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OLD WEST MEETS MODERN METROPOLIS
By Ron Kapon
When I was 10 years old I was a very sick kid and the New York weather wasn’t helping my illness. My parents took my younger brother and I to Arizona by train, to visit and see if we would move there as it was perfect for people who had breathing problems. Fifty-seven years later, newly slim and healthy, I returned during the post-Christmas season to the Phoenix area.
There are now over three million residents living in the 22 cities that are included in Greater Phoenix. The city of Phoenix, by itself, is the sixth largest city in the US with 1.3 million inhabitants. Include Scottsdale and Tempe, both of which I visited, and the population jumps to over three million. Phoenix weather is warm, with an average of 72 degrees (don’t ask about the summer) and 325 sunny days and low humidity. With its 190 golf courses, horseback riding in the Sonoran Desert, hiking, tennis, mountain biking and fishing, it is a sportsman’s paradise.
Greater Phoenix is one of only 8 cities to have professional teams in the four major sports. What New Yorker can forget the 2001 World Series Champion Arizona Diamondbacks' victory over our beloved New York Yankees (maybe beloved is a bit strong for you non-Big Apple fans)? Bank One Ballpark is in downtown Phoenix next to America West Arena, the home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns & NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. The NFL’s Arizona Cardinals round out the Big Four and they play at Arizona State University’s Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.
I was lucky enough last year to be in the area for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 3rd at said Sun Devil Stadium, for the national college football title. It was a great double overtime victory for Ohio State over favored Miami. For sports fans this area is also home to 9 major league baseball teams during spring training, including the World Champion Anaheim Angels.
My recent 8-day trip was divided between the Greater Phoenix area and Tucson, with a very short visit to Mexico in the mix. Since the three major cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe are only a few minutes apart, this story weaves in and out of each. Sometimes, the only way to know what city I was actually in was by the color of the street signs, since each are different. My home for the first two days was the Wyndham Buttes Resort, built into a mountainside in Tempe, overlooking Sun Devil Stadium, the site of the Fiesta Bowl. The registration desk, waterfalls, slides and pools are built into rock formations with all the rooms at the base of the mountain and the restaurant at the top. www.wyndham.com/buttesresort.com.
Since all the cities abut each other I was only a few minutes from Arizona Mills with its 175 outlet stores and had a picnic lunch at Tempe Town Lake watching the canoes, paddleboats and kayaks on this man-made lake. For museum lovers, the Heard Museum in downtown Phoenix is well known for its Native American art exhibits, including the nation’s largest Hopi Indian katsina doll collection. The Phoenix Art Museum is host of the Cowboy Artists Show and has over 16,000 paintings, sculptures and other works of art. Taliesin West was the winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright and is now a school of architecture.
My other two nights were at the Westin Phoenician in Scottsdale (although part of the resort is in Phoenix). This 654-room destination resort has 27 holes of golf, 12 tennis courts, a spa, and is a Mobil Four Star resort. My room was in a separate two-story building overlooking one of the many pools, whirlpools and water slides, and had parking right next to the room. It is also the home to the $600 cocktail which was one of the reasons for my Arizona trip. I was researching two stories; one dealing with Tequila and the other- “American’s Millionaire Cocktails”. For $600 one gets pre-phylloxera (1870) Hardy’s Perfection Cognac (retails for over $5,000 a bottle), with 150th Anniversary Grand Marnier added, plus 2 dashes of Cristal Champagne. Yes, they sell quite a few of these cocktails. www.phoenician.com- (800)- 888-8234.The Phoenix area is known for its contrasts. The Desert Botanical Gardens has the world’s largest (20,000) collection of desert plants. If you want to see the cactus-filled scenery of the Sonoran desert call Arizona Classic Deep Tours for a four hour driving and hiking tour into the desert. -(602) 264-8433. They will pick you up at your hotel and take you to an area that other tours do not visit. Be prepared to do a lot of walking. Old Town Scottsdale is filled with shops, galleries, bars & restaurants. Speaking of food and drink, try the Old Town Tortilla Factory with its 85 plus Tequilas and inside/outside dining. Located farther out Scottsdale Road is Mezcal with over 90 Tequilas and a second level bar & tasting area. www.scottsdalecvb.com, www.tempecvb.com (800) 283-6734, www.phoenixcvb.com - (877) meetphx
Located 111 miles (1 ½ hours, with a 75 MPH speedlimit ) south of Phoenix is Tucson or “Old Pueblo”, Arizona’s second largest city, with 850,000 population. Zagat rated Tucson the #1 city for hotels & spas; Conde Nast Traveler voted Tucson the friendliest city in America. Tucson is an outdoor town where biking, horseback riding, hiking and rock-climbers abound. The mélange of cultures has Native Americans, Spanish & Pioneers all living together. The Saguaro National Park is a showcase of the Sonoran Desert populated by huge Saguaro cacti. You can visit the western section of the park in conjunction with the following two attractions. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, all in one place, located ½ hour west of town. There are more than 300 animal species and 1200 kinds of plants on display throughout the two miles of paths. In five minutes you can be at Old Tucson Studios, the backdrop for hundreds of western films and television shows. Tour the 1880’s frontier town while you view gunfights, stunt shows, saloon revues and mingles with the western characters that roam the streets.
