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Flagstaff Arizona Attractions: Ancient Pueblos to Volcanoes

Flagstaff Arizona attractions offer everything from museums and art galleries to hiking and skiing. Tour ancient Indian ruins, hike to a volcano or just window shop through historic downtown Flagstaff

Flagstaff Arizona Travel Guide: Northern Arizona's Land of Fire is Cool Getaway

Flagstaff Arizona travel makes a perfect year round vacation. This Arizona mountain town has a historic downtown, art galleries, museums, Indian ruins, volcanoes and trails for hiking and skiing.

Flagstaff Lodging: Small but Scenic Mountain Town has Variety of Places to Stay

Flagstaff lodging has all of the typical hotels and motels. But it also has interesting historic hotels, charming bed & breakfasts and cabins tucked into forest. Here's an overview plus tips.

Discover Arizona's Birding Hot Spots during the Southwest Wings Festival

The southeastern Arizona town of Sierra Vista, Arizona sits at the foot of the Huachuca Mountains.

Birders come to southeastern Arizona from around the world to see the elegant trogon (Photo: iStockphoto)

It's famous among birders for being so close to many of the Arizona's birding hot spots including Ramsey Canyon, Miller Canyon, Garden Canyon and Carr Canyon.

Sierra Vista makes a great home base for those looking for Arizona bird specialties such as the zone-tailed hawk, painted redstart, violet-crowned hummingbird, rose-throated becard, and that holy grail of birds - the elegant trogon.

Southeastern Arizona isn't just famous for birds, however.

The region is well-known for its amazing biodiversity, which includes many species of butterflies, dragonflies and other insects, reptiles, mammals and almost 1,000 species of plants.

For a superb introduction to southeastern Arizona birds, birding and nature, you can't do much better than the Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival, running August 6-10, 2008, at the Windemere Hotel and Conference Center.

This 5-day birding extravaganza features wide variety of activities for every level of interest from budding naturalists to expert birders.

Workshops range from learning wildlife photography techniques and how to build a nestbox to identifying dragonflies and observing hummingbird banding.

Lecture topics will include the study of wild felines in northern Mexico, a presentation about a local burrowing owl relocation project and the ecology of coatis in southeastern Arizona.

The most popular event - the field trips - will take you to some of the best birding locales in southeastern Arizona including Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains, Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains, the San Pedro River and the Patagonia-Sonoita Preserve.

This year's keynote speaker is naturalist Rick Wright, principle of Aimophila Adventures, director of WINGS birding tours and former editor of Winging It magazine.

Whether you're new to birding or are a lifelong "lifelister," the Southwest Birding and Nature Festival will open your eyes to the wonders of southeastern Arizona.

For a complete calendar of events and prices:

Explore the Culture of the Dine

The Navajo people - or the Dine ("the People"), as they refer to themselves - have the largest reservation in the United States.

The Museum of Northern Arizona is tucked away in the pines north of downtown Flagstaff

Their nation covers 27,000 square miles on the Colorado Plateau and extends across three states - Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

It's a beautiful, rugged land of dramatically eroded canyons, forested mountains and vast high desert.

Many people have gotten a glimpse into Navajo culture through the wonderful and popular mystery novels of author Tony Hillerman.

To get to know more about them and of the Navajo "Beauty Way" philosophy of living in harmony with the world, head to the 59th annual Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture, August 2-3.

This popular festival at Flagstaff's Museum of Northern Arizona hosts over 75 Navajo artists, storytellers and cultural interpreters from some of the many Navajo clans.

This year's festival highlights the famous Navajo Code Talkers, who devised an unbreakable code in the Navajo language during World War II.

Their work was instrumental in helping to win the war.See exhibits and lectures on this fascinating subject.

The Navajo Festival will also spotlight the fine art of Navajo weaving. Navajo weavers are famous the world over for their beautiful wool rugs.

You'll be able to see rug weaving demonstrations, see an exhibit of Navajo textiles and learn more about one of the most famous of the Navajo arts and crafts.

Other Navajo Festival highlights include:

• Navajo music from Flagstaff's Dine rock trio Blackfire
• Navajo singer/songwriter Clarence Clearwater who sings traditional songs in Navajo and contemporary songs in English aboard the Grand Canyon Railway.
• the Pollen Trail Dancers, a traditional children's dance group from Joseph City, will perform dances and an educational fashion show that illustrates the changes in Navajo clothing from ancient to modern times.

There will also be native food demonstrations, an ethnobotanical walk, discussions of Navajo philosophy and linguistics, wool processing, dyeing and weaving demonstrations and an artists' marketplace where you can buy authentic Navajo arts and crafts.

For tickets prices, times and details:

Need a Hotel in Arizona: Try a Historic or Boutique Hotel

If you're looking for a hotel in Arizona, you won't have any trouble finding one. All of the major hotel chains are here. But for something different, book a room at a historic or boutique hotel.

Vacation Rentals in Arizona: Get More Lodging for Your Buck

Vacation rentals in Arizona can be a great lodging option. With a little price comparison, you'll find that Arizona vacation rentals can be more cost-effective than staying at resort or hotel.

