arizona – WamiesWorld

the end | Arizona Part IV

Published on November 12, 2018 by Jamie ShugartLeave a comment

Arizona. We came, we saw, we loved.

Our fourth month in the desert flew by. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect when we left the south in June, but I don’t know that we knew what a fantastic experience our four month extended honeymoon would be.

The #SuiteLifeofWillandJamie

To our little hotel suite, with its tiny kitchenette, huge desk, desert themed photos, and ever failing internet. You were just what we needed and more. Despite the hotel turning off the AC half way through October so that our room became boiling at 80 degrees (really, we can’t be happy because without the heater is was 59 degrees), and despite the monsoons through the summer that curbed our camping exploits, we really could not have had a better time.

We had a whole crew that went to the same church every Sunday. The church was a great little place with good people and a good culture and great taste in music. This one Sunday the boys all dressed alike.

We went to see Smallfoot! Guys. It is such a cute movie. Will and I really enjoyed ourselves. It is funny and feel-good and we left much happier than when we went in. This was also our first time at this tiny theater and Will discovered that I love the candy “Dots.” Anyone else with me? They’re delicious!

I finished the seventh Harry Potter book and had intentions to read the following “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” when we got to North Carolina, but our storage unit flooded and that book was one of the casualties.

(Don’t worry I will blog about the storage unit catastrophe later.)

Book seven was way better than I remember it being and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I also almost killed us one night while making spaghetti. I (accidentally) poured almost this entire thing of garlic powder into the sauce. Let’s just say, we will be safe from vampires for quite a while.

I ran out of contacts right before moving home so I popped into an eye doctor to update my prescription. The doctor was probably the nicest eye doctor I have ever had and was super awesome. If you are ever in need of an optometrist in Sierra Vista, Arizona, head on over to the Walmart vision center. You know I wouldn’t steer you wrong!

Adventures

Our months in Arizona were packed with adventures, and October was no different. We began the month with a trip out to San Diego to visit Will’s family (blog post linked here), and over Will’s birthday weekend we explored Bisbee a little more with some friends.

The Queen Mine Tour was so much fun! If you are in the area and have the chance to go, you definitely should! It is on our list of favorite things we did while in Arizona.

We wore our warm clothes, got decked out in fluorescent vests, hard hats and flashlights, and set out underground with a hilarious and informed tour guide. We told him we were from North Carolina and he decided to use the two of us for examples on the tour a couple times.

After the tour we drove into the historic part of town for an incredible steak dinner at Cafe Roka. Another place we would highly recommend! Be sure to make a reservation ahead of time. They are only open three days a week and serve some absolutely exquisite food. The friend we went with was born in Bisbee so she knew everyone and we were treated very well. It was a blast!

Our very last hurrah was to visit Saguaro National Park. It was the perfect bookend to our incredible Arizona experience.

If you want to see more photos of Saguaro, check out the blog post here. To be honest, when I think of the desert I definitely think of these cacti, which are actually called Saguaros. They are the universal symbol of the American West, can live up to 200 years, weigh more than a ton, and will probably grow to be more than forty feet tall. If there was one thing we did not want to miss before heading back to the east coast, it was spending a sunset with this incredible plant life.

Saying Goodbye

I’m not going to lie. Writing this blog post has been hard! We had SO much fun in Arizona and made so many great memories. Saying goodbye has definitely been bitter sweet. We miss our people, our mountains, and our animal style In-N-Out burgers. The authentic Mexican food is making my mouth water as we speak.

Really, I am just so grateful that we had such an amazing time. I am grateful that we had the opportunity to call Arizona home for a few months. That we got to explore so many amazing National Parks. That we got a little bit of time, just the two of us, to established our marriage. And that we had so many amazing people championing and supporting us through all of it.

Thank you all so much for everything.

Don’t worry—now that we are back in North Carolina, the exploring is not ending! It might change a little bit, but if there is one thing I have learned in my thirty years (UGH I still hate saying that. Thirty.) it is that life is always an adventure.

Until next time,
Jamie out.

a cacti goodbye to Arizona

Published on November 5, 2018 by Jamie Shugart3 Comments

Arizona, what do we say? We had an absolute blast. Four months is just not enough time to really explore and get to know you.

For our last Saturday in the desert, we drove out to Saguaro National Park to see the nation’s largest cacti. Little known fact, they are actually called saguaros. Will had the great idea to drive out to see them around golden hour and sunset, and then to have a farewell dinner in Tucson.

We stamped our National Parks Passports at their visitor center, drove a dirt road loop, and took photos on the side of the road as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Instead of embellishing this experience with words, I think that I will allow our photos to do the talking this time around. If you find yourself in Tucson at any point in the future, Saguaro National Park should be high on your list of things to experience.

If you enjoyed this post, please give it a like and let us know in the comments! If you haven’t joined the family yet, hit that subscribe button and we’ll see you next time!

Until then,

Jamie out.

Our 5 Favorite Things We Did in Arizona

Published on October 29, 2018 by Jamie ShugartLeave a comment

Our four months in southern Arizona are over! We will always have our memories, and I have a couple more blog posts lined up, but our extended honeymoon has come to a close. That being said, we spent much of our time in the desert exploring. Here are our five favorite things we did while in Arizona this summer.

We went on a really long hike

We have already blogged about our Grand Canyon experience, but if you missed it, here are some sunrise photos, and here is the complete story of our hike.

The Grand Canyon has been on my bucket list for a while. It is one of those things that you sit and dream about, like Rome, or the Great Wall of China, or Iceland. It is a destination I was dying to experience. And boy did we experience it.

