Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [39]
PLAYLIST
Cacti and cowboys meet progressive ‘90s punk: Arizona music is as varied as the Grand Canyon state’s desert meets mountain meets major metropolis landscape. Here we’ve given you a mix that gets your feet thumping as you clock miles over tumbleweeds on Route 66, negotiate a maze of concrete freeways in Phoenix and roll through a bizarre Saguaro cacti–strewn desertscape.
“By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” Glen Campbell
“Leather & Lace,” Stevie Nicks
“The Middle,” Jimmy Eat World
“Hey Jealousy,” The Gin Blossoms
“You’re No Good,” Linda Ronstadt
“Rhinestone Cowboy,” Glen Campbell
“No Air,” Jordin Sparks
“Lake of Fire,” Meat Puppets
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BEST ARIZONA TRIPS
13 Big Skies & Weird Science
19 Tiny Towns of Rim Country
ARIZONA TRIPS
14 Steak-Lovers’ Arizona
22 Grapes & Hops in the Desert
12 Cactus League Spring Training
15 A Slice of Native America
18 Arizona Architecture
20 Arizona in Tune
25 Tracing Arizona’s Cultures
17 Photographing Monument Valley
19 Tiny Towns of Rim Country
21 Southern Desert Wanderings
24 Sedona Red Rock Adventure
26 Flagstaff’s Northern Playground
13 Big Skies & Weird Science
16 Cowboy Time
23 Into the Vortex
11 48 Hours in Greater Phoenix
Return to beginning of chapter
48 Hours in Greater Phoenix
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WHY GO Call it what you will – a desert escape, a sprawl of suburbs, or a mythical bird rising from its own ashes – Phoenix is a force to be reckoned with. Leave your coat behind and prepare for two days of top-notch museums, desert oddities, steak and martinis, and most of all, glorious sun.
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TIME
2 days
BEST TIME TO GO
Oct – Mar
START
Central Phoenix, AZ
END
Downtown Scottsdale, AZ
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When you fly into the Valley of the Sun at night, the lights of the city below are indistinguishable from the stars above. You have to wonder if some pilot, somewhere, has ever confused up and down. In any case, you’ve arrived at an enormous city in the middle of the desert, and you’ll be very busy the next two days.
Start at the corner of Central Ave and McDowell St to satisfy your appetite for the finer things at the Phoenix Art Museum. A treasure of paintings and sculptures that span the ages, visitors new to Southwestern art will heart the Georgia O’Keeffe piece and her many imitators. Check out work from the art world’s most famous dysfunctional couple – Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Kahlo’s piece is especially stark and disturbing, so lighten up with the Monet or take the kids to the ingeniously crafted miniature period-sets in the Thorne Rooms.
Fine art deserves a pairing of fine sandwiches and salads at the museum’s Arcadia Farms Café, where all the food is organic and sure to please. Continue the museum touring at the nearby Heard Museum – a treasure of Native American art and artifacts (39,000 pieces, including kachina dolls, pottery and jewelry). Run by the Arcadia Farms group, City Bakery at Arizona Science Center is a tasty excuse for dessert and a visit to the attached Arizona Science Center. Full of hands-on science exhibits, the center has a planetarium so stunning it makes agoraphobics squirm.
From here, head to the Desert Botanical Gardens for the beauty of the untamed desert where the ocotillo plants reach their long arms toward the sky like so many green fountains. It’s the place to reconnect with nature on walking paths that wind through 50 acres of desert life; from modest shrubs that bloom bright flowers in the spring to every shape of cactus. The place hosts solstice celebrations, night flashlight tours from May 1 through August, and special exhibits like pieces from glass artist Dale Chihuly integrated into the desert.
The star example of downtown’s revitalization – or at least the tastiest – is Pizzeria Bianco, set in a former exposed-brick machine shop at 6th and Adams Sts. Hard to believe that pizza can be that good? The ultimate demanding guest, Martha Stewart, ate here with friends and gave it a thumb’s up. The secret: fresh, local ingredients