R&R in Arizona

Recreation

Love. The sun is just up, and the mild Ari-zona morning seems to pull us out of bed. Into our whites; a drive through still empty streets to Roadrunner Park in north Phoenix. We're the first ones here and have our pick of the six courts. I need more of a warm-up this morning, but then I always need more warm-up than he does. He always wins the first point, but I'm ready for him now.Fifteen. His serve has always been tricky, but somehow this morning I think I can handle it. I'm sure I can, if I don't let the mountains distract me. The lazy play of the light on the slopes is so peaceful... Forty.

Someday I'm going to beat him, even if we have to play on every one of the thousand courts in Phoenix. My return is true this time the ball skims right over the net - but he's quick, this tennis bum who destroys my ego three days a week.Game. Game. Game. Game. Well, I'm not very good this morning, but he's nice enough to say I'm getting better. We take a break by the lagoon and by now, all the courts are filled. They're filled all over the city, we know from experience; downtown in Encanto Park and over at the Tennis Center and probably at Gardiner's Tennis Ranch. But we like this spot in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. But then, we love the mountains of Phoenix.

These tennis buffs aren't the only ones who appreciate the mountains of Arizona's capital city or spend a couple of hours before work enjoying an Arizona morning. By the time he has won three sets, there's an army of people pursuing some activity to keep them healthy and happy. The golfers have started their rounds on the 68 courses throughout the Valley of the Sun; the hikers have begun the trek up one of the city's prominent peaks; the joggers are loping along canal banks; the bikers are pedaling along sleepy streets.It sometimes seems the workday is just an interruption in the playday, as the easy evenings invite another crew of outdoor enthusiasts: the hang gliders who swoop across the sky; the racquet-ball duets who borrow courts at a high school; the picnickers who lug baskets of goodies to the city's 130 parks. Everyone has plenty of room, for Phoe-nix has more than 27,000 acres of public parks from tiny neighborhood spots of green to the 16,000-acre South Mountain Park, the largest municipal park in the world.

Play is an everyday part of life in Arizona; an accolade for a state that not only allows year-round recreation, but embraces it.

There's a special whim to the playful environment of Arizona: the state offers such a variety of terrain, climate and scenery, it's like a large candy dish for everyone with a sweet tooth. Fishing against a backdrop of mountain pines in northeast Arizona is an hour from a Phoenix swimming pool; skiing down a mountain in Flagstaff is a short trip from the manmade waves of a popular Tempe swimming hole called Big Surf; the beauty of a Spanish mission near Tucson is a day away from London Bridge in the Colorado River community of Lake Havasu City.

It was an old tourism brochure that bragged, “You can spend a year in Arizona in one week” in a play on words that proclaims the state lacks little. Some find it amazing that the 300-mile trip from Tucson to the Grand Canyon covers virtually every kind of topography found within the United States. Yet, in less than a 30-mile drive up Tucson's Mt. Lemmon, that entire spectrum also exists. There's always been a conscious effort to provide recreation spots in Arizona cities. The original Phoenix townsite in 1871 had two park sites. One has never been anything else the small courtyard in front of the Old Court House while the other later became part of the city's new convention center. The 15,000 souls who lived in Phoenix in 1900 had three bona fide parks, while the 750,000 who call Phoenix home today have their choice of 66 developed flatland parks, 34 mini parks, 7 mountain parks, and 25 parks that are yet to be developed. It was in the 1920s, when Phoenix was still a hamlet, that civic leaders first became concerned about preserving open space, a concern that revealed remarkable insight in a community that was little but open space. It took city leaders a decade to acquire mammoth South Mountain Park that today attracts more than 1.5 million visitors a year, for hiking, picknicking, horseback riding, and just viewing driving up winding mountain roads to Dobbins Lookout puts you 1210 feet above the city. Its canyons hold artifacts and petroglyphs, and what appears to be a 16th century Spanish inscription which may have been scratched into the rock by a member of Coronado's party, on the trek to the “Seven Cities of Cibola.” By the 1960s, Phoenix realized that while once it was a city surrounded by mountains, now it had become a city surrounding mountains. No longer was

A variety of contrasting recreational possibilities exists in Arizona, where play is an everyday part of its residents' life-styles. (Left) Hot air ballooning in Monument Valley, in the northern high country.

Dave Davis (Right) Papago Park, just one of the 66 developed flatland parks in Phoenix, is the home of the Phoenix Zoo.

