O/T Mesa, Arizona

[JimD737 0]

To All,I'm going to Arizona next week for vacation. The first three days are taken up but Thursday & Friday are free.What do you suggest as far as tourist traps and places to stay away from?Thanks!

[John_Cillis 2,406]

There aren't many, in the sense that the Phoenix metro area is more of a Winter R&R spot than a place like SoCal or Orlando. With a population in the metro area right around 3 million, we're a busy place as well. So we have the usual gridlock that other big metro areas have--avoid driving the freeways towards downtown in the morning, or away from it in the evening.If you have a day, the best thing to do is to head on up to Sedona if you want a sense of Arizona's scenery. By taking the loop 101 north out of Mesa and linking up with I-17, it's around two hours. The Grand Canyon is a bit far--around 4.5 hours....Some of the local guides might mention Arizona Center downtown. If shopping is your thing, stay away from there--there's better. At Baseline & I10, not far from Mesa, is Arizona Mills--which is a large shopping mall/entertainment complex. Another new entertainment complex is Desert Ridge Marketplace, off of the loop 101 & Tatum in N. Scottsdale. If you haven't been to Phoenix recently, remember that it's a big metro area. From Apache Junction in the east, you can be in continuous city for 60+ miles, to well past Goodyear in the west.If you like to watch aircraft come & go, Sky Harbor is the best place.Rock and Jazz concerts are easily found--some of the more popular venues being America West Arena, Cricket Pavillion, Dodge Theater & Celebrity Theater.There are several Casinos in the Phoenix metro area, hosted by the local Native American tribes. I can think of better things to do with my time....Hope this helps!John, KPHX

[JimD737 0]

John,Thanks for taking time out and writing. I appreciate it. I've never been to Arizona (I'm from NJ, been to SoCal,Denver, Houston).I'm heading to Williams Gateway (IWA) for FCI's Emergency Maneuvering Training. Should be fun.Best Regards,

[Guest Martin]

If you're into aircraft (which you probably are since you hang out here ;-)), the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson is probably worth a visit. I haven't been there - when I was in Arizona last summer I had a few hours around Tucson with my sister I chose to go to the Titan Missile Museum instead.The Titan Missile Museum is the only place in the world where you can actually go down in an ICBM silo. So if you're into history and/or nuclear missiles that's also worth a visit.And Sedona is also nice. :-)Martin767 fetishistIt's a lot like life and that's what's appealing

[JimD737 0]

Thanks Martin! Both sound good!Regards,

[Sonar5 3]

Hi Jim, I also replied to your email.We did the Griswald summer vacation. For two days, you can do what I did. We stayed in Williams Arizona for two nights. The first day, we drove north and did the Grand Canyon's South, Western, and eastern Rim. We did not go down into but took the park Service Shuttle to the different points from the South Rim. You can get National park Guides to tell you all about it at the Visitor Center.Then in the late afternoon, we drove down to a Gorge, then Wapatki National park and saw Sunset Volcano, and some ruins. very cool stuff. A Volcano in Arizona. Then day two we drove from Williams back down towards Phoenix stopping at Oak Creek Canyon, and Sedona. If you stop at Oak Creek Canyon, Go into the Guide Store, and ask the Gal there to show you how to get to Sedona Airport. That way you don't have to buy the Red Rock Pass, and you can view Sedona from the top at the Airport. Free. Also Go See Chapel On The Rock in Sedona. Very neat place and beautiful Scenery.On the way down to you can stop at Slide Rock, an Arizona state Park where you can swim on a rock slide, although the cool weather may be setting in there now.Let me know if I can be of any other help. I live in Illinois. :-)Regards,JoeHere are Picture Galleries of My Trip out west in 2002.Gallery #1 Pima Air & Space Museum + AMARC (Boneyard) at Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona. (over 240 Pictures)http://www.pbase.com/sonar5/pimaamarc