TRAVEL AWAITS: Why Soriano Nel Cimino Is One Of My Favorite Places in Italy

The original article was published in Travel Awaits o Aug. 21, 2022

After a night in Sorrento and a day in Pompeii, we drove to Soriano Nel Cimino, our favorite base in Italy. As a small, picturesque charmer with lots of history, the town not only gave — and gives, as we have a timeshare space there — us the chance to experience Italian life but also to explore the province of Viterbo in Central Italy. It helps that our room is in an old castle! Furthermore, it allows us to revisit Rome and Florence in just one trip.

Soriano is one of my favorite places in Italy. Here are the reasons why.

1. It Is A Small, Idyllic Italian Town

Imagine a town overlooked by one of the highest peaks in the Monti Cimini range. Breathtaking! Down the valley, before dining at the excellent restaurants around (we found one where we had to return a second night), you can walk around the Fontana Vecchia (“Old Fountain”), built in the 15th century, and the Porta Romana, a replica of the Porta Pia in Rome. You will be surprised to find three lovely places of worship for its 8,000 residents: the small Romanesque Chiesa di San Giorgio, built in the 11th century; the Chiesa di Sant’Eutizio, built in the 15th century; and the Cathedral of San Nicola di Bari, built in the 18th century.

One afternoon we wanted to get the best vantage point for an iconic picture. When we found it, we realized we did not bring our tripod with us. Luckily, a sweet old man walked by. He spoke no English but understood our dilemma and gladly took our picture. We went on to peek at lovely Italian homes and gardens, found winding cobbled alleys on hills, and spotted one of the tiny sidewalk gas stations Italy is known for. The flowers about town reminded us that it was still spring, and the small fruit and vegetable shops, as well as the little grocers and bakers, gave us a good taste of life in Italy. We even discovered a small eatery (just four seats) behind one of the stores and loved their homemade meatballs and spaghetti. And, of course, a local gelato was easy to find afterward.

Pro Tip: It would be good to schedule your visit during Sagra delle Castagne, or the Chestnut Festival, that Soriano is known for. It runs from the end of September until the beginning of October.

2. It Has A Long And Eventful History

At the town’s highest point stands the Orsini Castle. Built by Orso Orsini in the 13th century, the castle was the summer residence of Pope Nicholas III, Orsini’s uncle. It became a high-security edifice until the 1990s, and today it is managed by the University of Viterbo as a tourist attraction.

After imagining the past splendor of Orsini Castle’s courtyard and great room, as well as visiting its dim prison cells, we navigated a small circular stone staircase fit for one. From the castle top, we saw the town’s history expanding outward.

Soriano nel Cimino’s history can be traced back to the Etruscans, a pre-Roman civilization first mentioned by the Roman historian Livy — who wrote that in 443 BC, the Etruscans were “easily defeated” by the invading Romans. The area, especially near the neighboring town of Bomarzo, is full of Etruscan inscriptions, tombs, and medieval ruins connected by trails in a 4-hour hike.

3. You Can Sleep In A Castle

We stayed in a castle called Palazzo Catalani, part of our timeshare network of 300 resorts worldwide. It’s a small 14th-century castle of marvelous architectural design and delightful decor that blend Renaissance style with Roman elements. To get there, we could walk up either of two winding cobbled pathways from parallel streets to the top of the small hill where the castle is located.

Our room was an astonishing studio with original murals, large antique furniture, and more period decor. It was conveniently located right beside the reception office and the well-appointed bar. We even had a small kitchen where we prepared breakfast in the mornings and cocktail food some nights. (We had our first evening’s dinner at an a la carte restaurant serving delicious Italian specialties and other European dishes.) The sauna and heated pool soothed us in preparation for our night’s rest. But it was the excellent customer service from the highly experienced staff that we cherished most.