Alan Benoit (Far right) Reliving those days of yesteryear, residents and visi-tors alike get a chance to experi-ence what a ride through the desert may have been like in older times - under mule power.

J. Peter Mortimer (Right, below) Swimming, surf-ing, or sunning are popular at Big Surf, a man-made swimming hole in Tempe, Phoenix' neighbor to the east. J. Peter Mortimer Text continued from page 16 this a small town in the midst of farms and citrus groves, with miles of open desert and unblemished mountains. The city had sprawled across the desert, and buildings had been constructed on many mountain slopes. On June 15, 1971, the Mayor and City Council declared a moratorium on building on mountains and formally approved the Phoenix Mountain Preserve program. In May of 1973, Phoenix voters overwhelmingly approved a $22.5 million bond program to buy mountain land the first such public effort in the country. Unfortunately, the "Save Our Mountains" campaign was hampered by a recession, and in 1975, voters rejected a second bond program to continue land acquisition. The tide turned again in 1979, when voters said "yes" to a $10 million mountain bond plan. About 80 percent of the preservation land has been purchased, giving Phoenix nearly 23,600 acres of rugged terrain that always will be public land. The ambitious conservation program has had an additional side benefit, city officials report. It has proved a drawing card to new industry. "After all," a Parks employee said, "in how many large urban centers can residents go to the mountains without leaving the city limits?" Only one other city comes to mind, and that's Arizona's other major population center, Tucson. Since this city is nestled among rugged desert mountains at 2390 feet, it's slightly cooler than its big sister Phoenix. Surrounded by the Santa Catalinas to the northeast rising upwards of 9000 feet the Rincons on the east, the Tucson Mountains on the west, and further south, the Santa Rita and Sierrita ranges, Tucson is virtually swathed in purple mountain majesty. Arizona cities obviously are sensitive to their recreation spaces (or re-creation spaces, as Phoenix Mayor Margaret Hance likes to call them). A recent survey in the Phoenix area found that 38 percent of the residents classify themselves as "outdoor enthusiasts," while 37 percent say they're "sports participants." It all comes together at Encanto Park in downtown Phoenix, a 222-acre oasis with an 18-hole golf course and nine acres of lazy, winding lagoons for fishing, canoeing; and paddle-boating, that was way out in the country when first acquired. Today it sits in the heart of a teeming metropolitan area and is one of the most popular parks in the entire Valley. Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale is composed of lakes and parks put there

For flood control. This nationally-recognized project shows what can be done with a little thought and sensitivity. As first proposed, the wash project would have been a concrete-lined channel. But it runs through the middle of the West's Most Western Town, officials argued, and then worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to find an alternative. What they developed is Scottsdale's showcase park.

Sometimes outings recall the western heritage of this state, like when we saddle up on a trusty steed; and sometimes it pays homage to modern technology, like when we ride an artificial wave at Big Surf.

For the more sedate R&R, a favorite spot for both children and adults is the Phoenix Zoo in Papago Park, which provides natural surroundings for a wide variety of animals, from Freckles the giraffe to Hazel the gorilla. Then there's the drive to the Japanese flower gardens along South Mountain - not only a way to spend a serene Sunday, but an inspiration to any gardener.

If your favorite leisure activity is cheering on a professional sports team, Phoenix has a wide variety, from basketball, to baseball, to the newest kid in the game, indoor soccer. Also several professional baseball teams from out of state hold their spring training in Arizona. In addition to professional sports, an extensive schedule of college athletics at the state's three universities, often draw crowds of up to 70,000.

One of the favorite recreations is a party at home with friends, hashing over the latest golf game or bragging about the marathon just run. And in Sun City, several couples make it a regular event to take cocktails and hors d'oeuvres on a 45-minute pontoon trip around man-made Viewpoint Lake.

But while Phoenix is busy developing new parks to satisfy its growing population, it's also paying special attention to its history. Next to the modern Convention Center, downtown, is Heritage Square Park, a collection of vintage homes and carriage houses that runs the

Get A Horse!

Nancy Collins, 7, shinnied up the corral fence, reached over, and gave Rex a disapproving smack on the nose. Turning to me, she shook her blond head, wrinkled her nose distastefully, and declared, "I don't know what has happened to Rex. He's lost his manners."

Rex, an understanding quarter horse, looked at her with a "why'd you have to do that?" stare. He took a last hungry glance at the leather tack draped over the corral fence that he'd nibbled on, and ambled off.

