I was born and raised in Arizona and I wanted to share my state with all of you, either living here now or maybe moving here in the future. Most people have no idea of the beauty this state has to offer and the diversity. I hope you enjoy the verbiage and photos of Arizona. If you have any questions or would like more information for what you are about to experience please call us, Bob and Judy Vogel, 602-571-2532. We are very proud of our state and we hope you find this information informative.

Arizona is a state with so many hidden and unknown treasures. No other state can be as diverse as Arizona from north to south, east to west, in my humble opinion. We have moved so many people from around the world, here to the Phoenix metro area, and all are so amazed when they find out what Arizona has to offer. Most people think that Arizona is a massive sand dune or a dry barren desert. I am going to share with you some of the most beautiful and breathtaking areas in the world that are right here in this state. If you do visit some of these areas bring the digital camera with extra memory.

 I am going to divide the state into five sections. This is section three. Please do not skip over any sections as they all offer a wide variety of beautiful scenery and wonder.

Phoenix and Central Arizona and the active outdoor lifestyle:

This area comprises mostly of Phoenix metro but also will include Wickenburg, Globe, Casa Grande and Florence. Since we already have a breakdown of Phoenix and the surrounding cities plus a breakdown of communities and golf courses, I am going to share with you interesting places and things to do around the Phoenix metro surrounding areas.

Phoenix Metro is so well known for the active outdoor lifestyles. The sun has shaped the Valley’s active, outdoor lifestyle, allowing people to purse their recreational passions almost any time of the year.  A series of mountain ranges and preserves encircle the Valley, creating a recreational mecca for hikers and campers. Maricopa County’s diverse regional parks offer everything from a popular shooting range to a wave pool with water slides.  

Some of the popular outdoor activities are hiking, mountain biking and walking. People do not realize just how many mountains are in the area and in the state. Most of the mountains in Arizona are rugged and are quite beautiful. In this first paragraph I am going to lead you through some of the mountain preserved areas in the Phoenix metro areas and the surrounding areas close to the city. So if hiking, mountain biking, walking, and/or horseback riding is your passion the Valley of the Sun has some very good areas to enjoy these activities, plus many more activities. To name a few areas in the city Camelback Mountain, Squaw/Piestewa Peak, South Mountain Park and Papago Park. South Mountain Park at 16,500 acres is the largest municipal park in the world. If mountain biking is your love the Usury Mountains, just north of Mesa, is exceptional. Along the east side of Scottsdale are the McDowell Mountains. The Cave Creek Mountains are exceptional for outdoor fun plus one can rent horses and go on a trail guided ride. To the west of Phoenix, are the White Tank Mountains. This mountain range offer again many hiking trails and typical mountain activities plus Indian petroglyphs and ruins. The Phoenix area city limits does not have a shortage of places to hike and mountain bike, and simply just enjoy the outdoors at a higher elevation. Many people walk, roller blade and enjoy the outdoors in their own cities or neighborhoods. Probably in the months of June, July and August you might want to stick with indoor activities or head north to the pines for cooler temperatures.

Within 30 minutes of the city limits are a few other mountain ranges that offer wonderful outdoor activities. The Superstition Mountain range offers many hiking, mountain biking and off road trails plus the adventure of looking for the Lost Dutchman Mine. Gold mining was the big event in this area in the late 1800’s. To the northeast of Scottsdale is the Four Peak area. This area is very enjoyable in the fall, winter and spring time for ATV/off road fun. The Four Peaks area is a nice area to camp and take advantage of the sandy creek beds on an ATV or dirt bike. The scenery is so beautiful with so many saguaro cacti, the mountains and a typical Arizona sunset.  

Another area of outdoor activity that people are very surprised that the Phoenix metro has to offer is so much boating and fishing. Phoenix has the highest per capita boat ownership in the nation. Boats on trailers are a common sight zipping along valley thoroughfares. The 6 lakes within a short drive from the city offer water skiing, knee boarding, wake boarding, power boating, sailing and fishing. Lake Pleasant is located northwest of the valley, approximately 45 minutes. Bartlett Lake is northeast of Scottsdale and approximately one hour. The remaining four lakes offer a chain of lakes with Roosevelt being the furthest distance. Roosevelt Lake, the largest lake in Arizona, is approximately 1 ½ hours northeast of the valley but offers such size you feel like you are on the lake by yourself. Apache Lake is the next lake, approximately one hour drive. Apache Lake takes patience because of the road in and out of the area, very narrow, but worth the drive because of the Arizona desert scenery. The next lake in the chain of lakes is Canyon Lake, approximately 45 minutes. The final lake in the chain is Saguaro Lake, about 40 minutes away. This is our favorite lake my family and I play on the most. I will include a picture of the lake that shows the rugged mountains and apropos Arizona desert scenery, simply beautiful. There are many more lakes in Arizona but the five lakes mentioned above are the best for boating and are the closes to Phoenix. A couple lakes fairly close in proximity to Phoenix that usually has good bass, catfish, and crappie fishing is Alamo Lake and San Carlos Lake in addition to the lakes mentioned above.