4. It Is A Great Base For Exploring Viterbo

Soriano is also a great base for exploring the province of Viterbo, which, being so close to Rome, is a great place to see the deep influence on Italian life the Roman Catholic Church has always had and will continue to have. Here are three fanciful old-world towns worth visiting — as well as the provincial capital, Viterbo, once a Papal Seat.

Civita

Civita di Bagnoregio is 75 miles north of Rome and 45 minutes from Soriano. Its striking position will amaze you: atop a small plateau of volcanic tuff overlooking the Tiber River valley. Its edges began to fall (and continue to fall) when a major earthquake happened at the end of the 17th century. As the pace of erosion quickened two centuries later, it became a spectacle of an island hill, leaving buildings on its edges to crumble.

Its population is now just 12 during winter (about 100 during summer), but it is so wonderful to explore because its relative isolation has left its non-edge architecture unaltered. In 2006, it was placed on the World Monuments Fund’s Watch List of the 100 World’s Most Endangered Sites.

Civita and Bagnoregio used to be parts of the same town until the bishop and the municipal government relocated to the village in the valley after the earthquake.

Montefiascone

Montefiascone lies around Lake Bolsena, a caldera (or large volcanic crater) that formed in the Vulsini Volcanic Complex. Fifty-nine miles north of Rome and 30 minutes from Soriano, the town has numerous camping sites and bed and breakfasts. But its crowning glory is the Montefiascone Cathedral, also known as the Basilica of Santa Margherita, which has the fourth largest dome in Italy, behind the Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, and Florence’s Duomo. It really looked like the whole church was under the dome.

Caprarola

The third town we visited was Caprarola, just 31 miles northwest of Rome and 25 minutes from Soriano, also sitting in the Cimini range of volcanic hills. I wanted to see the massive pentagonal-shaped Villa Farnese (not to be confused with the Palazzo Farnese in Rome). The Rennaissance villa was planned in 1530 to be a fortress to protect Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, but construction was discontinued when he was elected Pope in 1534 as Paul III. His grandson commissioned the construction of an estate on the completed pentagonal base.

Villa Farnese dominates the entire town, and everything was rearranged so that the main road leads directly to it. Each room is filled with oversized murals, and I was happily surprised to find that the Philippines (identified as Philipina) was on the Asian map in the Room of World Map. The maps were painted in the 1570s and depict cartographers’ understanding of the Earth at the time.

Viterbo

The capital, Viterbo, lies 50 miles north of Rome and 20 minutes from Soriano. Its historic center is surrounded by medieval walls, still intact, with ancient gates as entrances. They were built during the 11th and 12th centuries. In the 14th century, Viterbo became a Papal Seat and part of the Papal States. In fact, four Popes were elected in Viterbo. But when a foreigner got elected, the townsfolk invaded the Papal Palace while the longest conclave in history was being held. Two Cardinals were arrested. After this incident, Popes began to avoid Viterbo, and the city fell to secondary importance.

5. Florence And Rome Are Easily Accessible

Saving the best for last. Because Soriano is just 8 miles from the A1 Motorway, right smack in the middle between Rome and Florence, it was convenient to visit the two must-see cities of Italy. Rome is just an hour away by train, and Florence is two hours away by car. While it’s always fun to see the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Vatican, and the Spanish Steps, there are still many piazzas and attractions to discover. And although we have been to Florence’s Accademia, the Duomo, Santa Croce, and the Leather School, we still have the Uffizi, Palazzo and Ponte Vecchio, wineries, and more to explore.

We hope to go back to Italy when we resume flying. We have missed our room in Palazzo Catalani, and there are always new things to discover in Viterbo. Besides, this is truly the best base from which to revisit Rome and Florence in one trip.

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10 Discoveries You Will Love in the High Desert of the Colorado Rockies

Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde NP

The Rocky Mountains is a significant feature of the North American landscape. The The Canadian Rockies and the four Canadian national parks are some of its most popular attractions. But the discoveries we made around the high desert plateau of the Colorado Rockies should really be as popular, especially since a significant part of Native American culture complement its outstanding rock formations.

