Exploring the Grand Canyon State

By Michelle Thompson

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Arizonans are looking for great summer vacations in their home state. Arizona State Parks and Trails has amazing lesser-known parks that are a great fit. With family-friendly activities, camping for beginners (and experts), plus miles of trails and plenty of rest and relaxation, a road trip to one of these parks will make lasting memories.

Head north to Lyman Lake State Park, where the capacity for water fun is only limited by your imagination. This large lake has no motor size restrictions for boaters but also has a nowake zone for swimming. You can take your paddleboard, kayak or jet ski out—or try water skiing! This park was once host to several water ski tournaments. Located in St. Johns, this higher-elevation park will have pleasant days and cool nights, and it has campsites for tents or RVs. If you’re not a camping expert, try staying in one of the cabins. All you need to bring is a sleeping bag and you’re all set. Wake up and have your morning coffee on the front porch overlooking the sunrise on the lake. There are trails that tell the history of the area as well as a playground and park store.

For a change of scenery, head to Safford,

where you can relax at the base of Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona. Roper Lake and Dankworth Pond are connected parks that offer camping, cabins, trails, fishing, boating and swimming. Plus, with Mount Graham so close by, you can explore longer trails during the day and return to your cozy campsite in the evening. Any time of year, Roper Lake is a great place to spend a day on the lake, and the kids will love the playground and model Indian village. Safford sits at a slightly higher elevation, so expect warm days and cooler nights—perfect for swimming and hanging out by the shore. Plus, Roper Lake is an excellent spot for birdwatching.

The Lime Kiln Trail in north-central Ari

Roper Lake Cabins

zona is a fun hike that connects two amazing parks. Start at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood and follow the trail all the way through to Red Rock. The changing scenery and topography will keep this 15-mile hike interesting every step of the way, and the trail is an experience you don’t want to miss.

Back at Dead Horse Ranch, mesquite bosques and canopies of cottonwood trees give campers privacy and outdoor recreationalists a break from the summer sun. A gentle, ever-present breeze sways and keeps the park cooler than the Valley. This high-desert destination is full of outdoor activities and gives visitors a chance to focus on one or try them all. A variety of shared-use trails, horseback riding, lagoon and river fishing, and kayaking opportunities are within short distance of more than 100 large RV campsites. The park location in Cottonwood is centralized to allow quick, easy travel to nearby parks in Sedona, Jerome and Camp Verde. Come along for this multipark adventure. Hang your hat at Dead Horse Ranch and explore north-central Arizona’s unforgettable culture, history and beauty.

Michelle Thompson is the chief of communications at Arizona State Parks and Trails, which has more than 30 parks across the state. She has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and communications for various industries. Visit azstateparks.com for locations and things to do.

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By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

Pietro Marsala remembers, as a child, his father bribing him with trips to the flight deck midflight when they flew to Italy every summer to see family.

“I was the best kid in the world for two weeks,” Marsala says. “It would be just me and my dad in there with them. This was before 9/11. I’d be in awe of everything going on. I looked at them like they were superheroes.

“I loved the way they carried themselves

in the terminals, the equipment they fly and their passion. I was in awe of it all. I developed my passion for flying there.”

That passion never died, but a diagnosis of type-1 diabetes almost derailed his dreams.

For pilots who dreamed of flying airplanes commercially, a diabetes diagnosis meant having to give it up. That is until November, when the Federal Aviation Association reversed course and began issuing first- and second-class medical certificates required for commercial flying to people with diabetes, like Marsala, a Scottsdale resident. Why the change? A combination of advancements in diabetes technology—and a ton of heart and perseverance from the people who use it.

When Marsala was 11, he spent hours on his Microsoft flight simulator, giving him

Pietro Marsala shows the results of his continuous glucose monitoring device, a small wearable technology that is placed on a person’s lower abdomen and automatically sends a user’s blood glucose levels to a receiver, smartphone or Apple Watch every 5 minutes. (Photo courtesy Pietro Marsala) his first taste of flight. As time progressed, he developed his passion for flying.