At the ripe old age of seven, Nancy has been on horses for six-and-a-half years since she could sit up. She's a typical Arizona horse kid, raised to think that anything with fur and four legs and a tail is fair game to ride. Her home, like so many others in the metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson, sports a corral and sprinklers, covered stalls and a tack room.

Recently Scottsdale's Mayor, Herb Drinkwater, a horse enthusiast himself, worried aloud that development was gobbling up the good horse trails. He asked for volunteers for a city-sponsored Equestrian Trails Committee, and the office had a difficult time selecting just seven from all the people who wanted to help.

In Phoenix, the city's street transportation administrator, Ed Hall, beams when he describes the "horsey underpass" he had designed to ease the flow of horseback riders into the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, on the city's northeast side.

For lovers of horseflesh, there's also a number of equine shows to choose from in the Phoenix area, including some of first-rate national caliber like the A to Z show, the Phoenix Zoo's fund raiser, or the All Arabian Show. The horse calendar is so full there's hardly a weekend when something isn't happening that requires a bit and reins.

When riders aren't hunting or jumping, roping or rodeoing, riding or attending gymkhanas, there are always horse sales. One dedicated quarter horse lover exclaimed, "You haven't lived until you've been to the Arabian sale. They hang crystal chandeliers in the tents!"

Clubs, of course, cater to every whim. Lil Leffman keeps her two horses, Blue and Tom, in shape by letting Scottsdale youngsters use them for a vaulting team. Vaulting is acrobatics on horseback, a sport now catching on throughout the state.

Posses keep both men and mounts busy yearlong. In some respects these are social clubs, a chance for men and horses to get together for long trail rides. But when a hiker is lost or hunter injured in some of the more rugged areas of the state, they are often called upon to help out with search and rescue.

Horses are big business for breeders, as well. Some barns are air-conditioned palaces where priceless studs and mares and foals live in splendor. But other set-ups are chewed and chipped wooden corrals. Some riders opt for only the best in beaver hats, and lizard boots, the smoothest leather and silkiest suede. But English riders, too, have their day with cut-away jackets and jodhpurs and velvet helmets.

What sets the Arizona horse scene apart from any other, though, is that it just seems to happen naturally here. There's an ease and proximity that invites a child like Nancy Collins to hop on Rex and amble off down a canal bank. Teenagers can jog on up to a convenience mart, tie up, and buy a can of pop, or confound visitors at a Scottsdale resort by taking their horses swimming in one of the ponds in Indian Bend Wash, or loping bareback around a ring, a dollar bill tucked under their legs still in the running in "Sit-a-Buck." It's the miles of winding trails along dry riverbeds and high mountain ranges, where a horse can pick his way and a rider can enjoy it. Pam Hait (Right, above) Getting into a recreation mood isn't too awfully difficult at Lake Powell, along the Arizona-Utah border. The huge reservoir-lake offers nearly 200 miles of blue water for fishing, boating, skiing, and just plain adventuring. Developed marinas, resorts, and a plush lodge also are available.

(Right, below) Havasu Falls, on the Havasupai Reservation in northern Arizona, is set in a wonderland of scenic beauty, perfect for hiking, horseback riding, or just looking.

(Top, left) Sailing on a summer afternoon on the man-made lakes of the McCormick Ranch, a plush development north of Scottsdale.

(Left, below) The Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix first opened its doors to sunshine enthusiasts in 1929. Posh and sophisticated, the grande dame of Arizona's resort hotels has 243 deluxe guest rooms on acres of manicured grounds. Alan Benoit

gamut from the 1890s to the "Roaring Twenties." The centerpiece of the block-square park is the Rosson House, a Victorian that was restored by business, government, and local citizens. It is accompanied by a landscaped pavillion, called The Lath House, that is used for cultural gatherings, farmer's markets, and concerts. But Phoenix goes back even farther in its sensitivity to history. This is the only city in the country with an archaeologist on the city payroll, a professional in charge of assuring that the city protects the ancient Indian ruins of the original founders. A major showcase for these efforts is the Pueblo Grande Museum on Washington Street, where careful excavation has uncovered homes of the Hohokam Indians who first settled the Valley - and developed the canal irrigation system that brought the desert to life.

And over all this over all the parks and players is the Phoenix landmark: Camelback Mountain.