Mesa Verde National Park

We spent a week in this largely undiscovered area en route to the Denver High School graduation of Bill’s granddaughter Cassie. About an hour west from where we stayed is beautiful Durango, Colorado, a city of about 17,000 people at 6,500 feet in elevation.  Another fifty minutes west is the Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It sits very near the Four Corners, the intersection of the states of Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona at elevations of 7,000-8,500 feet.

an Ancestral Pueblo in Mesa Verde NP

One day we took the self-guided tour of Mesa Verde, the largest archeological preserve of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from 600 to 1300 CE. There are over 5,000 known archeological sites and well-preserved 600 cliff dwellings, including Cliff Palace, the largest in North America. The Park is easy to go through with over fifty miles of roads and many more trails. It is to me, the best national park of this type in the country. And it is just ninety miles from and “aligned” to the earlier ancestral Puebloan settlement of fifteen large buildings that comprise the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site which we visited in 2012.

aerial view of Durango, Colorado

The next day we asked the Durango Visitor Center to map out a plan for our city day trip. A few blocks around E 3^rd Avenue are historic Victorian Homes, original hospital, churches, and residences of the city’s storied past of gold.  We then drove up a winding climbing road to Fort Lewis College to enjoy the beautiful aerial views of the mountains and the city valley below. Back to the city floor, we had a good tour of the Durango Art Museum and the busy Durango Theater that is currently featuring Mamma Mia. Then we had my Mother’s Day lunch at Ken and Sue’s before we took a walk along the banks of the Animas River some sections of which are famous for river rafting. On the way back, we drove through the Ute Indian Reservation, southeast of the city, with its world-class visitor center and museum. There is a bigger UTE reservation in Utah and that is how Utah got its name.  

Wyndham Pagosa

We stayed at Wyndham Pagosa in Pagosa Springs, higher in elevation than Durango at 7,150+ feet and five hours southwest of Denver. Wyndham Pagosa had a week’s availability of a one bedroom unit for us and we decided it would be good to break our trip there. We were already amazed at what we discovered in Durango but there were two more great sites right where we were based.

Mother Spring in Pagosa Springs

The town of about 1,700 is named for its sulfur springs, including the world's deepest geothermal hot spring. At approximately 144°F, this is the Mother Spring that feeds the other pools hosted by three local hot spring soaking locations right at the outskirts of the downtown area, the largest of which is at The Springs Resort & Spa. They and the pretty Visitor Center close by are right at the banks of the San Juan River that cuts through town (and is excellent for fishing).

Chimney Rock National Monument from the highway

at the  ridge top of Chimney Rock NM

But the highlight of our week was our visit to the Chimney Rock National Monument, another important discovery just nineteen minutes south of our resort and at more than 7,000 feet in elevation. The rangers told us they were initially trying to incorporate it as part of the Mesa Verde National Park but in 2012 it was decided to be named as a separate national monument. The Great House Pueblo of thirty-six rooms and two kivas at the top of the ridge, close to Chimney Rock and its close neighbor Companion Rock, had a largely ceremonial role in the Chacoan culture that was centered in the Chaco Canyon, ninety miles away. As the moon makes its lunar cycle across the sky over a period of 18.6 years, it appears in a Major Lunar Standstill (MLS) between the two rocks for approximately 16 months. The latest began in 2004 and the next one will be in 2021. As a matter of fact the construction of the Great House was started during the MLS in 1076 and ended at the ensuing MLS in 1093.

Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Beginning with Mesa Verde National Park and ending with the Chimney Rock National Monument, the area should really be more popular than it is. I guess the reason it is not is that it is more remote, high up in the Rockies. The national parks of Canada in the Canadian Rockies are just an hour away from the city of Calgary. This Colorado high desert plateau is 5-6 hours away from the nearest big city, Denver. But I would like to encourage all, especially Americans, to visit this area for its cultural and natural significance.

