It's usual at this time of year for me to start thinking about taking a vacation. When I say vacation, I mean travel.
I've had some of my more memorable vacations in Arizona, Florida, Texas, California and Hawaii — the spot my wife and I chose for our honeymoon. I also enjoy Colorado, but I don't typically think of going somewhere where it is even colder this time of year.
I've been to Arizona several times. As I write this, it's 37 degrees in St. Louis, according to a weather app on my phone. It is 54 degrees in Phoenix and 48 degrees in Tucson. It's not quite summer weather there, but I would welcome a double-digit increase in temperature.
My family started taking trips to Arizona when my maternal grandmother moved there to join her sisters after my grandfather's death. They lived in Apache Junction, an eastern suburb of Phoenix near the Superstition Mountains. Our trips would usually involve a stay in nearby Mesa and then a day trip to Tucson to see my aunt and uncle.
I immediately fell in love with the desert.
It's such an alien landscape, filled with plant and animal life that has adapted to thrive in harsh conditions. A few years back, I found a great book on this subject called "Seasons in the Desert: A Naturalist's Notebook" by Susan Tweit. I found it not in Arizona, but at a bookstore in Warrenton, Mo. I thoroughly digested it before our next trip to Arizona so I could be on the lookout for all of this wonderful desert life.
I'm one of those people who prepares for vacations with volumes of research. I check out Frommer's and Fodor's travel guides. I email friends who've been there and ask their advice. I search the web and obtain maps. I have a drawer full of these maps in case I should ever go back. I pick up old guidebooks from used book sales.
I went to the library and checked out several guidebooks on Hawaii before embarking on our honeymoon trip. It came in handy when we went on a snorkeling excursion from Maui to Molokini crater. The crew of the catamaran presented a Hawaii trivia contest on the ride out. I knew several answers, but I did not win because the guidebooks did not include a pronunciation guide. I knew the spelling on the name of the state fish, but not the pronunciation.
Sometimes all the advance research in the world doesn't help. Many people recommended going to Mt. Evans when I visited Colorado. They failed to mention the steep, narrow, winding road to the top. They also failed to mention the lack of guardrails.
I took it slow on the drive up. I moved at glacial speed returning to the bottom. The trip down would have been much quicker if I'd hurried and went over the edge.
But I wouldn't have missed it. The mountaintop tundra is as beautiful as the desert. I was fascinated by prairie falcons and pipits, marmots and pikas, and Rocky Mountain parnassian butterflies.
I've been impressed by similar wonders of nature on trips to many other states. It seems that everywhere you go there is an opportunity to explore and be amazed.
The topic of this week's trivia is vacation destinations.
1. What is the state fish of Hawaii?
2. In what desert are saguaro cactuses found?
3. In what city would you find the Ryman Auditorium?
4. What cities are the eastern and western entrances of Rocky Mountain National Park connected by Trail Ridge Road (U.S. Highway 34)?
5. What facility that was formerly used as a prison is located in the Florida Keys in Dry Tortugas National Park?
6. What are the names of the five Great Lakes?
7. What four states touch at Four Corners Monument?
8. In what park will you find the San Diego Zoo?
9. In what city is the Alamo located?
10. What is the highest mountain peak in the United States?
ANSWERS: 1. Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. It's pronounced 'hu-mu-hu-mu-nu-ku-nu-ku-ah-pu-ah-ah.' 2. The Sonoran Desert. 3. Nashville, Tenn. It was once home to the Grand Ole Opry. 4. Estes Park, Colo., and Grand Lake, Colo. 5. Fort Jefferson. 6. Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. 7. Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. 8. Balboa Park. 9. San Antonio, Texas. 10. Mt. McKinley in Alaska at 20,320 feet.
Shawn Clubb is managing editor of the Suburban Journals for St. Louis and St. Charles counties. You can contact him at sclubb@yourjournal.com.
