The Phoenix Traveler

Day trips, weekend getaways, best places to visit. That’s what Arizona-based author and freelance writer wrote about in her first book published this year by Countryman Press. Called Great Escapes Arizona, Bitler’s book is available at local bookstores and online.

I wanted to talk to Bitler about her travels during the research of her book, because if there was ever a time to think about escape, it’s now. I met up with Bitler at a recent art fair, where I purchased her book, and she agreed to e-mail me with a few suggestions on where you might want to take your next Arizona escape.

Rather than run the whole series of questions I asked, along with her answers, here are the highlights.

In bullet format, you can quickly scan them for ideas:

• Her favorite place: Kitt Peak National Observatory.
• A place she loves: Grand Canyon.
• The place where she’d love to return: Canyon de Chelly.
• Her favorite Arizona activity: Horseback or trail ride at one of

Arizona’s dude ranches.

• Two things she finally get around to doing because of the book: See fireworks over Lake Havasu and the Civil War re-enactments at Picacho Peak.
• Three places she writes about in her book that she thinks you shouldn’t miss: Gallery in the Sun (the late Ted DeGrazia’s art studio/gallery in Tucson); Cochise Stronghold (pictured above); and the Olive Mill and Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek
• Trips she’d like to take now because of what she learned during her research: Take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon; and spend a week on a houseboat at Lake Powell.
• If you want to experience the diversity Arizona offers, she suggests an “escape” to the White Mountains.

To learn more from other Arizona authors who specialize in travel, click on the names below:

_Christine Bailey.

_Michael Engelhard.

_Sam Lowe.

If you’ve visited any of the above named places and would like to share your experiences, good or bad, please post a comment.

(Photo of Cochise Stronghold used with permission by the Cochise County Tourism Council.)

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