My Canyon Ranch Getaway

Sunday, February 21

Just returned from Canyon Ranch in Tucson after a week's respite from NYC winter blahs. The weather was fantastic; we managed a perfect insertion with six cloudless days in the 70s and cool nights in the 40s between two El Nino rainstorms. This was fortuitous, as temperature dips and flooding would have played havoc with our hiking/biking plans.

For those of you unfamiliar with Canyon Ranch, it's sort of the perfect conception of heaven for the health-conscious: whereas suicide bombers envision 40 virgins, evangelicals lean toward angels playing harps on clouds, Vikings prefer a raucus Valhalla banquet hall, and Romans pine for the Elysian Fields, Canyon Ranch offers a full menu of healthy pleasures: nutritious gourmet food, interesting classes (I took star-gazing and photography), golf and tennis clinics, hiking, biking, great lap pools, and a fantastic spa with an incredible array of massage and body treatments. But beware: there are no cell phones in public, no booze, and no cigarettes, and no junk food--this might be some peoples' idea of Purgatory.

One of the new things I learned about this time was Yamuna body and foot treatments, which involve use of special balls and rollers to stretch and stimulate muscles. This is something I'll be sure to incorporate alongside my stretching routine to overcome pain and overuse injuries.

We took some great hikes, and I cycled up Mt. Lemmon to an altitude over 5000 feet (It's 7400 feet up, and pros like Lance Armstrong bound up to nearly the top, ride the team van down, and do it over again before lunch). But I still felt good putting in a hard climb on the challenging steep grades.

I'm pleased to see that Canyon Ranch is "getting with the program" on gluten-free options. With no difficulty, I obtained delicious rice pasta with meatballs (I earned it after my daily exertions!), and gluten-free muffins and even pancakes. Maybe next year there'll even be a Paleo menu option! Dr. H to Canyon Ranch: Need a menu-consultant??

At the end of the trip we swung by the Sonora Desert Museum which is the world's premier museum dedicated to desert habitat. It's picturesquely situated in Saguaro West National Park, which offers spectacular vistas of mountains and vast stands of majestic Saguaro cacti. Got some great pictures, which I'll post on my Facebook profile page. Come check them out.