It Was Absolutely Time for a First-Rate Workcation!

A workcation (sometimes spelled workation) is time that combines work and vacation. That means working while away from the usual place of work in the office or at home to give way for a blending of productive and leisure time. In other words, it is work and play at the same time, out of the usual "office."

After I submitted to Kindle Direct Publishing the final manuscript of my book, Cruising Past Seventy, I was over the hump with publishing the work. While waiting for the final release of the book, I had to prepare for the marketing phase. Having been sequestered at home in front of my laptop for about two months, finalizing my work after the last copy-edit, I needed a breather even if I could not stop for a complete break, with the launch just around the corner.

I had booked our stay during a promotion sent to us by “Visit Mesa” last September. I instinctively knew I would need the break right after the then projected final book release. The city where we live was campaigning for more activity for its hard-hit hospitality businesses. In return, it gave those who booked at a lodging facility within the city limits, gift cards for spending.

Fortunately, our timeshare memberships included the Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort that is just north of our home. It was eligible for the promotion and available for the seven nights we wanted from Nov. 28 to Dec. 5.  It was perfect for our purposes. Bill, with his hikes and golf, and me, for my work, came up with the perfect schedule of those things in the mornings and reserving the afternoons for day-outs to places we had long wanted to visit but had not found the time to do so.

Salt River Canyon Wilderness Area

One of them was to this part of the Tonto National Forest that contains about 32,100 very rugged acres around the Salt River and Canyon at elevations from 2,200 to 4,200 feet.  There are no maintained trails within the entire wilderness. Travel is basically done by raft or kayak during the short and dangerous river-running permits-only season between March 1 and May 15.

But that was not the reason we were there. Before sunrise and after sunset, along the river, visitors have a pretty good chance at catching a glimpse of Arizona's mustangs, the descendants of Iberian horses brought to America by Spanish explorers in the 16th century.  The name is derived from the Spanish word mustengo, which means “ownerless beast.” They evolved, through survival of the fittest, into the tough breed we know today.

A favorite subject of photographers, including my co-members in the Viewpoint Photography Club, they have become the icon of the free spirit of Arizona as a major part of the American Wild, Wild West. In fact, the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group had been created to protect this treasure. While they were almost gone forever before, today the Salt River wild horses are protected by the Arizona Salt River Horse Act. They now roam peacefully along the banks of the Lower Salt River, enjoyed by the thousands of visitors, at several viewpoints. We went to #1 and #3, just twenty minutes from Westgate. Sadly, we probably left too early and saw only two mustangs. 

1. Phon D Sutton Recreation Site.
2. Butcher Jones Recreation Site.
3. Granite Reef.
4. Coon Bluff.
5. Blue Point.
6. Pebble Beach Recreation Area
7. Saguaro Lake.
8. Kayaking along the Salt River

Olive Creek Mill

We booked our dining out at Angry Crab Shack because I have really missed crabs and lobsters (we miss Mexico). We also chose to go to the Queen Creek Olive Mill.  It is a family-owned company that grows and presses olives for the production of high quality extra virgin olive oil for farm-to-table. They call it an Oleotourism™ experience. We were so glad we finally had the chance to do it, just thirty minutes away from the Resort.

In 1997, a husband and wife visited the Phoenix area and were surprised to find an abundance of olive trees growing around. They had a great idea and, within the year, left Detroit and turned their attention “from motor oil to olive oil.” They planted 1,000 olive trees on 100 acres in the outskirts of Queen Creek and now their orchard has over 7,000 in 16 varieties. The property now also boasts of a restaurant, a gift shop, and a spa.

With the substantial gift card we were given, we went on a tour of the mill and a lovely stroll among the many olive trees. Then we had a great dinner of pasta carbonara for me, spaghetti with meatballs for Bill, and delicious tiramisu for dessert around a roaring fire pit perfect for the windy chilly weather. And would you believe we had enough money left to bring home two lovely Italian olive oil ceramic pieces for my kitchen counter and a tank top for me that says, “Extra Virgin!” Ha!

Riparian Preserve and Water Ranch

The third day-out we had was to the Riparian Preserve and Water Ranch in the town of Gilbert.  Of the 110 acres, 70 are made up by the “seven water basins that are filled on a rotating basis with treated effluent water and allowed to percolate into the aquifer where it is stored for future use.” One of the ponds even mimics the action of an ephemeral desert stream while an additional lake is designated as an urban fishing resource managed by the state’s Game and Fish Department.

Organized into various zones from marshlands, native riparian, and upland vegetation areas, the whole Preserve is a bird-watching paradise with 298 species identified. They can be viewed from 4.5 miles of trails that weave through the park, with plenty of interpretive education panels throughout. There are many viewing platforms and there was even a floating boardwalk that enhances the visitors’ experience at the northern end of the lake. There are also a state-of-the-art observatory, hilltop outdoor classroom, and the Southeast Regional Library.

During the days we did not go out, we frolicked at one of the two hot tubs and picnicked around the golf course lake for great meals. The Westgate Painted Mountain was a great place to be housed for work and pleasure for a week.  It was absolutely time for me to have this workcation.  I certainly would not have had the curiosity and energy to go to these three area treasures had I not changed the place where I worked.  

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