“I would spend hours on it,” Marsala says. “I’d have my parents and brother behind me in the office and act like my passengers. They couldn’t stand more than 30 minutes of being there.

“Then it would be just me in the room. It’s so realistic, and it’s in real time. I would take off from Chicago and fly across the Atlantic Ocean, put it on autopilot and set the alarm for Spain. I had a couch in the office, where I’d sleep. I’d wake up and pick up where I left off and turn autopilot off.”

When he entered high school, Marsala thought maybe he wasn’t smart enough to be a pilot. He was indecisive, until he went on a tour of a flight school at Deer Valley Airport.

“I saw I could learn to fly in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, at Deer Valley Airport, so I went out there,” Marsala says. “I fell in love. The rest is history. I started taking flying lessons, doing my training and working on my commercial flight training. Right in the beginning of it, they diagnosed me with type-2 diabetes.”

The diagnosis came after he lost 10 pounds in a week, he was thirsty and urinated frequently. Marsala was devastated to be diagnosed with a chronic illness at 21. Ten to 11 months later, he started “feeling weird” again and was re-diagnosed as a type-1 diabetic.

“I didn’t fit the bill of a type-2 diabetic,” he says. “I was fairly fit and pretty young. That was the hardest day of my life, to go back on insulin, a career-ending drug.”

Marsala, who was licensed to instruct, was still determined to be a commercial pilot. The FAA allowed pilots with diabetes to obtain third-class medical certificates, enabling them to fly privately and flight instruct. But they can’t earn first- and second-class medical certificates required for commercial flying.

The FAA believed pilots with diabetes who suffered from severe high or low blood sugar during a flight would endanger the passengers and the aircraft. With continuous glucose monitoring technology from companies like Dexcom, users can see their blood glucose levels at any given moment and know if their levels are trending up or down so that they can proactively make educated treatment decisions.

A continuous glucose monitoring device is a small wearable technology that is placed on a person’s lower abdomen and automatically sends a user’s blood glucose levels to a receiver, smartphone or Apple Watch every 5 minutes. The Dexcom system also has builtin alerts that proactively notify patients and their family and friends before their blood glucose reaches potentially dangerous levels.

“It’s great because it sends to a cloud and I’m able to print these reports from my receiver,” he says. “It constantly records blood

Pietro Marsala, right, with the FAA’s James DeVoll when they met to discuss diabetic pilots. (Photo courtesy Pietro Marsala)

sugar.”

He and his friend decided to take a trip to Washington, D.C., in 2015, and while they were there, Marsala inquired with the FAA’s Dr. James DeVoll. He was turned away, so instead Marsala sent DeVoll an email. Surprisingly, he received a response.

“Two hours later, I received a response when I was at dinner that he’d like to meet me,” he recalls. “The next day, at noon, I went up there and I was overly excited to meet him. He said he didn’t have too much time, but we ended up talking for about an hour and a half.”

Marsala showed DeVoll he was stable in flight, and the FAA said they were going to consider type-1 diabetics on a case-by-case basis. However, no one had been certified yet.

“I was pleasantly aggressive,” he says. “I made an Excel spreadsheet to prove I’m stable in flight.”

On November 7, the FAA decided to allow pilots with insulin-treated diabetes to apply to fly commercial airliners. The FAA’s reversal came after a series of lawsuits issued by the American Diabetes Association in partnership with diabetic pilots. Another factor that played a role in the FAA’s decision making is the advancement of medical technology.

Marsala sent records from a cardiologist, endocrinologist and optometrist, and he was certified in April.

“I knew we were close, but I didn’t know when it was going to come,” he says. “I was driving, and my watch goes off. It was an email from the FAA. I thought, ‘Holy cow. This is it.’ It required a password, so I did that, and I scrolled to the bottom—not even reading the whole thing. It said I was first-class medical certified.

“Eight long years. I didn’t give myself a chance to enjoy the moment. I immediately called my doctor, thanking him and still crying at the time. I thanked him for believing in me and trusting me. He changed my life forever. He said, ‘If I didn’t shed a tear when I sent out that email, I would have been lying.’ I knew it meant a lot to him as well.”