     
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Paris, Lovelier with Someone You Love Who Loves You, Too

I had been to Paris a long time ago. It was a business trip. I was alone. Everything I did was perfunctory.  And it was understandable. At the time, I had no love in my life, long been separated from my husband who had replaced me with a younger woman. I had been father and mother to my three children for many years until I migrated to America and met Bill. So when he told me he had not been to the City of Love, I was excited to show it to him. After celebrating our tenth anniversary in August this year, we included it on our month-long October vacation in Europe.

Arc de Triomphe

Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe

We started our week with a memorable eggs benedict breakfast, Parisian-style, and chaud chocolat at the landmark Laduree on the Champs-Elysees. My friend Yogi from our University of the Philippines Corps of Sponsor days met us there. She even gifted us with those famous French macaroons people line up for at this legendary French luxury bakery and sweets maker. Yogi, a crowned Binibining Pilipinas-International, still radiates beauty, especially because she makes Paris her home for six months a year. After breakfast, she took our photo at the nearby Arc de Triomphe, copied the world over as a symbol of military success (even if it was not). 

Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur 

Then she took us to Montmartre, the Hill of Martyrs, with a foggy, mysterious, and romantic view of the city. At the top of the hill stands the gleaming Sacre Coeur, both a political and cultural monument. It was built as a national penance for the defeat of France in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and the socialist Paris Commune of 1871. After all, Montmartre has been known as the city’s most rebellious neighborhood. The Cathedral was publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.

Down Montmartre

Walking down the hill, she showed us the Artist’s Village, where painters were busy having breakfast, painting some scenes of gay Pareee, and selling their finished canvasses. At the foot of the hill, we wandered into the Moulin Rouge, the famous arisian cabaret, another world model for eventful nightlife. Hopping into the Metro once again, our last stop was at the Galleries Lafayette, the mammoth luxury department store whose domed roof and high floors are richly decorated and whose rooftop gave us our first view of the Eiffel Tower. Before parting, we had snacks at the Galleries’ Food Court.

Moulin Rouge

The Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

Yogi taught us how to navigate the Metro and from that first day on, we ventured on our own. We spent a wonderful afternoon around the Eiffel Tower on the Champs de Mars, constructed as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair. It has become one of the most recognizable structures in the world and the most-visited paid monument with more than 7 million people a year ascending it. The ticket to the summit was sold out and Bill convinced me to just walk around the 324-foot landmark from the Trocadero to the Peace Wall. Our photos will show you how much we loved this lovely afternoon, walking hand in hand and stopping for the Eiffel’s different angles for romantic poses to remember our union by.

The Louvre

The next morning was a visit to the Museum de Louvre which was originally built as the Louvre Castle in the late 12th to the 13th century under Philip II. When Louis X!V built the Palace of Versailles in the 17^th century, he transferred the royal household there and the Louvre became the depository of the nation’s masterpieces. It would have been a massive undertaking to tour this, the world's largest art museum, and we opted to romanticize about the grounds and its distinctive modern entrance and its fountains instead. That in itself took so much time that we had to have a French brunch at a Brasserie in front of the Louvre immediately after.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Then we made our way to the Notre Dame de Paris, crossing the River Seine from its right to its left bank. The Cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. The rib vault and the flying buttress, the beautiful rose windows, and the many sculptural decorations set it apart from earlier Romanesque architecture. Built in the 12^th century and completed in the 13^th, much of its religious décor was damaged during the French revolution but interest in the building was revived soon after Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame was published. It is now the most visited monument in Paris with 12 million eager to witness its beauty every year.