Unlike Phoenix where everything is concentrated within a few miles of each other, Tucson requires more planning and driving. Head south for 9 miles and visit the San Xavier del Bac Mission, known as the “White Dove of the Desert”. Built over 300 years ago by Spanish missionaries, it is still the spiritual center of the Tohono O’Odham Indians. Another 10 miles and you are at the Titan Missile Museum, the world’s only remaining Titan Missile Silo. Continuing south for 50 miles you reach Nogales, Mexico. Park on the US side and walk over the border. Most rental car agreements do not allow driving in Mexico without a hefty penalty. Have your photos taken on a donkey and buy your Tequila and save on those high US prescriptions prices. Don’t forget photo ID to get back into the US. Non-US citizens must have their passport.
If you choose to see Mexico by driving southwest about 120 miles to Douglas there are more options for you. Stop at Bisbee, about ½ hour from the border. It is known as the arts capitol because of its many galleries and antique shops. Forty-Five minutes back toward Tucson is Tombstone. I know the Gunfight at the OK Corral is Grade B movie stuff, at its best. Silly, but you have to see it. The same goes for Boot Hill Cemetery. All the “actors” walking around town are in western garb and try to stay in character. If you are still awake try to visit Kartchner Cavern State Park, which is considered more spectacular than Carlsbad Caverns. The problem is they are booked months in advance. The Pima Air & Space Museum is 40 minutes southwest of Tucson, but you need lots of time to see the largest privately funded air museum in the world. See old Air Force 1 planes that flew Presidents Kennedy & Johnson. I found the exhibits fascinating and spent several hours there. I then went back to downtown Tucson for a basketball game at the University of Arizona. Also downtown is Old Town Artisans Marketplace, housed in a restored 1850’s adobe building. It is a treasure trove of works by local artists. www.visittucson.org.
Heading back to Phoenix and my return home, a must stop is the Columbia University Biosphere 2. This 31 ½ acre, glass-enclosed environment laboratory is the world’s largest and draws over a half million visitors a year. It is designed to support 3,800 species of plants and animals for 100 years in its own self-sustaining biological systems. I was given a private, behind the scene tour of the interior portion. - www.bio2.edu - (800) 828-2462. Fifteen minutes from the Biosphere, back toward Tucson is the unique Miravel “Life in Balance” Spa & Resort. Managing stress while balancing the mind, body and spirit. The 106 rooms have the Santa Carolina Mountains and the Sonoran Desert as a background. Conde Nast traveler rated the cuisine #1 and Zagat 2003 voted Miraval the number One demonstration spa in America. During my afternoon visit, I sat in on a cooking class and luncheon. There are scheduled activities such as hiking, biking, cooking, nutritional eating, photography, rock climbing, bird watching, horseback riding, tai chi, or do nothing but rest. All meals and activities are included and the clientele is primarily female. High season rates run about $500-$600 a day, per person, exclusive of tax & service. But one spa service or a round of golf is included per day. - www.miravalresort.com or (800) 232-3869. I did a lot during my 8 days in Arizona and still there was more to see including The Grand Canyon. But that is for another trip.
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
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