Now comes the task of looking for a job in the time of COVID-19, when many flights are grounded.

“I hope things pick up pretty quickly,” he says. “There’s so much uncertainty around the whole industry, but the biggest obstacle is over.”

By Brandie Bosworth

Hunting scorpions after sunset, firing machine guns off of ATVs, and offroading at the base of the Bradshaw Mountains with Tomcars are a few of the adventures guests can experience through Desert Wolf Tours.

Located in 85086, the business began in 2006 when the original owner started leading tour expeditions for tourists stopping at Jack Ass Acres, an old gas station off the I-17 and New River. The owner had two Tomcars and ran it as a one-man show. Fast forward

14 years, and the business has expanded to 16 Tomcars with more activities added to the mix.

Tomcars originated from off-road military vehicles and are durable, versatile machines that are designed to be safe and dependable in rugged terrain.

Hunter Corbier has been the general manager at Desert Wolf Tours for eight years. He says the tours are unlike any other, even for locals to experience.

“The biggest expectation would be to go out there without any,” Corbier says.

One of the more popular tours is the halfday Tomcar adventure. Guests 16 years and older with a valid driver’s license get to drive their own Tomcar, following a guide into the desert. The vehicles hold four people, and all ages can be passengers, as there are car seats for the little ones.

“Our vehicles are very smooth. They are kind of like the Cadillacs of the off-road vehicles,” Corbier says.

This experience includes about two hours of drive time in the Tomcars. The rest of the time is filled with sharing knowledge about the surrounding area.

Corbier says, “We do have certain stops where the guide gets out with them and teaches about the plants, animals, history, desert survival and does some active demonstrations.”

One demonstration showcases the different cactuses that are safe for consumption. To do so, they burn the needles off first. Another demonstration allows guests to try mesquite flour

straight from mesquite trees and its pea pods.

Th e Tomcar “Scorpion Hunt” Sunset ATV Tour takes guests out to watch the sunset. Th en, the hunt for scorpions begins.

“We fl ip on our LED light bars in the cars and head farther into the desert until we get to a spot we call Scorpion Alley,” Corbier says. “We get out with black lights and you light them up with the black light like a highlighter. Th ey are very distinct and bright.”

Guides will talk about the scorpions, and depending on the temperature, anywhere from 10 to 40 scorpions may be uncovered.

Th e ATV Tour Machine Gun Adventure lets guests use fi rearms at a permitted desert shooting range. One fi rearm, an M1919 machine gun, is mounted on an ATV that guests shoot from the top of the vehicle. Th e other guns are an AK-47 and a military grade M4.

Other packages include guns like a fully automatic 9mm Uzi. Th ere are over 13 diff erent machine gun platforms, and Corbier says the customer can customize the guns they want

to try however they wish. Customers must be at least 13 years old to shoot.

Desert Wolf Tours was hit hard by the coronavirus, as have other tourism companies, Corbier says. However, to combat the virus, the company is having guests be in their own vehicles and not combining diff erent groups of guests.

Additionally, dust gators are given to each guest before the tour, and they not only keep the dust at bay but qualify as a face covering. Th e sanitization of the vehicles is a little different, Corbier says, but the other aspects of the operation are the same.

In the summer season, tours run in the mornings and sunset to beat the summer heat. When it gets cooler, they run in the mornings and aft ernoons. Some of the tours are unavailable due to the fi re ban and fi re hazards associated with them.

Prices begin at around $150 per person and increase based upon the adventure and customer customizations.

Th e business has racked up several awards for its excursions since its beginnings, Corbier says, including being in TripAdvisors’ Hall of Fame.

“I know everyone’s been cooped up inside with not a whole lot going on and the desert is a good way to get out of the house and have a change in scenery,” Corbier says.

4220 W. Opportunity Way, Suite 116, Phoenix 1-877-613-9653, desertwolftours.com $15 off per adult with the code LOCAL15