Around Notre Dame

Hotel de Ville

The day was so wonderfully romantic that we finished it with an early cheese and beef fondue dinner at the Latin Quarter. After this satisfying meal, we chanced upon an old and seemingly uncared for Cathedral of St. Servin with its unique buttresses behind the altar, yes, behind. Then we did some shopping for souvenir items, finding my now oft-used inexpensive but elegant red shawl. Before going home, we also passed by the Hotel de Ville. It is not a hotel. It is the richly decorated City Hall

Musee d'Orsay

Musee d’Orsay

We devoted an entire day to tour the famous Musee d’Orsay, romantically housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art from 1848 to 1914, especially the largest collection of impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh. We spent hours there and could easily have spent even more time, alternately admiring the beautiful masterpieces and dreaming about how to launch my own journey to painting.

Les Invalides

Les Invalides

Then we walked to the Les Invalides, just to make sure we got a photo of the largest and most glittering dome in all of Paris. We saw a glimpse of it when we were walking around the Eiffel Tower. It is the roof over Napoleon’s tomb at the Musee de l’Armee, the military museum of France. It helped us complete our view of the history of France with this tribute to the general who was supposed to build the French empire. But we were not in the mood for touring another large museum, not on the same day.  

Le Mur de Je t’aime

Instead, we trooped to the Le Mur de Je t’aime, the Wall of I Love You, a 40 square meter wall in the Jehan Rictus garden square in Montmartre, Paris, France. It is composed of 612 tiles of enameled lava, on which the phrase 'I love you' is written 311 times in 250 languages. Of course, the Tagalog “Iniibig Kita” is there just like its English version, “I Love You”! We found out that the station Abesses on Line 12 is just between Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. We could have visited it on our first day with Yogi! But it completed our circle and neatly wrapped our Parisian gift box of romance.

the Love Wall

Vincennes

Royal Regency at Vincennes

Where we stayed contributed to all the good feelings we had in the city. We had been upgraded to a one-bedroom apartment at the Royal Regency in Vincennes, at the end of Line 1 of the Metro. It is part of our Diamond Resorts timeshare collection. It was about 350 square meters, including a patio, complete with a kitchen, a dining area, a living area, a bedroom, a bath suite, an enclosed toilet suite, and a foyer. Every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday, there is a market around the city suburb’s own Hotel de Ville. The old Chateau de Vincennes is the city’s claim to fame. Around our neighborhood are a boulangerie, a U Express grocer, a pharmacie, an affiliate gym, and even an old cemetery.

We have never returned to any place we visited. With little time left on this earth, we always opt for a new place to visit except for Mazatlan which we have made a second home. But we want to return to Paris, maybe for another major Anniversary like our 15^th  in 2023. And I bet it would be even lovelier the third time around!

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10 Gems of Largely Undiscovered Slovenia, Courtesy of Our Friends

beautiful Lake Bled

Please see the end of the post for discounts on Slovenian apartments and day trips.

We had such low expectations of Slovenia. It is not exactly off-the-beaten-path but neither is it top of mind when you think of going to Europe. But we had had not seen our long-time Slovenian friends for six years and our new American First Lady comes from Slovenia. When we got to Washington DC for our flight to London where we had a connecting flight to its capital, Ljubljana, we were told that Primera Air had just declared bankruptcy and was no longer flying as of that day. Tough luck! We had to shell out $3,500+ for new tickets. Our Slovenian visit just became very expensive!

But as soon as our Easy Jet flight made the approach, we saw how lovely it is: verdant green with purple mountains streaked with white. I was fascinated by the spruce trees of near whitebark I saw as our shuttle made its way. They looked like evergreen brothers of birches or aspens. We started to feel good!

the Central Market

Imagine our surprise when we found out that the apartment our friend Katarina was letting us use from her stable of units is right in front of the massive Central Market whose stall come alive every day at 7 am with all the goodies farmers and other vendors have to offer. Just to the left of her building is the funicular that led to the Ljubljana Grad (Castle) from where you can get the best aerial view of the city. At the Castle grounds, we found an exhibit of Slovenian mythology, front, and center of which is the dragon. To the right of her building is the walking path to the castle, right after her office where she offers day trips. It was good to know that all of Slovenia is reachable in a day.

