A Trip to Mesa, Arizona – More Than Just a Desert… #itsaboutMEsa #MesaCityLimitless #AZ

Disclosure:  I won a trip sponsored by Allegiant Air and Visit Mesa in which travel, accommodations and tickets were provided in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

A few weeks ago I boarded an Allegiant Air plane with my husband and was off to explore Mesa, Arizona.  Now initially I was like, “What is there to do in Mesa, Arizona?” but I am glad we went! First off in case you don’t know where is Mesa is (I didn’t) its about 20 miles east of Phoenix.  It’s actually the third largest city in Arizona, after Phoenix and Tucson. What is great though is that the Allegiant Airlines airport is right there via the Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport.

When arrived in the afternoon and boy was it hot there, although we were coming from crazy cold/hot weather in Chicago so it was refreshing.  Luckily Arizona doesn’t have high humidity so even though the temperature is super hot, it doesn’t feel as bad.  There was a breeze too which helped.  So anyways the airport was small and simple to navigate which made walking to our rental car from Enterprise a breeze.  We got a Ford Prius which was honestly a perfect little car to whip around Mesa in that had awesome fuel economy (like 40 MPG!)

I did all the driving and honestly driving in Mesa felt like it does back home here in my suburb of Chicago, except I wasn’t in my big ole’ minivan with screaming kids in the back.  We headed to our hotel which was pretty much in a great central location to tons of restaurants, shops and the highway.

The Country Inn & Suites by Carlson definitely surprised us.  The hotel lobby was beautiful and the room had a separate bedroom/living area with kitchenette.  The best part though honestly was the complimentary breakfast each morning and I am not talking about some fruit and coffee!  They had a make your own waffle station, cereal, yogurt, sausages, eggs, breads and more!  Each morning varied with food but it was good each day!  We actually at our breakfast each morning out by the beautiful pool!  Oh and they even had a little libary you could check out books from and complimentary cookies all day long!

Somehow I took no pictures of the hotel, but trust me, its nice!

We had dinner at nearby BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse and called it a night since we had an early day the next day.  We didn’t realize it was a franchise restaurant on the west coast, but it was huge inside with tons of great menu choices!  Not to mention tons of tv’s so my husband could watch the hockey game!

Since we had a two hour change, we woke up pretty early and decided to go for a hike at Usery Mountain Regional Park.  Honestly I am not the hiking type.  I don’t like the heat, sun, or climbing rocks but my husband was all about exploring.  To get into Usery Mountain Regional Park you pay per vehicle and then there are different trails you can hike.  You definitely don’t want to forget sunscreen, water and a hat if possible.  We made it almost to the base of the mountain before we turned back.  It was crazy how many people were out there on the rocky trails.  We some so many beautiful cactus though and it was nice just being out walking around with my husband.

Next up was the Green Zebra Experience.  We basically got in a 4×4 called a TOMCAR and drove it through the desert, well Yavapai Indian Reservation along the Verde River to be exact.  I let my husband do all the driving because I could tell he was like a kid in candy store when he saw it.  Each couple (or family) got their own TOMCAR and we drove them in a line through the desert, no tracks either just open range.  Our guides had us stop a few times to show us different cactus and see the wild horses, yes wild horses!  You can read more about my Green Zebra Experience here.

After our Green Zebra Experience we definitely needed a shower and to freshen up.  I literally had to scrub the desert dust off me and our belongings.  I hadn’t realized how dusty we had actually gotten!

On day two of our Visit Mesa adventure, we started off the day kayaking.  Now I am not a water person either (yes basically I don’t like the outdoors) but kayaking was something I really wanted to do. Our guides from Desert Voyagers picked us up and drove us to the river where we would drop our kayaks in.  We were in inflatable kayaks, my husband and I together and our guide led the way.  He told us about different things in the area and it was a completely peaceful stroll through the river.  I was worried for nothing, no one fell in and no sharks came up to eat me!  Honestly I would do it again in a heartbeat, especially in scenic Arizona.  You can read more about my Desert Voyagers kayak adventure here.

After our kayak tour we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading to Queen Creek Olive Mill for lunch.  Since it was Mother’s Day they were crowded, but boy was it a beautiful place to go for lunch.  It also featured two of my favortie things – olives and olive oil!  What makes Queen Creek Olive Mill different than a normal restaurant is that it is actually a local olive farm where they make olive oil and its products right there.  There was actually olive trees all over, seriously I wanted one in my backyard.  The manager gave us a quick tour and explained how on a typical day they served about 1,000 people – yes it is that good.  I had the Kalamata for lunch which was actually featured on the Food Network’s “Best Thing I Ever Ate.”.  We then had an olive oil taste testing and tried a bunch of different flavors of olive oil, yum!  We literally took shots of olive oil as strange as it sounds.  You can read more about Queen Creek Olive Mill experience here on my Eating in Mesa, Arizona post!

After Queen Creek Olive Mill we popped over to SanTan Village Shopping to walk around.  It is basically an outdoor mall with tons of shops and restaurants.  My husband of course had to stop at the World of Beer for a beer and after that we were off to the hotel to rest for a bit before dinner.

Overall, we had an awesome time.  I loved the convenience of the airport and rental car and honestly with our smartphones we had no problems navigating around Mesa, Arizona.  It was a nice Friday-Monday trip for my husband and I feel like we did so much in those few days.  We barely scratched the surface though, there are golf courses, brew tours, spas, hot air balloon rides, mountain biking, and so much more packed into Mesa and its surrounding area in Arizona.  I think Mesa may get forgotten about alongside Phoenix and Tucson, but hey that just makes it a hidden gem.  It is just such a cute city and with adventure, delicious restaurants and of course shopping!

Want to read more about my Mesa experience?  Check out my Eating in Mesa, Arizona post!

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