Raising Arizona

After the Grand Canyon, we headed down to Tempe (Phoenix) for our reunion with the Smiths, who lived in our apartment block in Bondi back in the day ... Hairy freeways aside, we made it to their house, and proceeded to be terribly spoilt for the next day and a half.

Harriet took us to the botanical gardens, which were quite incredible. I never realised what biodiversity the desert contains. And the cactus are something else.



Tempe is a very civilised place, with a lively main drag and the kind of buzz you get from having a huge university. On our second night there the Smiths took us to a fabulous Mexican restaurant, which happily wiped out the lingering taste of many third-rate 'Mexican' dishes we've had. And the frozen Margaritas were pretty good too.



Unfortunately we didn't have time to wallow in the Smiths' hospitality any longer, and hopped back into George to head for Joshua Tree National Park (after which U2 apparently named their album). Now I know where Dr Seuss got his inspiration for the crazy trees that feature in so much of his work.



We liked the rocks too. This one is known as Skull Rock ...