Whats to do in Pheonix for a week?

I still have abt one week vacation to burn up before
end of calendar year

I've never been to desert southwest... Phoenix, etc.

Being in north Missouri and being pretty miserable
weather wise I'm giving some thought to going from
flying from St Louis to phoenix for a week in mid
Dec... before Christmas

Id rent a car and just drive around.

So..... what's to see and do?

Where to stay that wont cost me a fortune?

Blah blah?

On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 12:18:40 -0500, wrote:

I still have abt one week vacation to burn up before
end of calendar year

I've never been to desert southwest... Phoenix, etc.

Being in north Missouri and being pretty miserable
weather wise I'm giving some thought to going from
flying from St Louis to phoenix for a week in mid
Dec... before Christmas

Id rent a car and just drive around.

So..... what's to see and do?

Where to stay that wont cost me a fortune?

Blah blah?

Unless you're enamored of huge cities with lousy traffic and
monstrous freeways, I'd suggest Tucson as your city of choice for
seeing the desert southwest. Thre's some great driving around in
southern Arizona.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

wrote:

I still have abt one week vacation to burn up before
end of calendar year

I've never been to desert southwest... Phoenix, etc.

Being in north Missouri and being pretty miserable
weather wise I'm giving some thought to going from
flying from St Louis to phoenix for a week in mid
Dec... before Christmas

Id rent a car and just drive around.

So..... what's to see and do?

Where to stay that wont cost me a fortune?

Blah blah?

In general I would not recommend staying in one place for an entire
week. There are some interesting things to do in Phoenix such as the
Heard Museum. I particularly liked the Goldwater Kachina collection
there. You probably should also go either north or south. Alas there
probably isn't time for both. Tucson has the Ariz-Sonora Desert Museum,
the observatories, and a bunch of colonial stuff. North you have the
red rock area and the Grand Canyon. Check the weather before going to
Flagstaff and see what kind of space there is in the park even in the
winter it can get crowded.

wrote...

I still have abt one week vacation to burn up before
end of calendar year

I've never been to desert southwest... Phoenix, etc.

Being in north Missouri and being pretty miserable
weather wise I'm giving some thought to going from
flying from St Louis to phoenix for a week in mid
Dec... before Christmas

Id rent a car and just drive around.

So..... what's to see and do?

Where to stay that wont cost me a fortune?

Blah blah?

You could spend a good half-day at Taliesin West and another at Desert
Botanical Gardens. Winter's a great time to drive out and spend a day at
Robson's Mining World and walk the Vulture Mine grounds.

South to Tucson with many great places to visit--or a bit further and see
Bisbee and Tombstone.

North to the red rocks of Sedona or ride Clarkdale's Verde Canyon RR.
Jerome's a fun place to visit if in the Sedona/Clarkdale area. If driving
north along I-17, be sure to have lunch (I'd suggest a pulled pork BBQ plate
and a piece of pie) at Rock Springs Cafe--about 40 n of Phoenix just before
Black Canyon. Rock Springs has its own exit. And if driving to the Grand
Canyon (winter is my favorite time to see the South Rim, BTW), Flagstaff has
lots of lodging options, great restaurants, sights to see (Lowell
Observatory, Museum of N AZ, and three national monuments) but be sure to
pack winter clothing for a trip to Flag or The Canyon. If you do make it as
far north as Flag, rather than return the same way you came, head to
Winslow, "stand on the corner", visit La Posada and drive back to Phoenix
through Strawberry (more good pie here). By all means, if in Winslow,
explore the old La Posada and plan to eat a meal in their Turquoise Room.
Considering the elegance, the room rates may even tempt you to spend a
night.

Extra time in the northlands? You could do a 1-2 day loop through the
Navajo and Hopi Reservations. First Mesa in Hopi offers guided walking
tours. This could easily be part of a Winslow visit. Further north? OK, then
add Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly.

Craig in Flag

PS--Entry to the Grand Canyon is $25 per vehicle. Most other NPS sites also
have fees. It may well be cheaper to buy an annual National Park Pass for
$50 rather than pay daily entry fees. And if you're a US resident and over
62, definitely buy a $10 Golden Age pass rather than pay daily entry fees.
Or if disabled, it's a free Golden Access pass.

On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 12:18:40 -0500, wrote:


I still have abt one week vacation to burn up before
end of calendar year

I've never been to desert southwest... Phoenix, etc.

www.google.com

Hatunen wrote:

Unless you're enamored of huge cities with lousy traffic and
monstrous freeways, I'd suggest Tucson as your city of choice for
seeing the desert southwest. Thre's some great driving around in
southern Arizona.

well actually I was thinking of flying into Phoenix and
renting a car and maybe going to Yuma

Is Yuma a decent pace?

On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:21:28 -0500, wrote:

Hatunen wrote:

Unless you're enamored of huge cities with lousy traffic and
monstrous freeways, I'd suggest Tucson as your city of choice for
seeing the desert southwest. Thre's some great driving around in
southern Arizona.

well actually I was thinking of flying into Phoenix and
renting a car and maybe going to Yuma

Is Yuma a decent pace?

I have trouble imagining more than a day there, much less a week.
But as towns go it's pretty decent.


************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

wrote:

well actually I was thinking of flying into Phoenix and
renting a car and maybe going to Yuma

Is Yuma a decent pace?

It's a lot like Tucson, only nicer ...

Hatunen wrote:

Unless you're enamored of huge cities with lousy traffic and
monstrous freeways, I'd suggest Tucson as your city of choice for
seeing the desert southwest. Thre's some great driving around in
southern Arizona.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *



I second your suggestion (not surprisingly, since I too live in Tucson).

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

So..... what's to see and do?

I third the suggestion for Tucson. Maybe fly into Phoenix, do what
there is to do there, then spend the rest of the time in Tucson and
vicinity. In addition to what's already been mentioned, there is the
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to the west; Nogales, Mexico, to the
south (a very easy drive to the border, then you walk over); and of
course Tombstone to the east.