view of Ljubljana from the Tower of the  Castle

the Fountaiin and St. Nicholas Church at the background

Just a few steps after her building and the Market you will get to the pedestrian, cobble-stoned Old Historic Center. Little electric shuttle cars are available for those who are tired from walking. Just half a block and you get to the yellow St. Nicholas Church and its massive unique doors. The Fountain is not far from the church. If you turn right you will immediately get to the Ljubljana River with the Three Bridges that lead to the Pink Church. The river is punctuated by other bridges, most notably the Dragon Bridge to the right and the Shoemakers’ Bridge to the left.  

To the left of the Pink Church are the shopping areas. Mustering the strength not to buy too much, we found the city’s green oasis, the Tivoli Park, at the end. There are two art galleries at its entrance and the long promenade, lined with Slovenia’s classic paintings, leads to a former castle that had also been turned into a beautiful art gallery up the hill.

the mystery at Tivoli Park

Katarina customized, per my request, a combination of two-day trips to be done in one day, setting aside the tour of the Lippizans which we have seen in Florida. Luckily, an Australian couple loved the idea and joined us in a small van with a guide to visit three unforgettable destinations south of Ljubljana.

Our first stop was the Postojna Jama (Cave). I almost wanted to remove it from the itinerary, too, since we have seen so many caves around the world. OMG, I am glad we did not! All of its 24 kilometers of viewable areas were accessible by trains and short walks and are all very well-lighted. We climbed the highest point, descended to the lowest, of the whole hill inside the cave! We explored the Dance and Concert Halls and were fascinated by gleaming pure calcite pillars, the colorful iron oxide curtains, and white spaghetti sprouts. They were grand formations we have never seen before.

beautiful curtains of Postojna Jama 

Part of the Park and just about fifteen minutes away, is what is called Predjama Grad, a unique castle built onto a smaller cave. We saw the older portions of the castle carved into the cave and the newer parts at the cave’s opening that were built to make the castle more comfortable for the owners. There is a fireplace in the bedroom, a kitchen, a dining room, a cellar, a water collection cistern, a chapel, and servants’ quarters. But it is the defense structures that were unique: a solid entrance with a drawbridge, an armory, shooting holes, and narrow openings for the guns and cannons. What an interesting castle built, not primarily for the luxury like others, but for maximum defense.  

unique Predjama Grad

And we continued south to the 43 kilometers of Slovenian coastline In the city of Piran where the finest sea salt in the world is produced. After a sumptuous seafood lunch, we descended into the spit where the red rooftops made for a beautiful scene, very much like in Croatia. To the left one can see Croatia’s coast, to right Italy’s, and up the hill stands a Catholic Church and a monastery from the 1600s.

ice cream at the tip of the coastline in Piran with  a view of the Italian coast 

That night Katarina drove us to Bled and, on the way, we relished the burgers at the only MacDonalds in Slovenia. Then she brought us to one of the rental apartments of another friend, Jure, for our next tour day. Imagine our thrill when we found out it was right on Lake Bled. We could see the lights of the other castle on the hill but it was In the morning when we were left awestruck by all the beauty around.  

Jure picked us up the next day and the three of us began our slow walk around the six-kilometer perimeter of the lake. We stopped several times so we can take many photos at different angles of the famous church on the island in the middle of Lake Bled Colorful boats regularly brought tourists to and from the castle. We also stopped for coffee and to admire the work of a painter which were different perspectives of the famous scene. Jure bought me a small one and the painter proceeded to paint the three of us at the back of the painting, signed it, making permanent our “moment in time.”

the twin falls at the end of Vintgar Gorge

After lunch at the oldest local dishes restaurant in town, Jure took us to Vintgar Gorge, a 1.6-kilometer gorge created by the Radovna River. The stream is so clear you can see the fish, logs, and rocks in the not-so-deep waters. As we walked the long, narrow boardwalk, we saw the boulders that punctuated the waters, creating gushing little waterfalls. Towards the end, you will find the larger twin falls, crowned by a tall arch bridge where trains ran. It was such a pretty scene.

