Arizona, Here I Am!!

 

    I'm here in Arizona! Here I sit, in my AirBnB, the eve before my first day! I've been here for 5 days and weather has been absolutely perfect! A lot has happened since I last posted, some good and some troublesome, but it has all worked out and I'm ready to start work tomorrow!

    So to start with, I had some hiccups. First, I found out that figuring out housing is hard! My first arrangement fell through. I guess that's the reason why they say to start looking for your next assignment when you still have 8 weeks on your current contract, so that you have enough time to find housing that works for you before they are all reserved!  So I got a place on AirBnB in Mesa, Az for a month, and then in January I've made arrangements to move into the 2nd apartment bedroom of another healthcare professional who lives/works in the area with her dog. I absolutely loathe moving, but since I only brought 1 carload of stuff with me, it shouldn't be too bad.

    The next hiccup... well it was a little bigger of a deal. I was supposed to start working this last monday (11/30), but something was up with my background check where they were waiting for it to clear the courts or something, so I wasn't able to start. It's kind of been a back and forth with the hospital, the travel nurse agency, and myself as to what's happening and when I can start. But I got notified today that it had finally cleared and that I can start tomorrow!  That means my contract will be extended a week, but that's not a problem. So I hope Phoenix Children's is ready for me! Ready or not, here I come!!

    So what have I been doing with all of my extra time you might ask? Well after I got my groceries and got settled after the first day, I decided to do some exploring!  On Monday, I attempted to go see a cool ruin about an hour outside of the city. I got there and found out it's closed and only open Tues-Sat (I know!  Weirdly specific days to be open!), so I drove back to Tempe to go and explore Papango Park a little. It's in the middle of the city, with a series of sandstone hills. One of them has an arch in the rock, aptly named "Hole in the Rock". We climbed up, went in and out of the hole, had a view of the city... all of the good things. Found out from an informational sign there that it's considered an archeological site, because apparently the ancients used it to keep track of the season, so they could measure the solstices, etc. Apparently there's lines that they carved in the rock to measure it, but I couldn't see it. Interesting to know the history anyways.

Yesterday, Ivy and I took a drive up the Apache Trail up to Canyon Lake. Ivy had fun chasing the ducks and other waterfowl for a bit. We went to see if we could ride the Dolly Steamboat. I had heard from my friend Janiel that it was kinda fun to ride and you can see all kinds of wildlife and learn the history of the area. Alas, they don't allow pets on the boat, and since I was there to have an adventure with my pooch, I passed. But as I was leaving, I noticed that there was parking in the same parking lot as the marina for a trail across the street: the Boulder Canyon Trail. So, Ivy and I took a little hike! It wasn't planned at all, but a happy find! I saw a bald eagle flying over the lake, so I did see some wildlife. I didn't expect to see big Saguaro and other cacti right next to a lake, but alas, there it was, and I was charmed!

  

Next, Ivy and I drove down to go see the Ghost Town on our way back. On our way there, I saw road signs for the Lost Dutchman State Park that was right on the way. Again, it wasn't planned, but I thought, "why not! I'll give it a shot!" and pulled on in to check it out. It's named after the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine, a legendary gold mine. Supposedly, in the early 1840's a Mexican family found and mined the gold there. Then in 1848, as they were taking a load back to their home, they were killed in a Apache raid and the location became lost. Later, in the 1870's someone else found and mined it, but after his death, no one has been able to find it since. Here is a more detailed history of the legend . Anyways, the park is  right at the base of the Superstition Mountains, so in an interesting setting. Here, Ivy and I hiked the Treasure Loop. The trail takes you right up to the base of the superstition mountains, and you get some great views of the valley and can see a tiny downtown Phoenix in the distance!

    After we had finished our hike at the Lost Dutchman State Park, we did a hop skip and a jump over to the Goldfield Ghost Town. It was founded in 1893 after another pocket of gold was found in the area in the 1880's. There was a gold rush to the town, and at one point, it was bigger than the city of Phoenix, boasting a population of 4000! It was even considered as the state capital for a while until the gold vein they were mining ran out and the mine flooded with water. That happened 5 years after the town was founded and after that, everyone left, and it became a ghost town. Now it is a "commercial ghost town", meaning it's a tourist trap. But it DEFINITELY has the feel of the old west! I guess on Saturdays and Sundays, they even have old fashioned shoot outs!

Ivy and I took a "private" train ride around the town (meaning no one else got on the train with us). It wasn't terribly exciting, just a slow chug of the train making a small loop around the town. But I learned some of the history and got some great views of the town against the superstition mountains!  I just love learning the history of these places! It makes it all the more fascinating to me!

One thing that I experienced yesterday, was a bit of what I'm calling "Nature Shock"... kind of like culture shock, but with nature. I love the desert. But I am definitely used to the Utah desert: red rocks, small cacti, sandstone and sand everywhere, cedar trees, etc. Here in Arizona, it definitely feels more barren. The deserts here have lots of the big Saguaro cacti, which I actually think is really cool to see! I didn't know they were that huge! But they also have Cholla cacti and organ pipe cacti, which I have never seen before here. I haven't really seen any of the smaller variety cacti I'm used to seeing in Utah. Its good because, since all the cacti here are huge, you don't accidentally step on one. But there are no trees here! No shade at all unless you are standing the the narrow shade of a saguaro. Because of that, to me the sun looks brighter and feels more intense... but maybe it's all in my head. I dunno.

    Anyways, that's it for this update!  I'm excited for further adventures and to start working at Phoenix Children's Hospital!  I'm not really even all that nervous, which I expected to be. I'm just ready!  Wish me luck!