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The Phoenix, Ariz. area is turning into Palm Springs II for Orange County and Inland Empire travelers, steadily gaining popularity as a quick, fun getaway destination. Like the Coachella Valley, the Phoenix area has fabulous winter weather, gets hot as a blast furnace during the summer, and is made up of a number of distinct communities, each with its own character and attractions. The Phoenix area has the Sonoran Desert, a lush, beautiful spot, and it has cultural activities and institutions and professional sports. Tempe named by an Englishman who thought the area resembled the Vale of Tempe in ancient Greece is one of the unique communities that comprise the Greater Phoenix area. It’s especially popular with Southern California visitors because it is the center of professional and collegiate sports activity in the Salt River Valley. Sun Devil Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals and the Sun Devils of Arizona State University, is in Tempe as is Tempe Diablo Stadium where the Angels hold spring training each March and April. Tempe, Ariz. Founded in 1870 by Charles Trumbell Hayden, an entrepreneur who built a store and flourmill, warehouses, blacksmith shops and a ferry over the Salt River, Tempe grew into a thriving agricultural community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its prosperity was founded in part on the skill and labor of the Native American Hohokam people whose prehistoric irrigation canals were dug out and rehabilitated by settlers. In 1885, the Arizona Legislature selected Tempe as the site of the Territorial Normal School, a teacher training college that grew into Arizona State University, the fifth largest university in the nation with some 57,000 students. Its architecture including buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright art galleries and cultural and sporting events are central to Tempe’s civic life. Other attractions include Arizona Mills mega-mall with more than 175 name-brand stores, all offering discount prices; Tempe Town Lake with boating and fishing; and Papago Park, which is a perfect place to hike, mountain bike or picnic, and which contains the Phoenix Zoo and the Desert Botanical Garden. Founded in 1962 as the Maytag Zoo by a member of the appliance family, the Phoenix Zoo has grown into the largest privately owned, nonprofit zoo in the country. Located on 125 acres, it is a beautiful facility with more than 1,400 animals, including 200 species of endangered or threatened birds, mammals and reptiles from around the world. Attractive shops, restaurants, animal shows and interactive opportunities draw more than 1 million visitors each year. The Botanical Garden is equally fine with a huge collection of cacti and succulents, specializing in plants of the Sonoran Desert. Tempe is convenient to the rest of the Phoenix area, a 10-minute drive from Sky Harbor International Airport. We stayed at the Embassy Suites, just a few minutes from Arizona Mills, Tempe Diablo Stadium and Scottsdale with its fine dining, shopping and art galleries. Mill Ave. and Monti’s Tempe’s downtown entertainment and dining district stretches along Mill Avenue, just west of the university. This fun, lively, pedestrian-friendly area is home to an eclectic array of more than 50 shops and 65 restaurants, coffeehouses, taverns and nightclubs. We browsed in a big bookstore and had dinner twice at Monti’s La Casa Vieja, one of the most unique dining establishments anywhere. La Casa Vieja means “the old house,” and the name couldn’t be more apt since the restaurant is located in the city’s original pioneer adobe, built by Charles Hayden in 1871. An Alice-in-Wonderland collection of interconnected rooms decorated with historical memorabilia, Monti’s has been a restaurant since the 19th century. It has been owned by its current popular proprietor Michael Monti since the 1950s. The menu is diverse, with an emphasis on steaks and chops, and the food is topnotch. It is an event to dine there. Blooming desert Tempe and the Angels kept us busy most of our visit, but we did get out of town one day, driving up into the Superstition Mountains east of Tempe to visit Roosevelt Dam, a substantial concrete structure dedicated in 1912 that ensured a steady water supply for the Phoenix area. The desert was blooming with more than 40 kinds of wildflowers and we lost ourselves in a half-day immersion in the wilderness, taking winding, one-lane Highway 88 up into the mountains, visiting the dam and Tonto National Monument, the lone ruin of the prehistoric Salado people that is open to the public, then circling back to town on Highway 60. Theodore Roosevelt, who was present at the dam’s dedication, called the territory between it and phoenix “One of the most spectacular, best-worth-seeing sights of the world.” As usual, TR was right on the money. It is stunning, spiritually beautiful terrain. Steve Thomas is editor of Inland Empire Family Magazine’s sister publication, OC METRO Magazine. IF YOU GO Transport: Tempe is a 5-hour drive from Orange County, due east on I-10. There are numerous flights from John Wayne Airport and LAX to Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport, a 10-minute drive from Tempe: Lodging: The city has a number of moderately priced hotels. We stayed at the Embassy Suites, 4400 S. Rural Road, Tempe 85282: 480.897.7444. It is a comfortable, convenient hotel tailor-made for families. Dining: Mill Avenue is home to more than 65 restaurants, coffeehouses and taverns, including Monti’s La Casa Vieja, a destination in itself with a unique historical ambiance, wonderful food and friendly service. 1 W. Rio Salado Pkwy. (on the banks of the Salt River, just a couple of blocks from Sun Devil Stadium): 480.967.7594. Activities: Angels Spring Training, March 2006 at Tempe Diablo Stadium, 2200 West Alameda Drive: 480.350.5205. Phoenix Zoo, 455 North Galvin Parkway (in Papago Park): 602.273.1341 or www.phoenixzoo.org. Open every day, rain or shine. Regular season admission: adults $12, children $5, seniors $9. Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 Galvin Parkway (Papago Park): 480.941.1225 or www.dbg.org. Admission: adults $9, seniors $8, students $5, children $4. |
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