The Salt River is very important to the Phoenix area for outdoor fun plus provides drinking and irrigation water. The river offers fun times for almost all ages with its tubing, canoeing, kayaking and rafting. The Salt River connects with the Verde River above the city in the Northeastern section then both rivers connects with the Gila River to the southwest portion of the valley. The Gila River connects with the Colorado River.  

Major sporting teams and events make up a large venue of entertainment and economic boost for the Valley. Our sporting teams consist of The Phoenix Suns, professional basketball team and host of the 2009 Professional Basketball All-Star game. The Arizona Diamondbacks, major league baseball and World Series champs in 2001 over the New York Yankees. Arizona Cardinals, professional football team, Phoenix Coyotes, professional hockey, Phoenix Mercury, professional women’s basketball and World champions in 2007, and the Arizona Rattlers, Arena Football. Arizona has hosted the Super Bowl twice, the last time in 2008, but it is expected since completing a new football stadium, University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale Arizona, and great weather in late January or early February to be on the regular rotating schedule approximately every five or so years.

Every March begins the Cactus Spring Training league for major league baseball. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox and the Colorado Rockies train in Tucson and the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Oakland A’s, Chicago Cubs, L.A.  Angels, Cleveland Indians, L.A. Dodgers all train in the Phoenix Metro area. The Cincinnati Reds will soon begin training in the Phoenix Metro area. This month long event brings in fans from all over the country to enjoy their favorite team, take advantage of the typical warm spring days plus possibly play a little golf.

Arizona State University is a member of the Pac-10. The Fiesta Bowl, college football, is one of the five largest college bowl games in the country and is now played at The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. The new stadium also hosted the BCS Champion Bowl Game in 2007 and is on the rotating schedule to host the Championship game in the near future.

Golf, of course, is world famous with over 150 courses to choose from. A few of our courses are private but most are open to the public. Tee times are a little more difficult to set in the fall, winter and spring and the rates are a little pricey so plan well and call ahead. Summer time offers affordable rates and it is easier to set up tee times at some of our more premier courses. I wonder why? Scottsdale is home of the FBR Open at the Tournament Players Club adjacent to the Scottsdale Princess Resort. This stadium course offers excellent viewing with a capacity of over 100,000 golf fans per day. Other professional golf tournaments in the Valley are the PING LPGA, the Legends Classic, and Senior PGA the Tradition.

Tennis is also a very popular pastime with over 1, 000 courts across the Valley.  Tennis tournaments include the Open Tennis Championships and a Nabisco Grand Prix event. A few of the top rated Tennis Centers in the valley, Phoenix Tennis, Mt. View Tennis, Kiwanis Park Tennis, Scottsdale Athletic Club, and Gene Autry Sports Complex.

For outdoor events and activities there is not much this Valley can not provide. If you enjoy horse racing Turf Paradise is one of the Southwest premier thoroughbred racing facilities during September through May. Greyhound racing can be enjoyed year-round at the Phoenix Greyhound Park. Possibly soaring and ballooning are the thrilling experience you would like to have over the desert and mountains in a glider or hot air balloon ride. Maybe auto racing is more the speed you are looking for. Phoenix International Raceway hosts events such as the Indy Car Races and NASCAR Winston Cup.  Another race track is the Firebird International Raceway where National Hot Rod Association drag races take place.  

