forecast of rain for both Saturday and Sunday. As it turns out, we got lucky and it was only overcast during the festival, with the sun peeking out at the end.

Last year's Tucson festival took place on a baseball field in the evening, so it was in a large, nice venue. I think we all had similar visions for the Flagstaff festival, and we knew it was going to be in a campground which did nothing to dissuade us from that opinion. As it turns out, the festival is in a campground, but in an area that is essentially a large, paved "utility" area surrounded by a barn and some weird 50's-style farm buildings labelled "Sheep", "Pigs", "Goats", "Rabbits", etc. In effect, it was one big parking lot and the area was a bit smaller than in Tucson, so it felt cramped and not as "green" as I was expecting. The lines to the various vendors were also fairly long most of the 4 hours we were there, so even if each vendor had taken one of the 20 or so tickets they give you for admission, there's no way we could have used them all in that time. But that's OK - the goal isn't to get totally drunk, it's to have a good time with your friends and try out a lot of different types of beer in the process. In that regard, we succeeded wildly. The only real disappointment for the trip was our rooms at the Radisson - they were in dire need of a remodeling. If we go next year, we're going to shoot for either the Embassy Suites, the Hampton Inn, The Hilton Garden Inn or possibly the Comfort Inn - those seemed, at least from the outside, to be nice properties.

Coming back on Sunday, we made like Mrs. Butterworth's and took our sweet time. Our first stop was the Arboretum in Flagstaff. I'll admit looking at flowers and trees wasn't something I was looking forward to, but it was actually well worth the price - $4 admission. The grounds and gift shop are very nice, and I really recommend the "children's maze", even to adults.

On the drive back, we stopped at Montezuma's Castle and learned a few things about the Sinagua Indians. Notably, if you're old and/or blind, count on being stuck at the top of the castle. Also, if you're an Indian mom, you have lots to look forward to, including hyperactive kids and a life of grinding corn on stones. If things were going well, count on an Indian hunter to bring back some fresh meat for the tribe - but pray it won't be a beaver from nearby beaver creek. Next year if we go, there's talk of visiting the nearby Tuzigoot ruins.

So how do you follow up a visit to a fascinating, yet mysterious Indian village built into the cliff face 600-800 years ago? Why, go to the Cliff Castle Indian Casino of course, where luck was a lady for everyone but Paul and his sister. Beth made out really well with video poker, and since this was her first time actually winning a non-trivial amount of money in a casino, she's developed a bit of an urge to visit Vegas. This casino was actually very nice, and being not-quite halfway from Flagstaff to Phoenix, makes a good rest spot if that 2 hour drive overwhelms you. ;-)