By that time we had walked 9.2 miles and were tired but Jure wanted us to see the largely unexplored, more pristine, and the bigger lake known as Lake Bohinj. On the way and back, he happily told us about the Slovenian countryside and rural life: the identical little churches in every village, the unique kozolecs or hayracks for drying hay and corn or even store wood, and the small garden each Slovenian home nurtured from where the family gets their own favorite vegetables. 

   

Lake Bohinj

We saw so much more in three days than we had ever planned. Having Slovenian friends host us was our definite advantage. As a matter of fact, we were also able to sample many local dishes. My next post is a deeper look into Slovenian cuisine and why they are so delicious and healthy. There is a reason obesity is nonexistent in the country. But for now, $3,500 seems so small compared to the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual satisfaction we found on this short but comprehensive trip of the largely undiscovered gem that Slovenia is!

IMPORTANT NOTE

For those who want great rates on Katrina's centrally-located  Ljubljana apartments featured in Airbnb, please click CENTRALLY-LOCATED LJUBLJANA APARTMENTS. For discounts on the day trips she organizes, please go to her website TRIP YOUR DAY. Mention “Carol Colborn Blog” in your inquiry for both apartments and day trips and get the 10% discount for any booking(s) you make.

For those who want to rent any of the six sought-after lake view apartment units of Jure on Lake Bled, please click LAKEVIEW APARTMENTS ON LAKE BLED. 

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Here Are 10 Day Trips from Phoenix You Won't Regret Doing

One of the biggest benefits of settling down to a home is you get visits from family and friends. We just had two in the first week of June. The first was Bill’s second child and first daughter Suzanne who arrived from Denver with her daughter, Cassie on June 1. Suzanne’s birthday was on June 4 so we were even able to celebrate it at home, right before their flight back home that evening.

the Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel

Cassie had enjoyed Yellowstone National Park so much as a summer volunteer so she has made it a life goal to visit as many national parks and monuments as she can. Bill gladly obliged and drove them to ten-day trips around the city, six of them down that alley. Right after picking them up from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, Bill took them to the Desert Botanical Garden before going home to Vietnamese lettuce wraps I prepared for dinner.  I didn’t go so I can’t write about it. But they were oohing and aahing about it.

The next day, Bill drove east towards Apache Junction on State Route 88. Not even thirty minutes from our home is the Superstition Mountain Museum, a 12-acre compound where many western movies were filmed, including those of Elvis. In fact, an Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel is onsite. The whole area is set against the beautiful Superstition Mountain. Just around the bend is the Goldfield Ghost Town, with authentic remnants of a mining town. There is a small train that goes around for tours. During winter when the snow birders are around, a gunfight is staged every hour in the afternoons. There is a Bordello, a chapel, a bakery, and even a Reptile Museum. We had lunch at the Saloon.

Tonto National Monument, Lower Cliff Dwelling

But we knew Cassie’s interest so we took her to the other side of the mountain, to the Tonto National Monument.   The Salt River runs through this area as a precious year-round source of water. Well-preserved Lower and Upper Cliff Dwellings were occupied by the Salados who produced some of the best polychrome pottery and intricately woven textiles during the 13^th to early 15th centuries. Their cliff dwellings now look out to the Roosevelt Dam recreational area.

