Saturday, April 30, 2011

Eating at the the Union and Expansion at NAU

When the Dining Expansion opened in the heart of Northern Arizona’s campus in the Fall of 2008, more well rounded options were provided for students.  My freshman year, before the expansion opened I used only meals which did not provide me with a lot of variety.  It was an option of Pizza and breadsticks or a sandwich at Chik-fil-A.  When the expansion opened though, I decided I would start using only dining dollars so I could get more options at those few places, but I soon realized there were so many more places to eat, it was hard to decide on just one thing!                                 
 With the opening of big places like Starbucks, Einstein’s Bagels and Jamba Juice, the lines grew even longer during the peak hours of lunchtime and since I could never decide on just one thing, it made it really difficult to eat.  But luckily my friends felt the same way, so we ended up sharing food from different spots in the union a lot.  In my opinion the best place to get a variety of different food is Mein Bowl, which is the sushi place.  There are so many options like edamame, dumplings, sushi, eggrolls and you can even get the normal meals like rice and an entrĂ©e like sesame chicken on a stick and since you are given two sticks, it’s the perfect option!  The dumplings come cold, but the workers can easily warm it up for you if asked.  
There are other places for a meal in the union if you want to share and not eat something to heavy.  At Einstein’s, you can get salads, bagels, pizza bagels, bagel dogs and even dessert options like their amazing blueberry muffins.  Pizza Hut offers more than just pizza now.  They have a variety of their Tuscani pastas, wings, breadsticks and of course cinnasticks which is always my favorite from the regular sized Pizza Huts.  All these options are easy to eat alone, but if you need a variety of food and are low on money like most college students, any of these options are great for a quick snack between classes, to share or save for later. 

Hiking Devil's Bridge in Sedona

By just looking at Devil’s Bridge in Sedona one can tell the beauty of it.  But does that mean it’s worth the long hike to see the largest natural sandstone arch in the Sedona area when the Grand Canyon is just a bit farther being just as surreal?  YES!  With a name like Devil’s Bridge one would expect something a little more devil-ish and scary, but with only a few steep uphill battles to get through on this one and a half hour hike, it makes the forty mile drive south to Sedona well worth it.  About three- quarters of a mile away from the parking area where the trail begins, there is a split.  For the casual, less experienced hiker I recommend taking the left hand side of the trail which leads to the bottom side of the bridge leaving you with a view of the bridge high above.  For the more daring hiker though, I recommend taking the right side of the trail that leads up a steep, natural rock staircase to the top of the bridge.  The trek makes it well worth it once you’re able to walk across that natural arch which is the scary part since there are no barriers.  It is actually quite wide at top, but if you have a fear of heights or can get unstable, DO NOT CROSS! I get terrified looking at it, but even just being able to witness this creation makes the hike and $5 parking fee an experience to remember.