Wild West
Cowboy Up

The first image of Arizona that most people have comes from the movies – the classic Hollywood westerns – where cowboys and gold miners and shootouts at High Noon dominated the landscape. These days, most of the gold is found in jewelry stores and the shootouts take place on a basketball court, but plenty of cowboys still roam the state. Rodeos, working cattle ranches and gold prospecting still have their place in Arizona. You just have to know where to find them.

Phoenix & Central

Greater Phoenix’s version of the Old West is more mild than wild, but there’s still plenty to be found in these parts. You’ll find a few period buildings and hitching posts still standing in Old Town Scottsdale, but what really stands out are the many art galleries that display classic western sculptures and paintings, along with a handful of western wear stores.

A half-hour north of Scottsdale is funky Cave Creek where several saloons and restaurants feature sawdust on the floor, with mountain backdrops to boot. Speaking of boots, they’re definitely in order if you and the group choose horseback riding as an option. Cave Creek Outfitters is a good bet for small group rides. Another long-time favorite is Don Donnelly’s D-Spur Ranch in Apache Junction, which transports riders deep into the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix.

West of Cave Creek, along I-17, is the Pioneer Living History Village, a collection of 30 buildings that reels in visitors with a time trip to the 1800s. A miner’s cabin, ranch houses, blacksmith shop and farm animals are all part of the scene. More family fun takes place at Rawhide Western Town & Steakhouse, on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Chandler. Stunt shows and shootouts, pony rides and petting zoos, train and stagecoach rides – it’s all there, including live country music.

Whether you take to the Superstitions on horseback or on foot, it’s worth exploring the ghost town of Goldfield and the Lost Dutchman State Park, both of which provide first-hand reminders of the gold-rush frenzy of the late 1800s. An hour northwest of Phoenix is Wickenburg, probably the closest place you’ll find near Phoenix that embodies the spirit of the Old West. Rancho de los Caballeros is the perfect place to stay and get the authentic western feel. With over 100 horses to ride, and a full-service spa to work out your tired muscles, you have everything you would want from a luxury resort coupled with yesteryear hospitality. Be sure to visit the Desert Caballeros Western Museum illuminating the rich character of the land when life revolved around cowboys, mines and minerals.

Tucson & Southern

The roll call of famous Old West names is legendary: Geronimo and Cochise; Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. These four and many more make Tucson and southern Arizona a must-stop for western history buffs. Start with the kid-friendly Old Tucson Studios, which was actually built as a set for the 1939 movie, Arizona. Since then, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman have all filmed movies here. Today, it’s more of a Wild West theme park, with train rides, staged gunfight stunts and musical shows. Tucson is also justifiably famous for its guest ranches, where you can eat, sleep and breathe like a real ranch-hand. Lazy K Bar Ranch, Tanque Verde Ranch and White Stallion Ranch are three of the best for groups.

Sixty-five miles southeast of Tucson sits the most famous Wild West town of them all: Tombstone. Its reputation was cemented in the silver-boom days of 1881, when Wyatt Earp and his brothers, together with Doc Holliday, met up in a violent quarrel with the Clanton Gang at O.K. Corral. Unquestionably, “the town too tough to die” now caters purely to tourists. However, what remains is the real thing – the dusty streets, the wooden boardwalks, the Bird Cage Theater, the Crystal Palace Saloon and notably, the O.K. Corral itself. Just before you arrive into town, you’ll encounter Boot Hill, the notorious graveyard where outlaws are buried.

As you continue to explore Cochise County, drive a few miles southeast to Bisbee, which once was the largest town between New Orleans and San Francisco. Bisbee’s fortunes were tied to its vast copper mines. Today, well-preserved miners’ shacks line the ridges that overlook the town. To see what fueled the growth, tour the Queen Mine, the Lavender Open Pit, a gargantuan gouge in the earth and Brewery Gulch, a collection of shops and galleries on a wildly hilly street that once housed 50 saloons and brothels.

Northern Arizona

Fragments of the Wild West are scattered throughout the rugged, remote lands that characterize the northern half of the Grand Canyon state, but Prescott offers the boldest blend of old and new. In the 1860s, when President Abraham Lincoln established Arizona as a Territory, Prescott was made its first capital. Then, as now, Courthouse Plaza is Prescott’s central hub, its west side lined with a collection of haunts that comprise Whiskey Row. The Palace Saloon serves libations on the same bar that served Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. Prescott also lays claim to the world’s oldest rodeo held in early July, a distinction it shares with Payson, a mountain community a couple of hours to the east. Payson’s is billed as the world’s oldest continuous rodeo and its version takes place on the third weekend in August.

Just a short distance from Prescott is the Verde Valley, where you will find the Blazin’ M Ranch. Here you will step back in time with a chuckwagon-style all-you-can-eat barbeque dinner, live western stage show, rustic ambiance, and a western town complete with cowboy activities.

Your final Wild West must-see is Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in northeast Arizona. From the flat valley floor rises otherworldly natural sculptures of sandstone, piercing the horizon and the sky with an eerie precision. So starkly dramatic is the setting that it’s been used as the backdrop in hundreds of western movies, TV shows and commercials. There’s no question: If you’re fixing to discover the Wild West – past and present – Arizona is the place to hang your hat.

Sports
Shout it Out

For the college fans, Arizona hosts the Insight Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Fiesta BCS Championship Game this year. For the baseball fans, catch the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field April-September, and the 15 teams in Cactus League Spring Training. Baseball is also braving the summer heat to bring the 2011 MLB All-Star game to Phoenix in July. For basketball fans, the Suns and Mercury shoot hoops at US Airways Center. For football fans, the Arizona Cardinals tackle the competition at the University of Phoenix Stadium. And, if those don’t satisfy the need for competitive action, Arizona also offers PGA Golf, NASCAR racing and one of the largest horse shows in the nation.

Cactus League
Spring Training

2011 brings many anticipated changes to Arizona’s Cactus League Spring Training. With the completion of Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the first Spring Training facility to be located on Indian land, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies are moving to the Valley of the Sun. This puts all 15 Cactus League teams within a short drive from each other, giving fans the ability to visit every stadium during their visit. Make sure to see the stars of the 2010 World Series when the San Francisco Giants take on the Texas Rangers March 7th and 13th.

The people of Mesa love their baseball and love their Chicago Cubs. In November 2010 they passed, with an overwhelming majority, Prop 420 which allowed for $84 million to build the Cubs a brand new Spring Training complex. The ‘mini’ Wrigleyville will feature the Spring Training Stadium, practice facilities, and bars, restaurants and hotels that you would find at its Chicago counterpart.

Other teams include the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox in Glendale; the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Tempe; the Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland A’s in Phoenix; the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners in Peoria; the Kansas City Royals in Surprise; and, the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds in Goodyear for the 2011 season.

Crowd-Pleasing Action

The Greater Phoenix area is one of 13 metropolitan areas in the U.S. to have at least one team in each of the four major professional sports. The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, home of the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL, is home to the annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the 2011 Tostitos BCS Championship Game. Located nearby, the 17,000-seat Jobing.com Arena serves as home to the NHL Coyotes. Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix is home to MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks and the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, and the NBA Phoenix Suns play only a block away at US Airways Center. (So do the women’s Phoenix Mercury, the 2009 WNBA Champions.)

Buckle Up

Phoenix International Raceway is home to the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series Racing, while Firebird Raceway hosts NHRA events. The nearby Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving teaches aspiring racers to drive like the pros. Other facilities around the state offer a variety of motor sports from dirt-bike racing to high performance go-cart action.

SHOPPING
Retail Therapy

Without question, if you’re into power-shopping, the number of prized properties in the Valley of the Sun are too numerous to mention, but here’s a short lineup of remarkable facilities that will help you get started.

Scottsdale continues to evolve as a shopping, culinary and entertainment destination with additions like Scottsdale Quarter. Inspired by quaint cityscapes with welcoming storefronts, this new hotspot recently dedicated its public gathering place The Quad, featuring a pop-up fountain and three public art statues that also double as park benches. In addition to Arizona’s first H&M, Scottsdale Quarter boasts Arizona’s Nike flagship store, Deegie’s Carma, the health-conscious True Food Kitchen, Narcisse Champagne Lounge, TK’s Urban Tavern, lululemon athletica (a yoga-inspired athletic apparel store), and more being added daily. View the newest releases in style at IPic Theaters, a new-to-Arizona premium movie theater, with a customizable “dinner and a movie” evening with reserved seating, full-service dining and an after-hours lounge.

Another outdoor center and adjacent to the Westin Kierland Resort, Kierland Commons blends shopping, dining and luxury loft living in a spirited indoor/outdoor mix. It’s beach season year-round at Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café and Emporium, while that perfect one-of-a-kind gift could be tucked into any nook or cranny at Anthropologie.

