The Phoenix Traveler

From the photos on this page, can you guess the name of these ruins? Included in the set is a view from the top, the trail to get there, and a photo of the ruins from below.
Visitors who post a comment with the answer here will be eligible for a drawing to win Confetti Bubble Bath (grapefruit scented) from The Phoenician Resort & Spa.
Aside from the photos themselves, here are a few hints:
1) The site is part of the National Park Service.
2) It is located within a three-hour drive from Phoenix.
3) The dwellings are open to tours.
4) You can hike …read more

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I was headed to Kierland Commons to meet my boyfriend for breakfast at the Corner–a breakfast and lunch counter that we’d been to before. Located in this upscale mall at the northwest corner of Scottsdale and Greenway roads, you can actually get a cup of coffee for 25 cents at the Corner (formerly The Counter). Unusual in this day and age, I know. But, it was closed at 7:30 a.m., wouldn’t open till 9 a.m. So I opted to meet him in the Cave Creek/Carefree area where he’d just finished an early morning run.
Perfect day to drive up north, I …read more

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Below are the answers to yesterday’s pop quiz.
Watch for more to come in the future. Once a month, I’ll include a quiz, centering it around a theme, such as Native American art, sporting events, outdoor recreation, and other things travel-related. You can join in on the fun by leaving your answers here in the comment box.

Till next time, let me know if you knew the answers to this quiz without having to do an online search, or phone a friend.

If this quiz was too easy, let me know that as well. The answers are:

There are three places in Greater Phoenix …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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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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Most people I know who live outside of Phoenix know that I write about Phoenix. They know that’s one of my specialities as a freelance writer. So if they plan to be visiting, they don’t hesitate to ask me for travel recommendations. Recently, I got an e-mail from a new acquaintance who said she and her husband would be spending five days in Sun City West. “So I’d love to get your suggestions on good restaurants, best places to hike, etc.” She said they could go anywhere, but for hikes they’d like something that was wheelchair-accessible.
The first place …read more

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A new friend, Quinn McDonald, wrote in her blog yesterday about something in Phoenix that carries a unique past dating back to the Hohokam Indians–our irrigation system. They left their legacy, a canal system, for us to find when they abandoned the area around 1450 A.D. Quinn is new to the Valley, having moved here from Virginia, and I could sense her intrigue by what must have been an odd site to her at first. I had never thought how others might perceive the flooding of yards in Phoenix by this “water bubbling up from the ground” process that now …read more

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