According to one ancient story, an Indian maiden led a salt-laden camel into the Valley of the Sun. Exhausted, the camel sank to its knees and the salt spilled into the Salt River Valley. The camel still rests on the Valley floor with the maiden (the landmark known as the Praying Monk) at its head. If such ancient legend excites your interest, then check with the municipal governments they're likely to offer a course in ancient legends; they offer courses in almost everything else. Four times a year, the parks and recreation, and library departments sponsor more than 500 special interest classes hypnosis to belly dancing in 70 locations throughout the cities. There also is a range of outdoor classes, from tennis to kayaking to gardening. Maybe you don't have the time for classes because you've just discovered the city's bicycle paths: three trails that provide 45 miles of smooth riding along scenic routes reserved for bicycles only. Or maybe you're too busy for the moment because you're learning all about Phoenix' pioneers at Patriots Square a downtown park that provides a bit of green in the midst of skyscrapers. Six flags fly over the park representing all the banners that have flown over Arizona since the Spanish era and 60 bronze plaques are inset in the winding walkways to commemorate those who played important roles in the development of the city.

The array of recreation available in urban Arizona is limited only by the imagination and energy. But that's just the start, for the state as a whole is a playland.

Tourism is Arizona's number two industry, and lots of those tourists are "in state" residents who have found they don't have to travel far from home to change their environment or see something different.

One study reported that 24 percent of Phoenicians vacationed in Arizona last year. Few states could keep onefourth of their city folks at home, but few states offer the spectrum of Arizona. A tourism brochure asks: "Arizona, has anybody ever seen it all?" Nobody has ever laid claim to exploring all of Arizona, not when it includes the Grand Canyon and a Red Rock Country where, someone once said, "God paints the scenery."

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona is one of the most popular tourist spots in the nation. The North Rim is just a few miles away as the crow flies, but hundreds of miles by road a distance factor that discourages many tourists. But there are those who believe the North Rim has an even more spectacular view.

text continued on page 28 You don't have to travel far from key urban centers to discover Arizona's incredible outdoor beauty spots. (Below) The Snow Bowl is a popular ski resort nestled in the pines on the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks near (Right) for Phoenicians there are such attractions as the Japanese flower gardens along Baseline Road, on the city's south side. The gardens are actually flower farms where acres of blooms are grown for sale on the premises and for the wholesale market.

(Far right) Week-end sailors glide along the surface of Lake Pleasant, in the desert, minutes north of Phoenix. James Tallon (Right, below) For hiking or just contemplat-ing the fantasy beauty of rock spires, minarets, and temples, it's hard to beat the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Dick Dietrich

text continued from page 26

Hiking the Canyon is a bit of bravery for those serious about the outdoors. Several camping spots are available in the Canyon along the trails that lead a mile down the steep slopes to the Colorado River. The heartiest of souls hike from one rim to another a down and up trek that deserves a special badge of accomplishment.

Farther to the east are the stately White Mountains, where winter skiing is popular, and small towns are nestled among the forests. And to the west is the Colorado River, with towns that specialize in water sports. A major point of interest is the London Bridge dismantled block by block from its English home and rebuilt here as the identifying landmark of Lake Havasu City.

And no trip to northern Arizona is complete without a visit to Sedona, a community of 5000 among the Red Rock Country that has become a favorite spot for artists as well as retirees. High above Sedona is Jerome, an old mining town that seems to hang from the sides of Cleopatra Hill on Mingus Mountain. The major city in northern Arizona is Flagstaff, with its popular ski slopes and Northern Ari-zona University. Then there are the Indian ruins of Tuzigoot and Monte-zuma's Castle, to name a few, and Petri-fied Forest National Park, and the Painted Desert, among other parks and monuments.

Traveling south from Phoenix creates a whole new circumstance of climate, terrain, and sites to see. Tucson - the Old Pueblo - is a hospitable community that boasts the picture-pretty University of Arizona, 83 parks and playgrounds, 11 museums and galleries and a half-dozen libraries.

Anyone who has ever seen a cowboy movie will probably recognize “Old Tucson,” a movie set that has been used for years. For a closer inspection of desert life flora and fauna there's the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Here the prairie dogs and desert tortoises live among the boojum trees and saguaros, and well-marked educational trails tell the story of the desert and its botanical inhabitants.

For solitude or togetherness, Tucson offers wooded Sabino Canyon. Tucson-ians have the option of getting away for an hour or days here, for hiking, biking, backpacking, riding, jogging, skiing, strolling, or just loafing. Over it all, the mantilla of Mexico spreads its elusive, special quality, reminding visitors and residents alike that their Latin neighbor is only an hour away.