Sedona Arizona Restaurants Guide: Find a Great Sedona Dining Spot

Dining in Sedona? Sedona Arizona restaurants have everything from fine French and Mexican food to pizza and farm style breakfasts. Check out our Sedona restaurant guide to help you decide where to eat

The 121st Annual Prescott Frontier Days and World's Oldest Rodeo

Today, Prescott Arizona is known as a great summer getaway for desert dwellers looking to escape the summer heat, and as a popular retirement choice for its mild, four-season climate.

Bull riding is one of the most challenging of rodeo events

But did you know that Prescott Arizona was once the Arizona Territorial capital and the birthplace of professional rodeo?

Back in its Old West heyday - in 1888 to be exact - some enterprising Prescott businessmen decided that the capital needed a flashier 4th of July event that would bring in the local cowboys and ranch hands to spend their dollars in town.

So, they came up with a July Fourth cowboy contest that would have the best riders in the area competing for a small cash prize, bragging rights and - ultimately - spending their money at Prescott's bars along Whiskey Row.

Just 121 years later that early business promotion has morphed into the Prescott Frontier Days and World's Oldest Rodeo as well as spawning countless professional rodeos the world over.

Beginning on June 30, come to Frontier Days and get a taste of Prescott's Old West past.

Just stroll the streets and you'll see honest-to-goodness real cowboys bedecked in cowboy garb of Stetson hats, Wrangler jeans and even hand-tooled leather chaps.

Keep an eye out among these crowds for members of the Wrangler Pro Rodeo Tour.

Grab a partner and kick up your heels at the Rodeo Dance, held on July 3 at 8pm.

Don't miss the Kiwanis Kiddie Parade the next morning, on July 4 at 8:30am.

Children 12 years and younger dress up in their finest Western duds like cowboy and caballero outfits and patriotic dress. They'll be accompanied by colorfully costumed pets.

Stake out a spot early in the historic Courthouse Plaza for the Prescott Frontier Days Parade, on July 5 at 9:00am.

Thousands of people come to watch what is the second largest parade in Arizona after the Fiesta Bowl Parade.

You'll see a mix of beaded and fringed cowgirls on their equally decorated horses, school marching bands, floats and the Prescott Regulars and their Shady Ladies in 1800s cowboy garb and saloon girl dress.

Of all the Prescott Frontier Days events, the World's Oldest Rodeo is the biggest.

There’s a competition every night during Frontier Days week.

Male and female pro rodeo riders come from all over to compete in saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, bareback riding, team roping and bull riding.

The serious competition is broken up by specialty acts including Troy "the Wild Child" Terwill's rodeo cowboy comedy act and the Kiesner Family Wild West Review.

For those looking for something a little less exhilarating, there's the Prescott Frontier Days Fine Arts & Crafts Show, held July 4-6 in Courthouse Plaza.

For a schedule of events:

Red Rock State Park Sedona: Wildlife and Views Abound in the Sedona Desert

Red Rock State Park Sedona make a great outdoor day trip for its wildlife, scenic red rock views and sparkling Oak Creek. See kingfishers and butterflies, take a Sedona hike or just have a picnic.

Grab Your Flashlight and Explore the Night during Desert Botanical Garden Flashlight Tours

A walk in the desert on a summer evening can be a magical experience.

The waxy, white flowers of night-blooming cereus cactus are pollinated by bats

After the extreme heat of the day, the desert comes alive as twilight falls and the air finally cools.

But, if you're worried about just what you might encounter during a desert night, sign up for one of the Desert Botanical Garden’s Flashlight Tours.

All you need is a pair of comfy walking shoes and a flashlight to explore the safe and easy walking paths in Phoenix's Desert Botanical Garden.

You'll see the magnificent, pearlescent flowers of the night-blooming cereus cactus and the soaring flight of nighthawks as they hunt for an insect meal on the wing.

You may even hear the calls of toads and owls.

The Desert Botanical Garden Flashlight Tours are quite popular, so be sure to make reservations in advance.

The Flashlight Tours are free with admission to the garden and are scheduled for Thursday and Saturday evenings in June, July and August.

For additional details:

Ride to the Top of Arizona at Flagstaff's Arizona Snowbowl

What's the view like from some of the highest spots in Arizona?

The Arizona Snowbowl Skyride

You don't have to be a mountain climber to find out.

Just grab a seat on the Arizona Snowbowl's scenic Skyride, open now through mid-October.

The Arizona Snowbowl, north of Flagstaff, is better known as a popular Arizona winter skiing destination.

But every summer, the Snowbowl uses its skilift to carry sightseers up to 11,500 feet on the west ridge of Agassiz Peak – an extinct volcano in the San Francisco Mountains.

This is the highest elevation you can get to without hiking.

To reach to the highest point in Arizona, you'd have to hike the strenuous trail to the top of Mount Humphreys, which is right across the valley and tops out at 12,643 feet.

Once you reach the top of the skilift - after a leisurely 25-minute ride - you'll be amazed by the spectacular view of the vast San Francisco Peaks volcanic field.

Look south and you'll see downtown Flagstaff. Turn north and you can see all the way to the Grand Canyon.

