 |
| The Desert Botanical Gardens |
We're really glad to see you. Phoenix, Arizona
loves tourists. Let me show you a few of my favorites spots around town. Of
course I've only lived here for ten years, but that's long enough to come to
love this town. In fact, my wife and I fell in love with it the first day of
our first visit. Maybe it was the welcoming arms of the saguaro; those are the
tall cacti that dot our landscape. Warning, in case you don't know a lot about
cacti, they come equipped with sharp spines so don't go hugging them. Want to
learn more about them and other local flora? Visit one of our top attractions,
The Desert Botanical Gardens. Stroll through this 145 acre delight, sip an ice
tea on the patio, some days listen to music on others check out the visiting
sculpture, and many more special events. Nature tame and delightful.
 |
| Camelback Mountain |
Of course many visitors like their nature more rugged and
challenging. For them we have trails - miles and miles of hiking trails. Two of
the favorites involve mountains. What would you expect? Phoenix
is in the Rocky Mountains. Camelback Mountain
is one of the most popular landmarks in North Central Phoenix. The top of the
mountain is a preserve which was created not by government initiative but by a
local businessman who operated a spa part way up the mountain. He traded off
land to create this place of climbing fun and great views. Remember, before you
climb it that the trail up is not an easy romp. Every year a few folks get hurt
up there. One guy even got turned to stone - not really, but on the west side
of Camelback there's a rock formation that looks like a climbing monk. Speaking
of men turned to stone, just north of Camelback, at the intersection of Tatum
and Lincoln, there is a small park with a statue (bronze) of one of Arizona's favorite sons,
Barry Goldwater. It's a tiny park but a gem with some lovely plantings and
reminders of Barry's best speeches.
 |
| Downtown Phoenix in front of Piestewa Pea |
Getting back to mountains: Piestewa Peak
is the highest in town. The climb up this 2,600-foot mountain is actually
easier than Camelback, but it is still demanding. If you are going to climb
either mountain or do any hiking remember to bring water. This is a desert
area, and your body will be losing water constantly even though you won't know
it.
 |
| Tempe Town Lake |
Water is important in deserts. Rain, which we do
occasionally get, is great, but most of the water comes from snow in the
mountains way north of the city. Years ago, before man created dams and canals
to organize the flow, there were huge rivers of runoff that surged through the Phoenix area. Indeed,
downtown Phoenix
was often flooded. One of the major such rivers is the Salt. Along its course,
separating Phoenix from Tempe,
is Tempe Town Lake.
I love to visit it just to say hi to water. Like almost all of the lakes in
this area, Tempe Town Lake
is manmade. The water is held in place by an inflatable dam, which is kind of
interesting.
 |
| Arizona State University, |
More interesting is Arizona
State University,
which is centered in Tempe.
Looking for the college scene? Want to find intelligent discussions and great
inexpensive arts performances? Want to take in some college sports? Tempe is the place for
it, and ASU is fast becoming one of the nation's top universities. By the way
you can make your visit to Tempe and downtown Phoenix easier by using the light-rail and avoiding the
hassle of trying to park, especially in Tempe.
There are far too many spots worth seeing at ASU for me to
tell you about them. Some of my favourites are the organ hall in the music
building, the ceramics center near the college art museum, the football stadium
which is beautifully nestled into surrounding hills, and
Gammage Hall - a giant performance space designed by Frank
Lloyd Wright.
 |
| Gammage Hall |
Wright made Arizona
his winter home. His studio, Taliesin West, still offers architectural
training. It also offers fascinating tours. By the way, the stories about
Wright's eccentricity are legion. My favorite - his trying to get President
Truman to remove power lines which Wright felt interfered with his vista.
Wright is also commemorated at the corner of Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. There stands a
strange, perhaps art deco, blue spire, which he designed to top the state
house. It was never erected on that building, but now it stands in front of an
adaptation of one of his other never used designs. That design had been for a
drive-through bank, which at the time was dismissed as something nobody would
ever want.
 |
| Fort McDowell |
Who wants what or perhaps whom is a pretty important
question around here. We've got quite a few different cultures intersecting in
the Valley of the Sun. There are Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and the
rest of us just plain Americans. No visit to Phoenix would be complete without learning
something about our Native American community. If you are into the casino
scene, be sure to check out one of the many Native America operated ones that
surround the city. My own favorite is Fort McDowell.
Part of that preference is because of the drive to it, which goes out Shea to
the Beeline Highway.
On the way you pass by Fountain Hills with its spectacular views. (And if you
drive into town you can check out the small town lake with its fountain, which
shoots the world's highest plume into the air each hour.)
 |
| Heard Museum |
Now we get to a problem: You're exhausted. You've hiked,
gambled, learned - and you are running out of town. You still haven't shopped.
Get to downtown Scottsdale
for that. You haven't gone horseback riding. Up to Carefree, which is a town
that will capture your heart with its combination of old west and whimsy.
Played golf. That's everywhere. Learned more about Mexican-Americans. A side
trip to Tucson.
And of course there are Sedona, Flagstaff, and
the Grand Canyon waiting for you to the
north.
 |
| Sky Harbor Airport |
*written by Guest Writer Kenneth Weene. In addition to
boosting his new hometown of Phoenix,
Ken Weene is a novelist. You can check out his writing at http://www.authorkenweene.com
He has a new book coming out this winter, 'Tales From the Dew Drop Inne: Because
there's one in every town' is set not in Phoenix
but Albuquerque.
Asked why? Ken answered, "Because Phoenix isn't every town, it's my
hometown."
* An open invitation
is given to any reader to submit an article listing the top 5 places that they
would show to visitors in their home village, town, or city. Just email me the
short article and I will post it for you. Thanks, Max.
No comments:
Post a Comment