Just For Fun

10 More Things to Do to Keep Cool This Summer!
1. Visit the aquarium! There are 2 in the Valley. One shares its position with wild animals, J Wildlife World and Aquarium. See them both, close up and personal.
2. Visit another aquarium! The Valley may be hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean, but desert dwellers can be [...]

Arizona Trivia
Fifteen tons of copper were used in the construction of the Arizona State Capitol’s dome. This is equivalent to the amount of copper used to create 4.8 million pennies.
On February 14, 1912, when President William H. Taft signed the proclamation making Arizona the 18th state, cameras rolled. That signing was the first presidential ceremony ever [...]

Now that’s cool!

30 ways to stay cool this summer!
Arizona is a land of contrasts and only 40% is desert.
That means that there is plenty of pine country for hiking; lakes for boating;
scenic and cool places to explore, and visit.

So, take advantage of the cool Water and Ice Palaces the Valley offers.
Ice Palaces…
Ice Den [...]

In addition to the joy of being out in nature, biking and hiking have benefits that go beyond fun and fitness.

As with other physical activities, when riders or hikers exceed what they perceive as their limitations, they realize they can go beyond their limitations in other parts of life, as well.

Mostly, though, mountain biking and hiking is about the simple pleasure of cruising or walking along a trail with the wind in your face. Hiking is experiencing the beauty of nature as well.

“For a lot of people, whenever they throw a leg over (a bike), it brings back a part of their childhood,” says Mike DiStefano, who works at Rage Cycles in Scottsdale. “You can forget your daily troubles when you’re on a bike.”

Last spring, I included many, many photos of our wildflowers, and I suspect with the rain we’ve been fortunate to have this past winter, that we’ll have as good, if not better, displays.
While we wait, though, there’s a gallery on my hiking page, that profiles many of the great trails we have and the views [...]