For our Spring Break vacation in 1996, we planned an escape from still snowy BC to do a trip through Arizona. We had made reservations at a La Quinta Inn for our first night. After our flight to Phoenix, we drove to the motel in our rental car. I remember the night being so warm and pleasant after our still cold weather at home.
As we entered the lobby, we immediately felt sorry for a guy that was being turned away because the motel had no vacancies and he had no reservation. We felt a bit cocky about planning ahead and making a reservation.
Our mood quickly changed when I got to the counter and told the desk clerk we had a reservation. I gave him our name and he started typing it out on the computer, then looked up and said, “Nope, sorry, we don’t have a reservation for you.” Our hearts sunk.
Before we totally collapsed in distress, the clerk said, “Maybe you made the reservation at another La Quinta Inns in Phoenix. I’ll check.”
He got back on the computer and much to our relief, that is what we had done. We got back into the car and drove onto the Interstate headed for the correct motel. We noticed as we drove that all of the hotels we past had their “No Vacancy” signs lit up. We soon found the right La Quinta and were ecstatic to soon be in our motel room after our long flight from Canada and the scare at the other Inn.
The following day we began to explore Arizona. We avoided the Interstate, preferring to drive Highway 93. We came upon Hassayampa River Preserve (photos) and pulled in. It was an oasis-type area of plants and wildlife habitat beside the river. We walked two trails and saw a flicker and hummingbird. While we were sitting on a bench, we watched a fox sneak up and make a kill (bird or mouse?) on the opposite side of the river. That was a bit distressing, but the Preserve was an interesting stop, being such a different environment from what we were used to in the Robson Valley.
View my paintings at: davidmarchant2.ca
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