Last week we took a trip down to Phoenix, AZ for the Arizona Multihousing Association’s (AMA) annual Golf Tournament. Along the way, we visited some friends, stopped in new places, and enjoyed the scenery. Here are a few entries directly from Marketing Director, Kyle May’s travel journal.
Three States and Half a Day’s Drive
Wednesday, March 8th, 2023 – Denver to Flagstaff
I started today’s journey at 5:30AM by driving Global Construction’s Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, nicknamed “The Beast,” up to Denver to pick up my co-pilot for the trip, Brittany Gramm. From here, we had a decision to make… Do we head back south down I-25 or West over the Continental Divide on I-70? The weather had been clear the past few days and looked good today, plus I can’t miss an opportunity to stop in Moab.
Four and a half hours later, we had made it to the Colorado/Utah border where we stopped to take some photos of The Beast in front of the Welcome to Utah sign. Next stop, my favorite restaurant in Moab, Milt’s Stop & Eat Malt Shop on Fourth Street. If you ever have a chance to visit Moab, I highly recommend visiting Sand Flats rec area to hike or bike Slick Rock and then get a burger and a malt at Milts afterwards. We were able to do half of that, but were only halfway to our destination, so we had to take a rain check on the hike.
Between Moab and Flagstaff are open roads through desert with the occasional reservation. If I wasn’t in the driver seat, we would have had a truck full of stray dogs rescued along Highway 160. Around 5:30PM the scenery changed in an instant as we began to climb into Flagstaff, AZ. We were surrounded by pine trees and there was over a foot of snow on the ground. Who would have thought we could see so much different scenery in a day.
Exhausted from the long day, we grabbed a bite to eat at a local Mexican restaurant and went to bed.
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Sunrise in Sedona
Thursday, March 9th, 2023 – Flagstaff to Sedona to Phoenix
With Flagstaff being just an hour away, I wasn’t going to miss the chance to bike in Sedona on this trip. Brittany and I had a 10AM podcast with Tim Els from Bella Investments (that you can watch here), which meant I had to get to Sedona early if I wanted to get a ride in. I left the hotel at 5:30AM so I could hit the trail at sunrise. I had a great ride, but could use another week down there.
After freshening up after my ride, Brittany and I headed to one of Bella’s properties to shoot a quick podcast and catch up with Tim. After that, we decided to head back to Sedona for some lunch and so I could buy a hat and a sticker for my truck. Lunch was good, but I will definitely be going back to Sedona when I have a chance.
We took off toward our final destination, Phoenix, AZ where we would be for the next three nights. After a quick property walk in Gilbert, we met up with Erik, Brett, and Robert at our AirBnB in Scottsdale.
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AMA Golf Tournament
Friday, March 10th, 2023 – Phoenix
This year, we sponsored the AMA Golf Tournament. As the transportation sponsor, it was our job to assist in shuttling people across the course and to and from the clubhouse when needed. Report time was 6:30AM, so it was going to be another early start for me.
I never thought of Arizona as being cold, but boy was I wrong driving a golf cart without a windscreen at dawn. Fortunately, the course warmed up quickly and eventually hit 78 degrees. I drove around and had some good conversations with people and handed out branded cigars with QR codes leading to our page A Good Commercial General Contractor is Like a Fine Cigar. After a long 6.5 hour round of golf, the tournament concluded and it was off to happy hours around town. We ended the day by grilling back at the AirBnB.
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Spring Training in Scottsdale
Saturday, March 11th, 2023 – Scottsdale
Mariners 4. Rockies 2.
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On the Road Again
Sunday, March 12th, 2023 – Phoenix to Denver
I don’t have much more to add at this point. We took I-40 to I-25 home and spent 12 hours on the road. The drive from Phoenix to Payson was a little nervy as a fog bank rolled over the road limiting visibility to 30 yards. We stopped in Albuquerque for lunch at a little burrito spot. After that it was wide open roads until the Arizona/Colorado border. We stopped at the Colorado sign for a picture in the snow and then cut up through Pueblo and the Springs until we made it home. 12 plus hours on the road had me gassed (pun intended.) I unpacked the truck and that was a wrap for our trip to Arizona!