Travel Tips & Adventures

The first time I flew into Phoenix, I was amazed at how spread out the metropolitan area is.   From west to east, Buckeye to Apache Junction, the metropolitan area of Phoenix, with all its suburbs, easily reaches 70 miles.

In some giant US cities, they build up with multi-storied skyscrapers. But, with the vast spaces available in Arizona, they have built out and even have had height restrictions on how high buildings can be built.

So, welcome to Phoenix.  Spread out and still in the desert.

Saguaro cacti and mountains are a short ride from the hustle and bustle

(more…)

After a long trek around the University of Arizona campus, resting my tired feet while trying out the Old Pueblo Trolley was much anticipated.  The Old Pueblo Trolley, billed on their Web site as “an operating transit museum” is a short, evocative experience. (more…)

It’s highly unlikely that passengers on the Black Canyon Stagecoach in 1884 would have ever guessed that their rest stop between Prescott and Phoenix would become famous for  … PIES! (more…)

Traveling to Spooky Jerome, Arizona

A few miles and up the hillside – a very steep hillside/mountain – from Clarkdale and Cottonwood, Arizona is the historic town of Jerome, Arizona.  The fact that residents pride themselves on their probable insanity is based on the location of the former mental asylum and the fact that the town is perched precariously on hillsides.  Ironically, you drive through “Deception Gulch” to reach Jerome.

Sign in shop window - the mental state of Jerome

(more…)

Once you’ve settled down after your dinner (see previous blog), you’re ready for even more fun.  The Blazin’ M offers ”Cowboy music, poetry and tomfoolery.”  The Blazin’ M Cowboys are a rollicking, talented musical quartet – not to be missed! (more…)

Near the picturesquely named Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, Arizona, the Blazin’ M Ranch – and Dinner Theatre- conveys a feeling of the Old West, both its hospitality and its rambunctious good times. (more…)

Singing the words to the Monkees’ old hit, “Last Train to Clarksville” and replacing “Clarkville” with Clarkdale seemed appropriate because we stopped in Clarkdale on our way to the Verde Canyon Railroad (see Friday, February 26 blog). (more…)

We took a trip on the Verde Canyon Railroad.  Starting from a depot in the little town of Clarkdale, Arizona, the Verde Canyon Railroad offers a chance to relax and watch the scenery.  The four-hour adventure takes you through open areas with wildlife and scenic vistas to a little depot with only one family in the even tinier town of Perkinsville. (more…)

We thought for a long time about whether we wanted to go below to experience what it was like in the mines of Bisbee.  The Copper Queen Mine offers tours to recreate a miner’s experience during the over 60 years (1877-1943) the mines were open to find – guess what – copper. (more…)