When you've had your fill of views, explore one of the Coconino National Forest's beautiful hiking trails.

The Arizona Snowbowl is on the edge of the 18,960 acre Kachina Peaks Wilderness, a prime spot to see high mountain meadows and summer wildflowers.

Or, chat with a Forest Service Interpretative Ranger about the unique plants, animals and geology of this high elevation ecosystem.

If you go in the fall, you'll be treated to some great autumn leaf color as the leaves of the many aspen trees turn brilliant shades of gold.

The Arizona Snowbowl also offers lodging and a restaurant.

For Arizona Snowbowl Skyride summer hours and ticket prices:

Waila the Night Away in Tucson, Arizona

This Saturday, May 31, 2008, Tucson hosts one of our favorite annual Arizona festivals - the Waila Festival.

What is waila?

It is the social dance music of the Tohono O'odham Indian tribe, whose vast 3-million acre reservation stretches across a beautiful expanse of cactus-dotted desert and mountains just west of Tucson and all the way south to the Mexican border.

Waila is derived from "baile," the Spanish word for dance.

Waila music encompasses a range of European style tunes including mazurkas, cumbias, chotes (schottische) and wailas (polka).

When missionaries and settlers arrived in southern Arizona in the 1800s, they brought European instruments and music with them.

The Tohono O'odham adapted this bouncy dance music, creating their own distinctive and lively musical style.

Members of a waila band typically perform on accordions, electric, six-string and bass guitars, alto saxophones and drums.

Waila music has an unmistakable sound with an infectious rhythm. Think of a polka tune and ramp up the beat.

The term waila can refer to the music, a social dance or a party.

Traditionally, waila dances start at sundown and stretch long into the night until about sunup.

These fiestas are usually held for celebrating saints' days, birthdays, weddings and graduations.

Wailas are community-wide events with everyone pitching in to prepare the feast.

So, what will you see at the 20th annual Waila Festival?

Several Tohono O'odham bands performing waila music and lots of dancing.

Don't be surprised to see the senior tribal members get the dancing started by being first on the dance floor, demonstrating the basic steps.

You don't have to be a member of the tribe to dance. Everyone can participate.

Don't be shy - grab yourself a partner and dance the night away. If waila music doesn't inspire you to get up and dance, nothing will!

One you work up an appetite, head over to the food booths to try traditional Tohono O'odham foods such as tepary beans, frybread, roasted 60-day corn soup, and squash.

Be sure to try the cholla buds, which are from the native cholla cactus - they taste like a cross between string beans and okra and are delicious.

Just two tablespoons of cooked cholla buds contains as much calcium as an eight-ounce glass of milk.

The Waila Festival is sponsored by the Arizona Historical Society and is a great introduction to the Tohono O'odham tribe.

It is also one of the few Native American cultural events that allows participation by non-tribal members. This is a special festival and one you won’t forget.

The Waila Festival is held at the University of Arizona’s Bear Down Field from 5 pm - 11 pm.

Waila Festival admission and parking are free.

For directions and additional details:

Scottsdale Waterfront: Shop and Dine along the Desert's Sophisticated Riverfront

The Scottsdale Waterfront has re-energized downtown Scottsdale, transforming a canal into an chic retail and dining destination. Shop at high fashion boutiques or have a gourmet meal by the water.

Downtown Scottsdale: Western Kitsch, Art and Nightlife Make for a Vibrant Center

Downtown Scottsdale has had a facelift with new hotels, a waterfront and nightclub scene. But, you can still get your Southwest fix in downtown's unique art, antiques and entertainment districts.

Women Break Through the Leather Ceiling at Cowgirl Up! Art Show

Think western art and famous artists such as Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, Lon Megargee and Howard Terpning might come to mind.

There are, however, plenty of talented female Western artists too.

Now, they are getting long overdue exposure at the 3rd annual Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West Invitational Exhibition and Sale at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, Arizona, about 35 miles northwest of Phoenix.

Although women have long been creating western-themed works of art including cowboys, horses, Native Americans and landscapes, their work has not received the recognition or commanded the high prices of their male counterparts in the elite and all-male Cowboy Artists of America.

This inability to break through to the big time is known as the "leather ceiling" in the Western art world, which is part of the larger bias towards women in art that has lasted into the 21st century.

The Cowgirl show tries to remedy this imbalance.

Cowgirl Up! presents over 200 paintings, sculptures and drawings by 57 women Western artists.

The show features artists including Donna Howell Sickles, Jan Mapes, Linda Carter Holman, Roseta Santiago and Deborah Copenhaver Fellows.

The exhibition encompasses a wide variety of western art styles from traditional cowboy paintings to Western themes presented in a more contemporary way.

And while the show was created to spotlight the work of women western artists, the show also hopes to help break down the traditional art bias against western imagery in art in general.

No matter your gender or your artistic bent, Cowgirl Up! is one of the "must see" art shows in Arizona.

Can’t make it this year? Mark your calendar for next year’s show and visit the Desert Caballeros Museum anyway, which is one of the best western museums in the country.

Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West runs through May 4, 2008.

For details: