The late "Arizona Cowboy" Rex Allen's hometown is updating its Western roots for a new era.
Chef Justin Beckett takes at least one or two trips a year to San Francisco. As someone who's conquered 24 restaurants in 36 hours during "eat-a-thons" in the city, Beckett knows some fantastic food spots. "I'm a little weird; I don't go for the $300 dinner… We like to eat simple foods," Beckett says. After years of traveling with his wife and two kids, the owner of Beckett's Table and Southern Rail has racked up a handful of family-friendly foodie destinations.
As editors of a city lifestyle magazine with a travel section that covers locales far beyond our beloved Phoenix Valley, you can imagine that we get pitched A TON about new and exciting travel offers around the country. Of course, we can't fit everything into a 200-page monthly magazine that only allots five of those pages to regional travel. Sigh... 'tis the nature of publishing.
But it pains us too much to kill all of our darlings. So each month, we scrape a few travel tidbits off the cutting room floor and bring you Travel Bag Bites – bite-size travel-related goodies (special offers, activities and deals) to snack on while planning your next great escape.
Muslims flock to Mecca, hipsters swarm Coachella and Elvis fans go to Graceland. Chef Jeff Smedstad of Sedona's prized Elote Café heads sur for his annual pilgrimage to the western Mexican state of Jalisco, particularly its capital Guadalajara and its blue agave-ensconced town of Tequila. Smedstad and Elote manager Juan Rojas venture here each year to "look for unique barrels of tequila, to spend time with the different tequila makers... kind of researching the product, the same way people would [with] wine country," Smedstad says. He shares a few of his Jalisco hot spots.
Formerly a smelter site for neighboring Bisbee’s copper mines, the quaint border town of Douglas now draws birders and history buffs to its riparian areas and historic landmarks. We round up the new and notable in “Arizona’s Hometown.”
As editors of a city lifestyle magazine with a travel section that covers locales far beyond our beloved Phoenix Valley, you can imagine that we get pitched A TON about new and exciting travel offers around the country. Of course, we can't fit everything into a 200 page monthly magazine that only allots five of those pages to regional travel. Sigh... 'tis the nature of publishing.
But it pains us too much to kill all of our darlings. So each month, we scrape a few travel tidbits off the cutting room floor and bring you Travel Bag Bites – bite-sized travel-related goodies (special offers, activities and deals) to snack on while planning your next great escape.
As editors of a city lifestyle magazine with a travel section that covers locales far beyond our beloved Phoenix Valley, you can imagine that we get pitched A TON about new and exciting travel offers around the country. Of course, we can't fit everything into a 200 page monthly magazine that only allots five of those pages to regional travel. Sigh... 'tis the nature of publishing.
But it pains us too much to kill all of our darlings. So each month, we scrape a few travel tidbits off the cutting room floor and bring you Travel Bag Bites – bite-sized travel-related goodies (special offers, activities and deals) to snack on while planning your next great escape.
“There is such unadulterated beauty in Cabo,” says Pauline Martinez, owner of Perk Eatery and CHAR Kitchen+Bar in Scottsdale. Martinez visited the Baja California city with her husband this summer to draw inspiration from their culinary traditions to bring back to her restaurants – as well as to kick back a little and enjoy the view. “There’s this big juxtaposition between this party scene and this...rich beauty that is so natural,” she says. And Cabo's seafood, she adds, is delicious. Her recommendations for making the most out of this lively tourist magnet:
Not content to be just a pit stop between Phoenix and Tucson, Casa Grande has been making strides toward becoming a destination in its own right. To wit: three new attractions keeping locals and visitors busy.
It’s almost the most bone-chilling time of the year, and there’s no better way to kick off October than with some ghost hunting.
In addition to faux haunted homes and fear farms in every corner of the Valley leading up to Halloween, Arizona also has plenty of reportedly haunted historic places to whet the appetites of paranormal enthusiasts and urban explorers alike. Test your mettle beyond artificial haunted houses starring high schoolers dressed up like killer clowns — here are some ghost hunts for those brave souls wanting to stare down something a little less cheesy and a little more real.
On Monday, August 21, North America will see its first total solar eclipse in 38 years. The moon will come between the Earth and the sun, blocking the big fiery star from view (although protective eyewear is still required for safe viewing). The path of the eclipse will slope diagonally downward across 14 U.S. states, beginning at Lincoln Beach, Oregon and ending near Charleston, South Carolina.
Arizona isn’t on the total eclipse curve, unfortunately, but we can still expect some partial eclipse action. Meteorologists say peak viewing time is at 10:33 a.m. Let’s celebrate, (natural) black out style.
Party Planetarium Style
Tempe, Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff
Several locations throughout the state will be hosting viewing-parties for the big event. In Tempe, Arizona State University will host events from 9 a.m. to noon at the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 4 and on Hayden Lawn. Experts will be available, telescopes will be set up and protective glasses will be provided to the first 2,000 attendees. For more info, visit asuevents.asu.edu.
In Phoenix, the Arizona Science Center’s viewing-party will kick off at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at noon. Protective glasses will be provided for the first 500 guests, and there will be rocket launches, eclipse-related crafts, food, planetarium shows and more. For ticket information, visit azscience.org.
In Tucson, University of Arizona will have a three-day celebration from August 18-21. The festivities will include "Create Your Own Pinhole Viewer" stations and showings of Tucson Sky and Beyond: Eclipse Edition. Protective glasses will be available for purchase. For more information, visit flandrau.org.
In Flagstaff, Lowell Observatory will open early at 8 a.m. and have a livestream from their experts in Madras, Oregon, the optimal location for viewing the eclipse. Telescopes will be set up for viewing in Flagstaff as well. For more information, visit lowellsolareclipse.com.
Grab Your Glasses
Multiple locations
Libraries throughout the U.S. have received protective solar glasses from STAR_Net to help the community view the eclipse safely. Glasses-carrying libraries throughout the state include North Valley Regional Library, Northwest Regional Library, El Mirage Library, White Tank Library. Buckeye, Public Library – Coyote Branch, Goodyear Library, Salt River Tribal Library, Apache Junction Public Library, Pinal County Library District- Coolidge Public Library, Maricopa Public Library and Ak-Chin Indian Community Library.
For a “cooler” eclipse look, all Warby Parker locations are providing free solar viewing glasses, now until August 21. For more information, visit warbyparker.com.
Black Out, Snack Out
Sprinkles, Scottsdale
From August 19-21, Sprinkles cupcakes on Scottsdale and Camelback roads will have an ode to the eclipse with its “black out” dark chocolate cupcake, not that we’ve ever needed a meteorological wonder to convince us it’s time for cake.
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