Peter Visit - January 2017

Keith and Peter - Pinnacle Peak Hike

Keith's high school friend Peter was the first official guest for the '17 tourist season!  Peter was to arrive late on the Friday night, and with the flight 30 mins late Keith did not get him to the house from the airport until almost midnight.  It was immediately to bed since the weekend was fully booked.

ATV Tour

We were to climb Camelback on Saturday morning but the weather was cold with the chance of a bit of rain (which was terrible since Peter had come to the desert from Texas!).  So we changed the hike to Pinnacle Peak, with just Keith and Peter doing this one so that Shawna could catch up on some work.  After that 1.5 hour hike we returned home for lunch - Shawna had a delicious salad at the ready for us.  Then Keith and Peter headed back out to Desert Wolff Tours - ATVs based on the Israeli Defense Force machines.  The fun part was that these are self-drive cars - so though we were on a tour of 8 cars, we had control over our own.  The starting point was 30 minutes from the house and the tour was 3 hours.  It was then back to the house for a shower and a glass of wine/cheese before we ate dinner at Barrio Queen in Old Town.  The restaurant does not take reservations so we had a drink at the bar as we waited the 45 minutes for the table.  The food was delicious - we started with the Queso Fundido and then had the Cochinita Pibil for our entrée - just fantastic.

Dinner at Barrio Queen

Sunday was a better day so we all hiked Camelback - Shawna had wrapped up her work so was able to join.  The parking lot was full and the cop up front was only letting a car in as one left - but we lucked out that just as we arrived a car was leaving.  We made it up and back in 2:20.  It was certainly easier this time at 50 degrees vs our first time at almost 100 degrees with Kerstin the previous September!  The next stop was the Cornish Pasty Company, which we have decided will be our standard place to go after a trip up Camelback.  The beer was extra good after the hike.  Not wanting to go back to the house immediately, we dropped by McFate Brewing for another beer which was a really cool place.  We all showered before Keith and Peter headed back out - first stopping by Octane Raceway for 3 laps before going to the airport.  

Atop Camelback

It was a great weekend - and we used it to lock in Jordan's visit in March.  With her, Jim and Maryanne already visiting, and Bob and Ginny coming in March, Chez Dodds is becoming Chez Phoenix!

View on ATV Tour