Dodging Mexico Mayhem, Latinas Brave Arizona Posse, Find Beauty
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale via Bloomberg
The pools at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. The pools feature water cascading from side outlets and night-lit pillars, providing a cool respite from 115 degree, August heat.
The pools at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. The pools feature water cascading from side outlets and night-lit pillars, providing a cool respite from 115 degree, August heat. Source: Hyatt Regency Scottsdale via Bloomberg
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale
Steven L. Walker/Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort via Bloomberg
An aerial view of the 2 1/2 acre, water playground at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.
An aerial view of the 2 1/2 acre, water playground at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Photographer: Steven L. Walker/Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort via Bloomberg
Mountain
Brian Brennan/Bloomberg
The view from the top of "A" Mountain, next to Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Hiking the mountain, also known as Hayden Butte, is a challenge in the summer heat.
The view from the top of "A" Mountain, next to Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Hiking the mountain, also known as Hayden Butte, is a challenge in the summer heat. Photographer: Brian Brennan/Bloomberg
Jan Brewer
Ron Sachs/Pool via Bloomberg
Jan Brewer, governor of Arizona. The state has become notorious for its new law to round up the "ilegales," which has the Latin American community in an uproar.
Jan Brewer, governor of Arizona. The state has become notorious for its new law to round up the "ilegales," which has the Latin American community in an uproar. Photographer: Ron Sachs/Pool via Bloomberg
I was poolside at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch near Phoenix, and relaxing like a cowboy with half an eye open, on the lookout for police.
A couple of weeks ago I took my Costa Rica-born wife, Cynthia, our daughter, Nicole, and my mother-in-law, Gloria, to the state that has become notorious for its new law to round up the ilegales. This has created quite an uproar among Latinos.
I’d considered camping at Scorpion Bay halfway down the Pacific Coast side of Baja California. The Mexican peninsula south of our home in Southern California is so undeveloped it would look familiar to the conquistadors who explored it in the 16th century. The surfing wave at Scorpion Bay is so long and beautiful you can take a nap on it.
The issue was safety. While foes of Arizona’s immigration law complain about stereotyping, if Mexican police spot a U.S. car on their turf, they not only stop you for no reason, they often demand bribes. This has happened to relatives, friends and me. Even the U.S. State Department has a warning about such extortion, recommending victims get the name of any police officers involved.
Mexico has such a rotten reputation for crime and corruption that my Latina wife refuses to visit Tijuana, Rosarito or Ensenada. These are full-on party towns that should ideally be weekend getaways for Southern Californians. Yet hotels in these Baja coastal towns posted vacancy rates ranging from 14 percent to 41 percent in the first half of this year, according to the Baja state government.
Proposed Boycott
A proposed boycott of Arizona doesn’t seem to have badly damaged the state’s tourism. Since the law became known nationally, Arizona has kept pace with national trends, with occupancy rising to an average 54 percent in May, June and July, a 5.6 percent increase from the year before, according to Smith Travel Research.
When staying in a desert, the best way to pick a hotel is by checking out photos of the swimming pools. Those at the Hyatt, which charged a very reasonable $150 a night including taxes, are every bit as good-looking in person. Numerous streams of water cascade from pillars, creating a cooling mist to escape the 115-degree heat. Elegant palm trees supplied more-than- adequate shade. A three-story water slide and poolside movies at night entertained the kids.
It wasn’t all perfect. The waiters need more training in such niceties as removing empty plates of food and not taking away our unfinished glasses of Maker’s Mark while we’re in the pool.
Scottsdale is famous for its lovely golf courses, one of which was right next to the Hyatt. However, golf on a summer afternoon in the desert is recommended only for those who love three-hour saunas.
Hole in the Rock
We visited relatives to celebrate my cousin Brian Brennan’s 40th birthday and swam in their relaxing pools. Brian took us climbing on local hills such as Hole in the Rock and “A” Mountain, nicknamed for the 60-foot-tall, steel-and-concrete letter that overlooks the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. By the time we finished our hikes at 8 a.m., it was already 100 degrees and Brian assured me that you won’t find anyone hiking in the afternoon at this time of year.
Then it was off to red-rock Sedona, where the weather is 25 degrees cooler since it’s in the mountains north of Phoenix. We visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a small Catholic church inspired by the Empire State Building. Sitting at the base of a sheer cliff, the church plants a smooth wedge-like structure and a striking cross facade amid the rough stone and mountains, its simplicity highlighting the beauty of the area. Inside, the altar stands before a large window that overlooks the valley of Sedona.
Grand Canyon Train
We drove an hour north to Williams, where the following day we boarded the Grand Canyon Train. While it’s a nice ride through pretty farmland for about 55 miles, there are no spectacular cliffs to see until reaching the Grand Canyon itself. The train trip included a live show with wisecracking train-robbing cowboys and a sheriff chasing them.
That was the closest we came to a crook or a cop during a 92-hour visit to Arizona, a place that is far safer than northern Mexico, where the bad guys are the real deal.
(Peter J. Brennan is a reporter for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)
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