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Hiking In Scottsdale Arizona

“This post has been sponsored by bubba. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

yellow cactus flowers

I love hiking and you probably already know this if you follow me on instagram. We do family hikes; I go with Cole and a friend, etc, anytime I can. Therefore, I get very into what I need for hiking… Nick thinks I am very weird because I get sorta obsessed with my water bottles and cannot stop talking about them. When I was approached to do this post, it was my first experience with bubba®. I really wanted to do it because I am always on the lookout for a better water bottle (because see above, I have an odd obsession.) I cannot reiterate the importance of a GOOD water bottle, living in Arizona with our high temperatures.

bubba water bottle

It is freaking hot in Arizona, so I need the stainless steel insulation, and the bubba Trailblazer with Straw keeps my water cold for 24 hours. I need this for a variety of reasons. I am forgetful and can leave it in car, and the inside of a car heats up to 120 (have you seen those news videos where you can cook an egg inside a car on a dash? Those videos are in Arizona…) but my bubba is STILL cold when I take a drink. If I had a normal water bottle, it would be hot within minutes and not refreshing on my hike. I am also pretty sure the stainless steel makes it more durable as Cole likes to roll it around and knock everything out of my backpack…and I do not have a dent yet. On top of that, even with all of the rolling, it is totally leak proof!

The other thing about this particular water bottle is it is very inexpensive compared to similar designs. I have some very expensive steel water bottles (like I said, I am obsessed with finding a good one). You can find the bubba 40 ounce Trailblazer with Straw at Walmart for only $12.96; a steal, in my opinion, for all that it does. Check it out at your local Walmart or online here now on rollback.

yellow blooming flowers on cactus

My essentials for packing for a hike are:

HUGE water bottle; AZ is hot, people. BE prepared! I drink much more water than normal folks for some reason, so I like that bottle huge.

Sun hat for Cole. Yes, he rips it off every two minutes and it is an ongoing battle…

Sunscreen—body, face, spray, you name it. I am pale, Cole’s a baby, and we all are not blessed with Nick’s Mediterranean Greek skin.

Pouch for keys and cell phone.

Baby wipes (really, this goes everywhere, but it is nice when hiking)

Before living here, I did not think of Arizona as a super beautiful place to be in spring. A barren desert did not evoke much imagery in my head of a pretty place to be. Over the years, I learned how wrong I was and came to adore and appreciate the beauty of cactus flowers, the curves of the mountains, and the gorgeous blooms that are around everywhere as long as you look. So, be prepared for the photobombs of cactus flowers…

red blooming cactus flowers

yellow blooming flowers on cactus

We hike pretty much weekly during the good temperatures in Scottsdale. (Our favorite hike location with the kiddos is McDowell Sonoran Conservancy.) If we do not do a family hike, I grab a friend and wear Cole for a morning hike after school drop off. I love getting exercise AND getting it outside. While I love the gym, it cannot compete with some Vitamin D and beautiful scenery. While everyone should be prepared hiking, wherever you are, with Arizona’s temperatures, it is key to stay hydrated, sun blocked and cool during a hike. We get a ton of incidents here with people not packing enough water for their hikes. I also do not advise hiking once June hits—the temperatures are too extreme.

yellow blooming flowers on cactus

red blooming cactus flowers

I also did not know this until I bought a bubba water bottle for this post, but I NEED a straw. Ohmygosh I love having a straw in my water bottle and never realized it haha. I am obsessedddd. No idea why I didn’t think of buying a water bottle with a straw earlier. It has a handy handle (lol, I wrote that on purpose); I can hook on my stroller or my hiking backpack.

red blooming cactus flowers with a bunny

In full disclosure, this bunny picture was not taken on my hike. I pulled up to the house with my camera in my car and the bunny was in our front yard!! I took a photo from inside my car.

yellow blooming flowers on cactus

yellow blooming flowers on cactus

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