Arizona Trip: Desert vibes + perfect sunsets
It was a beautiful celebration for my cousin’s wedding that would transport me from Bakersfield Ca to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona Arizona. I believe that my home town has some pretty wonderful sunsets but Arizona sunset is something else! Truly I was mesmerized and it will indeed be one of the many things I will remember about AZ.
Some things I find worth talking about:
1. Traveling and sharing spaces with people you love are the things you may remember most about life. So although I was on work mode and was contracted to be the photographer for this wedding weekend, since it was family, my family also went. We stayed together in the cutest Arizona dome and did some sight seeing together. *Side note here: staying in an Airbnb with charm/uniqueness will change your travel experience, by far! We shared great laughs, good stories, and beautiful sunsets. I walked away from Arizona thinking “I hope my life consists of many more moments like that with people that I cherish in life.”
2. Arizona sunsets in Scottsdale. The first time I experience this sunset was when I was headed to the venue for a walkthrough. The drive there was just spectacular as I drove through fields and fields of cacti with the sun beaming behind them. When I arrived on sight I was greeted by a horse and at a distance a long road that lead to the most incredible sunset and cacti silhouettes. I mean…I think I just stood there frozen…it was special. The next night my mom, brother and sister had arrived just in time for the most perfect sunset…I quickly asked them to have a quick shoot right outside our Airbnb and those photos were some of my favorite.
3. Food + Drink. Honestly, Arizona did not disappoint in this area and thank you Yelp once again for guiding my choices! But seriously…I’m not sure what it is about AZ but they know GOOD FOOD. I’m just going to mention the stand outs for me because I absolutely think they are worth a stop if you’re ever in Phoenix and in Scottsdale. Diego Pops: It is hip and yummy. Their retro Mexico vibe is one of the cutest Mexican decor I’ve seen. Frida as a pop art…ummm YESSS. Now let’s talk food because I am PICKY with my Mexican food. Here are some things I really feel you need to try: Mexican corn on a cob. Chicken Adobe Tacos *make sure you get the corn poblano sauce on the side…amazing! Now let’s talk COFFEE! Four Coffee is simply the cutest little coffee shop in Scottsdale. I’m all about walking into cute coffee shops that also give me a vibe of the town/state I’m in, so this definitely did it for me! Also, the experience I had there was great. Within 2 hrs of sitting with my laptop transferring files, I met people from all over who were so friendly. The barista who served me –Kyle– turns out to be a film photographer/poet/farmer and you should most certainly follow him on instagram because he’s awesome! Ok…finally, I have to talk to you about the best coffee you’ll have! If you are EVER in the Phoenix, AZ airport [and I believe there are other locations in Arizona] you MUST go to Cartel Coffee Lab! You absolutely MUST get yourself an iced dirty chai latte….you’re welcome!!! [side note: oh snap! I just went on their instagram and saw they have a California location….OMG…guess who will be going there for sure!]
4. Sightseeing in Sedona, AZ. Sedona was like seeing the movie Cars in real life. It was beautiful. There is a location near by Bakersfield that I love to go to for photographs called Red Rock Canyon, but these rocks didn’t even compare to the beauty in Sedona. I was blown away. There were so many areas of Sedona that we didn’t navigate to-we chose to focus on visiting and seeing The Chapel in Sedona. It was incredibly stunning and what was the most fascinating to me were the reflection of the red rocks on its large windows. We had a beautiful time here, and out of nowhere experience some snow come down-so that was fun!
5. Biggest regret-and the reason why I’ll certainly be back to Arizona. One of the biggest things on my list when going to Arizona was to see Antelope Canyon and Horshoe Bend-due to wedding schedule and because of the travel time there and back….I didn’t get to go! So…only means that I have to come back and book the photography tour there!
The traveling barber…aka….my mom! 
Cactus fields were everywhere and I was not mad about it one bit. 
That moment where it started to snow out of nowhere! 
Becoming one with the cacti. 
Becoming one with the cacti…part 2. 
Becoming one with the cacti…part 3. 
KYLE: THE FARMER/POET/PHOTOGRAPHER showing me the impressive AZ sunsets. 
Dreaming of the amazing iced dirty chai from Cartel Coffee Lab. 
Field of dreams…
Hope you enjoyed a glimpse of a great weekend in Arizona. With all my heart and soul…Rubi Z.
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