Canyon Lake from the Dolly Steamboat

We got back to State Route 88 to continue on to Canyon Lake where the Dolly Steamboat is docked. We had reserved seats on the evening cruise with dinner. Two years ago, this was how we celebrated our eighth anniversary. Back then we saw a lot of desert wildlife but this time around, we only saw a blue heron. Still, we loved Canyon Lake with the magnificent rock formations surrounding it, its many coves, and the toys of the big boys speeding on the lake. Dinner consisted of tri-tip steak and grilled chicken breast with lots of salad, roasted veggies, pies for dessert, and wine and lemonade for the beverage.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

More national monuments beckoned to the south/southwest of Phoenix. The following day, we visited Casa Grande Ruins near Casa Grande City. It consists of Hohokam ruins surrounded by a compound wall built in the early 13th century. "Casa Grande" is Spanish for "big house," referring to the biggest structure, the remains of a four-story building. After being abandoned by 1450, it has managed to survive extreme weather conditions for about seven centuries. A modern roof protects it now.

Biosphere 2

Before she found out about the many national parks and monuments of Arizona, Cassie’s main interest was Biosphere 2, an American Earth system science research facility located in Oracle, Arizona, about an hour south of Casa Grande. The 3.14-acre complex was originally built to be an artificial, closed ecological system meant to prove the viability of such systems to support and maintain our lives in outer space. Today, it still is the largest closed system ever created.  

Seven biomes were created: rainforest, ocean, mangrove wetlands, savannah grassland, fog desert, agricultural system, and human habitat. The two-year experiment involved eight humans called "biospherians". Below ground is an extensive technical infrastructure that supports Biosphere 2.  During the middle of the second experiment, the managing company, Space Biosphere Ventures, was dissolved, and Columbia University assumed management of the facility from 1995 until 2003. The University of Arizona took over research in 2007 and full ownership in 2011.

crested saguaro

Just an hour from Biosphere 2 stands the Saguaro National Park. It consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain District (TMD) about 10 miles (16 km) west of the city of Tucson and the Rincon Mountain District (RMD) about 10 miles (16 km) east of the city. Both preserve Sonoran Desert landscapes, fauna, and flora, including the giant saguaro and its unusual variant, the crested saguaro.

Tumacacori National Historical Park

We barely had time but Cassie wanted to go farther south, forty-five minutes from Tucson, to the Tumacácori National Historical Park.  We arrived fifteen minutes before close time but it was all worth it. It became her favorite stop! There are three separate units in 360 acres. Established in 1691, Mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori and Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi, are the oldest missions. In the 1750s, the Franciscan Mission San José de Tumacácori replaced the San Cayetano Mission and is the one open to the public. The third mission established in 1756, Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas, and the Guevavi Mission can only be visited on reserved tours by the Park staff.

Montezuma Castle

On their last day, Bill drove for two hours north of Phoenix on Interstate 17 to the Montezuma Castle National Monument. The best-preserved dwellings were built and used by the Sinaguas, a pre-Columbian culture between 1100 and 1425 AD. The “Castle” has five stories and twenty rooms, built over three centuries, about 90 feet up a sheer limestone cliff, facing Beaver Creek. This ideal location inside a natural alcove also made it difficult for enemy tribes to penetrate their defenses. Almost 4,000 square feet of floor space are accessible most likely through portable ladders. At the next exit lies Montezuma Well, a natural limestone sinkhole also containing Sinagua dwellings perched on the walls. It is a mystery how so much water, 1.5 m gallons daily, can collect in the desert sinkhole.

Tuzigoot National Monument

As the last stop, Tuzigoot National Monument was a unique place. It preserves a 2- to 3-story pueblo ruin on the summit of a limestone and sandstone ridge. Situated near Clarkdale, Arizona, the ridge stands 120 feet above the Verde River Valley. The Tuzigoot Site is an elongated complex of 110 stone masonry rooms that were built along the spine of this outcrop. The central rooms stand higher than the others, maybe for public functions. The rooms incorporate few doors and use, instead, trapdoor type openings in the roofs with ladders for entry. Tuzigoot is the largest and best preserved of all the Sinagua ruins.

PINNABLE IMAGE

Cassie was so happy. Her US Passport Book collected six stamps during this trip. She also collected tokens from each one. She will surely come back to finish the rest sometime in the future. That will be the other ten-day trip she will not regret going to!