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FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2015 55 sh op p ing p aradise. Areas like Old Tow n are simp ly amazi ng . Laid out as an old w estern tow n one can stroll around p orch - lined sh op s g aze at artistically carved statues and samp le t e nest in c isine. I stayed not in Scotts- dale but in th e south p art of Ph oenix in a resort called th e Leg acy a series of one and tw o room con- dos w h ich ap p ear to be f or sale as timesh ares. Th e h otel w ith g ig antic p ool sup erb g olf course and sp acious w alk w ays is less ex p ensive th an th e more p ublicize d resorts of Scottsdale. I met a f ew f olks f rom South America and Ch ile and w e decided to p lay a round of g olf . Af ter nine h oles w e h ad to call it quits. Th e h eat w as too much and w e long ed f or th e coolness of th e g reat indoors. Once th ere w e relaxe d w ith a cold beverag e and some interesting conversations about th e h omelands of my new f riends. H aving seen enoug h sh op p ing malls I decided to take my rental car f or a sp in and f ound myself on th e road to th e Grand Canyon located about th ree h ours north of Ph oenix. Th e drive w as sp ectacular and w h en I h it th e rocky h ills in Sedona my camera w ent into h ig h g ear. Every turn w as a p h otog rap h er s p aradise. Th e vistas seemed endless and th e sun sh ining on th e landscap e w as brilliant. A stop over in Tlaquep aque is a must. With several restaurants boasting sig nature dish es th e arts and craf ts villag e is w ell w orth th e visit. I f ound everyone f riendly and th e articles in th e art sh op s w ere unique to th e reg ion. Th e entire area is laid out as a Sp anish villag e of days g one by. Th ere are several inexp ensive h otels and motels in th e area and an overnig h t stay w ill make a memorable addition to any trip . As I neared th e Grand Canyon I g rew eag er to see th e on er of t e or . en na y arrive stoo in a e as if struck by a bolt of lig h tning . Th e scene bef ore me w as unimag inable. Th e canyon is sixt een ki lometres w ide and more th an tw o h un- dred long . At a dep th of 1 5 0 0 metres I h ad to strain to see t e ottom t - nally caug h t a g limp se of a small silver ribbon th e mig h ty Colorado River. Unf ortunately I did not h ave enoug h time to ven- ture into th e g iant crevice but saw adventurers on h orseback and on f oot setting of f to exp lore th e vast unk now n. Th e drive along th e top edg e of th e canyon w as f ascinating and th e imag e w ith every turn is like a p ostcard. I made my w ay back to Ph oenix to my h otel and met up w ith my international f riends. We decided to h ead f or Raw h ide s a reconstructed w estern tow n out of th e eig h teen h undreds. Th e exp erience is g reat and as you w alk dow n th e dirt covered Main Street you exp ect to see Wyatt Earp j ump f rom beh ind a building at any moment. Dinner in th e saloon w as an involvement. Our contact Cow boy B ob met us and alth oug h h e w as born in Turke y h e certainly p ortrayed a convincing role as a cow boy. Inside along w ith h eap ing p ortions of beef p otatoes and veg g ies w as a Country and Western band. As w e ate w e sang along to tunes by H ank Williams Joh nny Cash and Jimmy Rog ers. Our w aitress Diamond Lil as sh e w as no n as frien y an ef cient. e oa aro n er nec added to th e auth enticity of th e establish ment. Af ter a h earty meal a little dancing and some g reat con- versation w e h eaded back to th e h otel in order to p ack f or o r respective flig ts ome. t o g oeni may not e all th at it is cracke d up to be f rom a h ealth p ersp ective it certainly is w orth th e visit if sig h tseeing one of th e w orld s most amazi ng landscap es is on your ag enda. Jonathan van Bilsen is a photographer author and columnist and can be followed at photosNtravel.com 158 Casimir Street Port Perry 905-985-2268 I virginia.frewmarlintravel.ca MC TICO 4577532 Book your next DeNureTours vacation with travel experts Colleen and Jean at Awe-inspiring canyons Departure dates March 28 and November 7 2016 The Ariz ona countryside is uniq uely different.