Other outdoor attractions to enjoy would be the Desert Botanical Garden. Discover more than 20,000 plants from the world’s deserts. The Garden covers more than 150 acres in Papago Park. The live butterfly exhibit is quite beautiful and enjoyable. Also located in Pagago Park is the Phoenix Zoo. This zoo is the largest nonprofit privately funded zoo in the country. There are more than 1,300 animals, reptiles and birds in naturalistic settings. Another zoo in the valley is the Wildlife World Zoo. This zoo is a 45 acre park with more than 320 rare and exotic species of animals. Out of Africa Wildlife Park is a preserve featuring big cats, lions, Bengal and Siberian tigers, spotted and black leopards and others in a natural habitat. The months October through May would be the most enjoyable time of year to walk these fun activities.

This covers most of the exciting and fun outdoor adventure in the Phoenix area. For more information on shopping, museums and other activities click on to our Cities section. 

While enjoying any outdoor event in Phoenix please remember to drink plenty of water even October through May. October through May outdoor life can not be more enjoyable weather wise. Also please be careful of sun burns. Sun burns happen so quickly that within 20 minutes a person can be burned.

Wickenburg is located 54 miles northwest of Phoenix metro. The expression that is used to describe Wickenburg is “Arizona’s Wild West Lives in Wickenburg.” Words like tradition and authentic are not just jargon in Wickenburg. The people are traditional and authentic, true old west living. The western hats they wear are authentic, not accessories. The spurs they wear are working spurs not just for show. Wickenburg rests on the northern edge of the Sonoran Desert, just below Arizona’s mountainous country. This area abounds in natural beauty with stoic saguaros, the shadows of nearby mountains and lush desert along the Hassayampa River. The land around Wickenburg has rich soil used to farm and raise cattle. One of the famous tourist features includes dude ranches or working cattle ranches where the city visitors can live and pretend to be an actual cowboy. Wickenburg has some of the more famous dude ranches and is known as the Dude Ranch Capital of the world. A few of the ranches include the Flying E Dude Ranch, Kay El Bar Ranch, Rancho Casitas Guest Ranch, Rancho De Los Caballeros and Williams Hassayampa Canyon Trails Ranch. These ranches help people capture the real west.

Wickenburg is well known for gold mining from the late 1800 to present. The most famous gold mine in the area is the Vulture Mine discovered by Henry Wickenburg. Over $30 million in gold has been dug from the ground. Throughout the foothills surrounding Wickenburg are relics of other mines that stand as a tribute to the pioneer miner and prospector. The mining lore of the region, past and present adds much to the charm of the area. 

The Hassayampa River and Preserve is an unusual river that flows through Wickenburg. Crossing the bridge to the river in town appears to be a dry and sandy river bed but the river flows naturally underground at that point. But within the preserve it’s crystal clear water emerge and flow above ground all year round. One of the translations of “Hassayampa” is “the river which flows upside down.” The river is above ground, year round, which is unusual for Arizona. Here the river has granite bedrock domes up, forcing water to the surface. The Hassayampa River Preserve is a desert oasis complete with palm trees, a pond that is home to frogs and water fowl and a mysterious river that rises from the depths of the desert sand. Over 280 species of birds live in this areas lush streamside habitat along with lizards and other creepy crawlers. If you are a nature lover this area offers a wonderful walking trail that would be worth viewing. 

Globe, Superior, Miami are all mining towns to the east of Phoenix. Globe is the largest of the three mining towns and is located in the heart of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest and is surrounded by some of the most spectacular mountain vistas in the Southwest. Globe is located near the middle of the legendary Old West Highway that stretched from Apache Junction, Arizona east to Lordsburg, New Mexico. The town’s name supposedly came from a globe shaped piece of pure silver that was found nearby.

In the early 1800s mining began in the area with prospectors looking for gold but San Carlos Apache Indians made it very difficult to do serious prospecting. Gold was never found in the area but in 1870 the Pinal Mining Company discovered silver. The San Carlos Apache Indian again made it difficult with raids on the prospectors that lead to the 1871 Camp Grant Massacre. The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation came about in 1873. The US Government established the mining area as part of the Reservation. But in late October Tucson citizens submitted a petition asking the US Secretary of Interior to remove this mineral region from the already established San Carlos Apache Reservation. The request was granted and the land was restored to public lands called the Globe Mining District. Silver was discovered in several places in this area but as silver began to glut the market, Globe turned to copper mining, which became the area’s most profitable enterprise and continues to this day. Globe stopped silver mining altogether by 1890. The cost of copper today has skyrocketed.  

