The trails were well-marked and with the lack of trees replaced by cacti and rocks, I felt I had a better sense of direction, as we could always turn around and see exactly where we had come from. There were some pretty steep trails where serious hikers with poles were headed up with bags packed for the day. The entire area was scattered with wanderers like us, neighbors out for a walk and runners with their dogs. There was something very refreshing about being up early, getting a little exercise and enjoying the fresh air and landscape around us.
We were literally sweating by the time we started heading back to the hotel - this was definitely a more exerting hike than we had realized! We got showered, and soon after, my brother and his friend arrived after making the early morning drive from Las Vegas. I had reserved a cab online via DiscountCab to pick us up at 1pm to head to the Scottsdale Waterfront, where the big Auburn pep rally was happening at 2pm. I had reserved the cab a week prior just to make sure we wouldn't run into any availability problems so decided to make a quick call just to confirm. They must have some operating board over at Discount Cab, because without even saying my name, they knew who I was and where I was calling from. Needless to say, the cab was already on the way to the hotel!The cab ride to the Scottsdale Waterfront, which we confirmed with our driver actually fronts no discernible water, took around 30 minutes and cost $40 split between the four of us. The Waterfront is basically a big shopping/restaurant/nightlife area and definitely the trendy area of Phoenix. The sun was out bright this afternoon, so leaving the jacket at home turned out to be a great idea - more hands to hold my hot dogs and beers with! The pep rally was held out in a large open field dubbed the "Bud Light Fiesta" where a big stage was set up and was packed shoulder to shoulder with orange and blue!
After a bunch of cheers and Auburn celebrities taking the stage to fire us up, we moved like a pack of cattle toward a strip of bars a few blocks away. This seemed like a fun area, but with the swarm of Auburn fans, moving around was painstakingly slow. Auburn fans were heading to Upperdeck, where there was a big outdoor patio completely jammed and a line that looked a few hours long to get in, so we decided to go across the street to Dos Gringos, which had been labeled as an "Oregon bar." Dos Gringos had a sprawling upstairs covered patio where we settled in for a couple drinks and enjoyed the breeze. It was around this point that I realized Oregon fans were just NOT in Phoenix. Auburn fans were dominating as far as the eye could see. Even at the Oregon bar, while Oregon fans were in the majority, there was no shortage of orange and blue! The view of the "Auburn bar" Upperdeck across the street:
At this point I was trying to meet up with another group of friends despite a complete lack of cell service (Thanks AT&T - I'm only in the middle of a major city), and finally tracked them down a short cab ride away at The Lodge. We sat outside for a little bit on the patio out front, but as it started to get chilly we headed inside to a big booth where we had buckets and buckets of beer and bar food somewhat resembling a meal. Drinking all afternoon and evening, we ultimately hit a point where it was just time to leave. We tricked a cab driver into thinking we'd come all the way to Scottsdale for $25, so he agreed to give us that same rate going back. Had the meter been running, I feel sure it would have been closer to $40, so I definitely get a point for negotiation skills on this one. Tomorrow's game day!
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