The Phoenix Traveler

Greater Phoenix, the fifth largest city in the country, is home to the third largest working sundial in the Western Hemisphere and many other interesting facts, figures and fun.  In this first pop quiz at The Phoenix Traveler, let’s see how much you know or have heard about the city where you live or plan to visit:

There are three places in Greater Phoenix where I know you can find Allan Houser sculptures. I may have mentioned them previously in this blog. Do you know the names of these places?

Phoenix is situated in the heart of what is considered the most …read more

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If you enjoy looking at art, meeting the artists and exploring unique galleries–and want to know where you can find all three–these Arizona towns and cities schedule regular art walks once a month. For August, here are the basic details. Click on the links or call to learn more:
FLAGSTAFF: First Friday Art Walk, August 1 – The free outdoor event downtown features selected artists from a 40-artist co-operative, a map to other galleries, and refreshments and munchies. Begin at the Artists Gallery, 17 N. San Francisco St., 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. 928-773-0958.
PHOENIX: Artlink First Fridays, August 1 – This …read more

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It’s a pretty common day trip for folks who fly in to Phoenix and want to stay a few extra days. They often decide to go to Sedona to see the red rocks. They want to find a vortex and see what all the fuss is about. Go ahead. Just Google Sedona, and you’ll see what I mean. These photos illustrate a bit of what you’ll see when you get there.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The top two photos were taken while on a yoga hike to the top of Cathedral Rock. The photo on the left is the park at Red Rock Crossing. From …read more

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Members of the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau offer discounts and special offers throughout the year. If you’re headed to Scottsdale any time soon, you can check out what’s available now by clicking here. On the page, you’ll find a checklist. Check off what you’d like and print out your own coupon booklet.
Some of the savings you’ll see include discount travel packages at various hotels, free appetizers at participating restaurants, dollars off on massage therapies, discounts on theater tickets and tour packages, shopping incentives at upscale malls, and even a free lunch.
It might be worth a visit.

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You may have seen this book, or maybe not. But Sam Lowe, the author of Arizona Curiosities (now in it’s second edition), happens to be a funny guy with a lot of quirky stories to tell, including one about the time he interviewed a couple at a nudist colony in Tonopah. And, yes, they were unclothed. Well…he was, after all, in search of the “bare facts,” as quoted from his book.
Not only is Sam funny, but the guy’s also got guts.
Guess that’s why Marshall Trimble, the state’s official historian, recommended Lowe to the publisher, Globe Pequot, as the guy …read more

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That’s how a new service offered by The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa is being touted. Actually, the press release says it’s “holistic” and “nothing less than life changing.”
The resort’s new Carefree Spa Getaway Package offers daily hikes, cooking classes, spa treatments, and meditation time…Ummm. I get it. It’s going to lead to a few “Aha!” moments. I’m beginning to see where enlightenment might occur.
Good thing the Sonoran Desert is nearby. That makes the hiking easy to access.
If you’d worry whether you could handle a hike in the desert, however, don’t worry any more. A professional fitness assessment comes …read more

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And why is that crown of thorns being lifted onto the roof of the new convention center in downtown Phoenix?
Crazy-sounding questions, I know, to be asking about objects located in a downtown metropolis. But they’re legitimate. That’s what I really was thinking last week when I was walking on Monroe Street to go take a look inside the city’s new Visitors Center. I’m writing a story about that for US Airways magazine and figured I might as well take a detour while I’m there.
It had been a while since I’d seen what I’d dubbed “the alien in Phoenix” when …read more

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You don’t name your restaurant 3 Tomatoes & a Mozarella by accident. That is, unless you’re dining with friends at a restaurant in Rhode Island called The Three Bears, and your friends think a name with three-something-or-other sounds good. It might sound good, but it could cost you more for the sign. At least, that’s the story being told by an East Coast couple, Jeff and Nancy Roskin.
They moved from Connecticut to Scottsdale 10 years ago, as most people do, for the warm weather. But when they couldn’t find the kind of pizza here that they enjoyed back home, …read more

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Remember the movie, “Urban Cowboy“? Here’s your chance to do your best imitation of Sissy (Debra Winger) or Bud (John Travolta) on a mechanical bull at the Saddle Ranch Chop House (4321 N. Scottsdale Rd.). It’s open daily, 8 a.m. – 2:30 a.m. The steakhouse, which got it’s start in Hollywood, opened this year near Old Town Scottsdale. It serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, lots of drinks, and late-night meals. Another location is opening across town in Glendale soon.
Check out this review online.
If I bet money on this guy in the video to win the bull riding contest (They host them …read more

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During the summer, Phoenicians like to get out of the heat. One way to do that is to travel north. You’ll hear a lot of people talking about going to Flagstaff, Payson or Pinetop for the weekend. But how about Prescott? I’m working on a back roads  travel guide for Countryman Press which is taking me all over the state. So for my research, I recently drove up there.
I stopped in at a café called Sweettart for lunch and asked my waitress where she likes to hike. She recommended Lynx Lake. She said there’s a trail that goes all the …read more

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