We went to Phoenix for baseball spring training. Though this travel log focuses on our baseball experience, there are a few other interesting tid bits…read on!
We’ve talked to many people that have been to spring training and all of them loved it. Sitting in the warm Arizona spring sun, and cheering for our Seattle Mariners sounded like a great way to spend two weeks.
My parents live in Castle Rock, CO, just south of Denver. They are Rockies fans. Arleen’s mom, Ellen, also cheers for the Rockies and Mariners, though she would much rather watch those stinky Yankees 
The campground was a good deal, but was just ok. Everything worked as it should. It was fairly quiet and secure and in a decent location in North Phoenix that allowed us to get to the games easily. Our parents stayed at a decent hotel just a few blocks away. We were so busy, we didn’t spend much time in the campground. And though a friend from my last duty station got a hold of me, we weren’t able to hook up. Sorry Jim!
Check out the weather our first week in Phoenix:
[03/11] Sunny, with a high near 80. East wind around 7 mph becoming south. [03/11] Mostly clear, with a low around 52. West southwest wind between 4 and 7 mph. [03/12] Sunny, with a high near 82. East wind around 7 mph becoming south. [03/12] Mostly clear, with a low around 51. Light and variable wind. [03/13] Sunny, with a high near 82. East southeast wind between 5 and 7 mph. [03/13] Mostly clear, with a low around 54. [03/14] Sunny, with a high near 82. [03/14] Mostly clear, with a low around 52. [03/15] Sunny, with a high near 82. [03/15] Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. [03/16] Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. [03/16] Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. [03/17] Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81.
PERFECT!
We settled into a routine: Up at 0630. Hike roughly 0800-1000. Meet the parents around 1130 and head to the game. Eat dinner after the game. Play cards (pinochle) each evening until we got tired…Which is usually between 9:00pm and 10:00pm. That’s a busy schedule for us! After a few days, we were pooped.
Here are the results of the games we went to:
- 9 March at Peoria Sports Complex…Seattle Mariners 5 – Arizona Diamondbacks 8 – BOOOO
- 10 March at Surprise Stadium…Colorado Rockies 2 – Kansas City Royals 5 – BOOOO
- 11 March at Scottsdale Stadium…Seattle Mariners 5 – San Francisco Giants 7 – BOOOO
- 12 March at Talking Stick Stadium…Colorado Rockies 11 – San Diego Padres 2 – YAY!
- 13 March at Camelback Ranch Stadium…Colorado Rockies 5 – Los Angeles Dodgers 2 – YAY!
- 14 March at Peoria Sports Complex…Seattle Mariners 6 – Kansas City Royals 2 – YAY!
- 15 March at Peoria Sports Complex…Seattle Mariners 5 – San Francisco Giants 7 – BOOOO
- 17 March at Camelback Ranch Stadium…Seattle Mariners 0 – Chicago White Sox 5 – BOOOO
- 19 March at Peoria Sports Complex…Seattle Mariners 7 – Chicago Cubs 12 – BOOOO
- 21 March at Peoria Sports Complex…Seattle Mariners 8 – Chicago White Sox 13 – BOOOO
A few notes about the games…
- Tickets averaged $15-$20, with the following exception…
- It was $49 at Scottsdale Stadium (San Francisco Giants)…These are pre-season games for goodness sakes! Sadly there were about 11,000 other people who paid this ridiculous price…Good ole “supply and demand”.
- We bought tickets online in February and we also bought them at ticket windows on game day. Some games had plenty of seats and others nearly sold out. If you want specific seats, buy them early.
- Parking was plentiful and usually free or $5, with the following exception…
- Scottsdale Stadium had minimal parking. There was a relatively small, multi-level garage that was full an hour before game time. Enterprising folks charged anywhere from $20 to $5 to park in private and business lots within roughly 5 blocks of the stadium. Reminder to the clowns running things at Scottsdale…THESE ARE PRESEASON GAMES!
- We arrived at each game roughly 45-60 minutes before the start which worked out well.
- Attendance varied from 7,000 to 11,000. Near the stadiums, traffic got congested before and after the games, and flowed slowly, but smoothly.
- The players were quite accessible. Many of them spent time before and after each game signing autographs and posing for pictures.
- We enjoyed all of the games, but in the future we will skip games at Scottsdale Stadium. The crazy San Francisco Giants fans can pay those prices, but we won’t.
A few baseball pictures…
Arleen’s favorite player, Brendan Ryan, with a triple!
With our goal to hike 155 miles in March, we found a place nearby that had 20 miles of trails: Thunderbird Conservation Area in Glendale. It was a convenient 10-minute drive from our home base. We tried to walk 5-6 miles every day and Thunderbird had multiple loops and trails to keep it interesting. There were even three decent hills to tackle which made each hike a good workout…perfect! We were surprised to see so many other people on the trails. During the weekend, it was hard to find parking and there were hundreds of people getting exercise and enjoying the perfect weather. People were friendly and there were lots of smiles. We really liked the various cacti and the graceful hot air balloons that dotted the sky. So, how are we doing on the 155 mile goal? Maybe we set our sites too low…As of 21 March, we have hiked 140 miles! At this pace, we will finish the month with over 200 miles.
Here are a few hiking routes:
Thunderbird Conservation Area
Two loops, two hills #1 Two loops, two hills #2
Three loops, three hills…climbed 1,600 feet! Laps around the Peoria Stadium
Neighborhood Walk Lake Pleasant
Here are few more pictures from our hikes…
Pinochle summary: Team Shawn and Arleen won all but one game!
Victorious! Double Aces…unstoppable!
And lots of good food…
My first time at a Cracker Barrel! Cheesecake Factory
The gang at “5 and Diner”
It sure was great spending time with our parents. We made some good memories!
Phoenix was fun, but metropolises with millions of people are not for us. Besides, buying baseball tickets and eating out a bunch was hard on our pocket books and our waists! It’s time to move on.
Next we will spend two weeks exploring the picturesque Sedona area. Not only will we detox our bodies of too much restaurant food and spend much less money, but It will be real easy to wrack up hiking miles among the amazing red cliffs.
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