We got up at three in the morning to drive to the National Park and arrive in time to watch the entire sunrise over the canyon walls. We then spent the next seven hours hiking along the rim. Clearly it was a dream come true for this hike loving, National Park exploring, photography enthusiast couple. The Grand Canyon is so much more than just a giant hole in the ground.

We made reading a priority

Back in North Carolina, life and busyness got in the way. We were often running around and stressed, trying to be at every event, plan a wedding, work 50 or more hours a week, and sleep when we could. Arizona has been much more relaxed and manageable for us. One thing we were able to really enjoy was making reading a priority.

Most nights you will find us reading a good book in bed before turning out the lights. The weekend usually involves at least a few hours of dedicated book time. And the goal has generally been to read one book a month. This is something that I seriously hope we can continue once we get back to North Carolina.

Books I have been reading: the Harry Potter series.

Books Will has been reading: the Inheritance Cycle, “Just Walk Across the Room” by Bill Hybels and “Ghost Soldiers” by Hampton Sides.

We made some friends

I have always said that it is the people that make or break a place. Well the people in Arizona have absolutely made it for us. The community we have experienced, the church family we found, and the friends we made have not only made these four months in the desert so much sweeter, but have made saying goodbye so much harder.

From the movie nights, hiking trips, lunch dates, and hotel breakfasts, we had an absolute blast with everyone.

We toured a mine and ate really good food

On one of our first weekends in Arizona, we visited Bisbee, which you can read about here. We didn’t quite know where to go, where to eat, or what to do. After a few hours in the hot weather, we drove back home. But ever since then, we had a hankering to tour the Bisbee copper mine.

The weekend of Will’s birthday, a couple we met took us to the Queen Mine Tour and followed it with dinner at Cafe Roka. I definitely recommend both things should you ever find yourself in southern Arizona.

We wore our jackets, hard hats, and flashlights in the mines and rode a train to the very back. Our tour guide showed us how miners would drill, what drills they used throughout the years, their dynamite techniques, and other mining habits to include how they went to the restroom. I got to demonstrate for everyone. Who thinks this should be our Christmas card photo this year?

After our tour, we went to the historic district for our reservations at a seriously delicious Cafe Roka. We all ordered the filet on a bed of mashed potatoes and veggies. The starters, salad, soup, sorbet, entree, and dessert sampler platter left nothing wanting. We had a fantastic time and will definitely come back the next time we are in Bisbee. We highly recommend it.

We explored a cave

Our absolute favorite adventure, despite having hiked the Grand Canyon Rim Trail, was exploring a cave in Coronado National Memorial. It was so cool! Caves and caverns are super fascinating, a little scary, and very very fun to explore. This cave in particular was at the end of a short hike up the mountain and was not guided. We climbed down a hill of rocks at the cave mouth (which distinctly reminded me of the movie “Descent,” although I tried not to think about that) and then used our headlamp and flashlight to explore its depths. You can read more about that here.

Will and I are so excited to head back to the east coast and North Carolina! We are seriously looking forward to seeing my family, eating my mom’s cooking, hanging out with our Taco Tuesday crew, and reconnecting with our church fam.

Have you ever been to Arizona? What was your favorite part? If you enjoyed this post, give it a like and don’t forget to join our family by hitting that subscribe button if you haven’t already.

Until next time,
Jamie out

a saturday spent banding hummingbirds

Published on October 18, 2018 by Jamie ShugartLeave a comment

Did you know that southern Arizona boasts the most diverse types of hummingbirds in the United States? A couple weeks ago, Will and I went with our friends to the San Pedro House, just outside of Sierra Vista, to visit this historic ranch house where they tag hummingbirds. In fact, we went on one of the last weeks that they do it because of migration season. A lot of hummingbirds pass through southern Arizona on their way to Mexico.

The area is significant for world bird conservation, and according to Bureau of Land Management, it has been “officially designated a globally important bird area.”

While I’m not super into bird watching, and the San Pedro House boasts a good amount of walking trails and scenery, this time we went specifically to see the hummingbirds. It was actually pretty incredible and interesting.

The scientists and volunteers said that the best times to study the hummingbirds are around sunrise and sunset, because that’s when they are out and looking for food. It was super interesting to watch!

They used a simple drop cage to essentially catch the birds and then, ingeniously, got the public in on the studying by allowing them to gently and carefully carry the birds over to the people banding them.

You could tell the poor things were scared, but everyone was very gentle while handling them and they made sure to feed them before setting them free. Carrying the little hummingbird was wild! Its wings were beating so fast that I could feel the air movement.

There was a seating area under the tent where they were tagging the hummingbirds so that you could listen and learn. One of the volunteers was super great—she spent a lot of time with us to answer our questions and tell us all about what they eat, when they eat, what their mating is like, and how their lives change as they mature.

Will got to carry over the last bird of the day!

She was pretty young. The females usually lose their color and turn brown once they get older. You can see in the photo how green she is. This one had been caught three times that day already.

After we learned all about her feathers and how to tell she’s female, we set her free! Not before a quick photo-op, though.

I wish we had time to do more exploring around San Pedro house! It’s right on a riverbed and is home to about 300 species of birds, not to mention the other animal life that are drawn to the water in this desert.

Do you guys like learning about animals? I think of all birds, hummingbirds are probably one of my favorites.

If you enjoyed this post, please give it a like and don’t forget to join the family by subscribing if you haven’t already.

Until next time,
Jamie out