Travel to Carefree – A Freeing Experience
Posted in Family Fun, Food, Historic, Shopping, Southwest, Travel | By Shelley Gillespie | Tags: Art, Desert, Food, Monuments, Scenery, Shopping, Southwest, Travel
The City “fathers’ of Carefree, Arizona, according to a story, sat around in a local watering hole deciding what to name the streets of Carefree, since many of the streets were nameless. While they downed their brews what they came up with was inspired!
You, too, can be on Easy Street - in Carefree, Arizona
“Ho Hum Road,” “Slumber Street,” ”Tranquil Trail,” “Carefree Drive”- of course!, and my favorite, “Easy Street.” Wouldn’t everyone just love to be on Easy Street? It turns out that being on Easy Street in Carefree is actually a pretty cool place to be.
Relax in Carefree
There are a group of charming shops like Tommy Bahama, a Watch and Shoe Repair (“We buy and sell used cowboy boots and shoes”), several shops selling Native American Crafts, and the English Rose Tea Room, among others. Most of the shops are one of a kind, so the shopping experience is unique.
According to a local expert, the City of Carefree was also the inspiration for the “Cartwright” Ranch of Bonanza fame. (Classic TV buffs, you’ll know this, otherwise, you’ll have to look this up.) Only recently were the last 20 acres of the Cartwright prototype sold, so the legend lives on!
Third largest working sundial in world
In the center of town is a small City Park with some unusual attributes. A giant sundial – accurate, we checked it, a very strange children’s slide that looks like a Gila monster and a number of sculptures give visitors some sights to ponder. The sundial is touted as the third largest in the world at 35 feet tall and 72 feet long.
Is it a giant Gila monster? - No, it's a children's slide
Princess Leia? No, a sculpture in downtown Carefree
Spanish Village with restaurants and shops surrounding a courtyard and Carefree Marketplace also give shoppers places to wile away the time and spend their money.
Spanish Village
We found Carefree a fun place to wander about.
Come back tomorrow for a proper British tea at the English Rose Tea Room in Carefree!
Tags: Art, Desert, Food, Monuments, Scenery, Shopping, Southwest, Travel