Superior is the first of the three towns, located approximately 50 miles from Phoenix. Superior was also part of the big mining boom of copper and silver in the late 1800’s. After a long layoff from mining the mining of copper has made a come back in this area. Superior is also rich with historical landmarks and considered a cinematic treasure for Hollywood. Superior’s film appearances include How the West Was Won, The Prophecy, U-Turn and The Fugitive. Several advertisers have also used Superior as a backdrop in commercials.

Miami is located between Superior and Globe and is approximately 75 miles east of Phoenix. Miami is located in the mountains of south central Arizona. Of course, Miami was developed because of the mining explosion in Arizona. It was the third town, of the three, to be developed. This area was so rich in copper the whole area boomed and large mining companies moved in to establish their claims. At first, no one felt a need for another town since Globe and Superior already existed in the area, but by the first decade of the twentieth century two very successful mining companies, Inspiration Copper Company and Miami Copper Company, began to develop large operations. The new mines were located 7 miles west of Globe. Many of the businessmen felt that the miners and their families would rather live closer to the mines. Many of the miners had to travel over rough roads to get to the mines. Soon one business man, Van Dyke, began to promote the ides of establishing a new town. Of course, Van Dyke expected to make considerable fortune from the idea. Miami was established and within three months 2000 people began living in Miami. There were also grocery stores, meat markets general stores, a bakery, dairies, hotels, eating places and a barber shop.

Globe and Miami have always had a friendly rivalry since Miami was established. After the mines close to Globe closed in the 1930’s the mining operations in Miami have supported the real growth in this area. It is primarily because of the Miami mines that Globe is able to even exist today. The Superior, Miami and Globe route is on the way to Show Low and Sunrise Ski area. This area offers good camping, hiking, off road in the fall and spring. It does snow somewhat in this area.

Casa Grande, in the center of the Metropolitan Corridor, is at a crossroads, 45 minutes south of Phoenix, and an hour north of Tucson. Casa Grande is strategically located at the intersection of two major interstates, I-10 and I-8. This area is considered as “The Heart of Arizona”, location wise. Most people believe with the tremendous growth Arizona has had over the past 15 years that Tucson and Phoenix will meet at Case Grande forming one huge metropolitan area, like L.A. This meeting of the two largest cities in Arizona is to happen within the next 15 to 20 years.

Casa Grande, like most towns in Arizona, got its start from the mining boom of the late 1800’s but the mainstay of the area became agriculture. The agriculture today is the same from many years ago, mainly cotton and dairy farms. Cotton loves long hot summer nights with a dry climate so for Arizona, Phoenix south to Mexico is a very good place to grow cotton. Alfalfa, wheat and corn also grow well in this area.

An area just to the south of Casa Grande, Picacho Peak State Park, is a beautiful area to experience, especially in the spring each year, if the area has received enough winter rain, the desert blooms so beautifully. The colorful poppies and the blooming cacti make a drive to this area a must if someone wants to see the Arizona desert at it finest.

Florence is southeast of Phoenix and east of Casa Grande. One might would say why include Florence in this section of Arizona. Some might say the most important item that Florence offers to the state is home of the Arizona State Prison. This prison is where the bad boys live. But Florence does offer interesting information in the housing market. It is predicted by 2020 Phoenix will connect with Florence and be included in the Phoenix Metro scheme, which means Gilbert, Queen Creek and Chandler will be neighbors with Florence. Housing builder Del Webb is building a large master planned community in Florence called Anthem. This is Del Webb’s second community in Arizona called Anthem, the first one is approximately 17 miles north of Phoenix.

There are many prominent recreational landmarks and areas of interest in and around Florence. The Gila River is a prominent landmark that runs through historic Florence. In addition, Box Canyon, Martinez Canyon, Old Silverbell Mine, Coke Ovens and many other sites to the east of Florence provide visitors with fantastic scenic views and an opportunity to hike, explore, off-road, or otherwise enjoy the Sonoran Desert.   

Florence is the host to one of the largest weekend long country events for up and coming country stars. This event is called “Country Thunder U.S.A.”, a country music festival. This is one big party that allows people to bring a tent, camp trailer, motor home, etc. and camp out and listen to great country music with the entire family or attend one day or all events. Here are some of the people who preformed for the 2008 line up: Sugarland, Dierks Bentley, Phil Vassar, Kellie Pickler, Joe Nichols, Bucky Covington, Pat Green, Chuck Wicks and Heidi Newfield plus many more. Every year offers a very good line-up of some up and coming country music people.