While Phoenicians are likely to head

Traveling south from Phoenix creates a whole new world of climate, terrain, and sites to see. (Left) Seven Falls in the Santa Catalina Mountains, northeast of Tucson, attracts residents and visitors alike. David Muench (Far left, top) A barbeque in the great outdoors is far from a lost art, particularly in Southern Arizona. Alan Benoit (Left, below) Breakfast comes early on mounted pack trips, a fantastic way in which to experience the Santa Catalinas. James Tallon north during the heat of summer, Tucsonians dip south, getting away to the clear bays and sandy beaches of Mexico's San Carlos Bay, Guaymas, and Mazatlán. For something closer to home, there are day trips to the border town of Nogales for shopping and turtle soup. Tucson strongly feels its Spanish heritage, hears the mariachi melodies, cherishes the Mexican mood, which is as deeply ingrained in the city as the heavy wooden beams that span the territorial homes.

If science is a secret passion, a day trip to Kitt Peak Observatory, center point of the largest astronomical community in the world, can stretch the imagination and education to faroff galaxies. Or to cheer an earthly team, there's the Tucson Toros, the farm team for the Texas Rangers, and the Cleveland Indians who do their spring training here. Another type of team is the crew at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, which presents regular air shows.

As Arizona has found, its playful life-style isn't just fun, it's profitable. Corporations are beginning to see that how people live does make a difference. While it's difficult to assess a dollar value to that concept, it's significant that several new companies planning to set up shop here have noted they felt the move would provide a better “quality of life” for their people.

Increasingly, experts predict we're a nation with time on our hands. For some, that means more time to loaf. For others, it means time for hobbies, chasing dreams, and putting a new zest into living.

It used to be that the bottom line decided where we lived; we went wherever we could make the most money. Then along came Arizona, booming after World War II, and while salary considerations didn't exactly step aside, they became one of several considerations.

It makes sense, many decided, to live 12 months a year where they wanted to be, instead of waiting all year for a two-week vacation to that dream spot.

Arizona, with its climate, its opportunities, and its premium on the outdoor life, beckoned. - Jana Bommersbach

Shopping Arizona-style

If an archeologist unearthed the metropolitan areas of Phoenix or Tucson in the year 3000, no doubt he'd deduce that we were a civilization of shoppers. Other societies left temples to the gods... we'll leave shopping centers.

Regional Shopping Centers: These are the places where climate never intrudes because everything is regulated, air-conditioned, and when necessary, heated. Metrocenter, in Phoenix, with over 1.5 million square feet of shopping space, dominates the state. But Chris-Town, also in Phoenix, and Fiesta Mall, in nearby Mesa, also top that prestigious one-million-square-foot mark. It's everything the average small town offers, but within single, well-designed settings in convenient locations. The Phoenix metropolitan area, alone, has over 300 shopping centers with areas of 20,000 square feet or more.

While shopping centers are springing up throughout Phoenix, Scottsdale, itself, still offers a special shopping experience. At last count, the West's Most Western Town boasted more than 70 art galleries. Main Street, west of Scottsdale Road, is palm-shaded and fringed with wooden ramadas. But it's the art galleries and antique stores which keep window shoppers busy. East of Scottsdale Road, Main Street keeps the flavor of the Old West alive, with western stores that cater to a variety of tastes. North on Scottsdale Road is Fifth Avenue, noted for its chic boutiques... plan to spend some hours browsing.

For an excursion into a different culture, courtesy of the architecture, head up north to Sedona. Tlaquepaque is a shopping center designed to look like a Mexican village, with cobbled streets and thick adobe-styled walls, strings of dried red chiles, and flower carts tucked in corners. Upstairs and down, small shops tempt tourists and residents with paintings and sculpture, fashions, gifts, and unusual objets d'art, like one-of-a-kind handblown glass goblets and vases.

Or, travel south from Tucson to sample the authentic flavor of a border town. Tucsonians make regular shopping trips to Nogales, Sonora, for clay pots, hand-tooled leather goods, and Mexican liqueurs. It's easy to park on the American side, and walk across the border. What's not so easy is to walk back across with bags loaded with brilliant paper flowers, baskets, hats, and a variety of things made with wrought iron.

But for shopping with its own unique charm, visit the Hubbell Trading Post, on the Navajo Indian Reservation, now a National Historic Site. They offer a select array of handmade rugs and jewelry. But even more impressive than the merchandise, are the buildings themselves. The trading post is a glimpse of what it was like, not so long ago, as history measures time, to shop in Arizona. Pam Hait