Downtown Scottsdale is home to both the largest indoor mall in the Southwest and a unique assortment of independent retail centers, notably, the downtown Scottsdale Arts, Shopping & Entertainment Districts, within walking distance of each other. World-famous is Scottsdale’s 5th Avenue arts district, home to more than 30 restaurants and 80 specialty shops. The district pairs the Old West vibe of Scottsdale’s past (pick up a cowboy hat and boots at Saba’s) with the elegance and fashion forward Scottsdale of today (pick up pieces by Chanel or Pucci at Fashion by Robert Black). Just down the street is the Scottsdale Waterfront, which recently made its splashy debut along the Arizona Canal. Landscaped pathways and pedestrian-only bridges lead to some of the hottest drink spots and shops in town, such as the acclaimed FnB, and Oh My Dog and Studio by Joy Li, dubbed the “Prada of Scottsdale”.

Across the street at the coveted Camelback and Scottsdale Road corner, Scottsdale Fashion Square offers some of the best department stores in the country including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York. Specialty shops are also plentiful – Arizona’s first Tory Burch boutique, free people, 7 for All Mankind, and the global trendsetting Ted Baker. After all this fruitful shopping, the see-and-be-seen crowd will want to wine and dine at the new Modern Steak, the latest in the Fox Restaurant concepts.
Biltmore Fashion Park has been a Phoenix institution for years and today it has become the “go-to” destination for the most unique shopping and dining experiences. Its red poinsettia displays at Christmastime are legendary, but at any time of year, count on eye-catching floral arrangements. The Valley of the Sun’s only Saks Fifth Avenue is a crowd-pleaser here, and new restaurants like Zinburger Wine and Burger Bar, Stingray Sushi and Seasons 52 ensure that shoppers’ every need is taken care of.

In the center of Downtown Phoenix, the brand new CityScape Phoenix debuted in 2010. The 1.8 million-square-foot mixed use facility contains retail, dining, commercial, residential, and hotel development. A great place for live music and entertainment, Macy Gray and Third Eye Blind headlined the Grand Opening celebration in November 2010. Restaurants to open in 2011 will bring many new faces to the Phoenix dining scene including La Crepe Nanou and Rasputin Vodka Bar, and for the first time old Phoenix standbys will be opening second locations including the Breakfast Club, an Old Town Scottsdale favorite, and La Grande Orange, one of the most popular Arcadia neighborhood landmarks. You will even find Downtown Phoenix’s first grocery store here.
On the west side of Greater Phoenix, Historic Downtown Glendale is well-known for its picket-fenced yards housing the cutest shops, restaurants and boutiques. And pretty much brand new, Glendale’s Sports and Entertainment District is exactly what it sounds like. Located here is the University of Phoenix Stadium and the Jobing.com Arena – both hosting numerous special events in addition to the sports teams they were built for. Next door to these, visitors can shop at Westgate City Center, the Zanjero District and Cabela’s, the world’s foremost outfitter.

If staying in the east Valley, visit Chandler Fashion Center. Anchored by Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Macy’s and Sears, the 240-store shopping center also features The Village, an outdoor pavilion with the unique Dancing Waters, an interactive fountain display of music, light, sound and water.

A visit to Downtown Mesa is a must for any serious shopper. The independent, locally-owned boutiques are filled with antiques, fashions, and unique décor coupled with coffee shops, museums and art galleries. Make sure to swing by Domestic Bliss on Main Street for vintage-inspired beauty or Mystic Paper to pick up the one-of-a-kind necessities to scrapbook your experiences.

A mere 10 minutes from Sky Harbor International Airport is Arizona Mills in Tempe. With more than 175 stores, restaurants and entertainment venues, it’s worth canceling your first flight and catching the next one just to see it all. If you’re searching for bargains, look no further than the Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th Outlet or Neiman Marcus Last Call. Arizona Mills houses the brand new SEA LIFE Arizona. This 26,000-square-foot aquarium has more than 5,000 creatures for guests to observe and even some creatures that guests are able to touch! Sea creatures include sharks, rays, topical fish, sea horses and more.

If you’d like to enjoy the sunshine and find a few treasures to take home, visit Mill Avenue or Tempe Marketplace for unique outdoor shopping experiences. Finally, the monumental 342,000-square-foot IKEA store in Tempe houses Swedish-style furniture and accessories for folks with savings on their minds. Without question, if you’re the kind of person who likes to shop until you drop, by all means drop in on Arizona.