Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Buschers' Arizona Bucket List


      We are often asked where we would suggest someone go to find the best of Arizona.  So, after some tough considerations, we have come up with our  "Arizona Best 101" - places we suggest you put on your Arizona Bucket List.  We hope that someday you too will visit and enjoy these great Arizona treasures as you go about Finding Arizona for yourself.  We could have added another 100 places to our bucket list, but thought we would stop with 101.  Please let us know what you think of our bucket list and anyplace you suggest we should add to our list - enjoy! 

The Buschers' Bucket List for Finding Arizona

Top Ten…
1.              Tour Kartchner Caverns State Park - If you can make only 1 trip in Arizona go here -http://azstateparks.com/parks/kaca/
2.            Travel to the Hopi Mesas - amazing, beautiful and so rich in history - http://www.hopiculturalcenter.com/  Be sure to especially visit the Village of Walpi.
3.            Climb Humphreys Peak - You will be able to say that you stood on top of Arizona - good story to retell to family and friends - http://www.downthetrail.com/hiking-humphreys-peak/
4.            Hike to the Havasupai Indian Reservation - If the Biblical Paradise were in Arizona, it would surely be at the Village of Supai and their amazing waterfalls - http://www.havasupaitribe.com/
5.            Visit Monument Valley - When John Wayne first came to Monument Valley to make a Western movie, he said, “Now I know where God hid the West.”  A truly magical land that is mostly in Utah, but parts are in our Arizona - http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalley.htm
6.            Visit San Xavier del Bac Mission - the most spectacular example of 18th Century mission architecture in the American Southwest - just 9 miles outside of Tucson - http://www.sanxaviermission.org/History.html
7.            Explore Canyon de Chelly -  one of the most beautiful set of canyons found in Arizona - http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/cach/index.cfm
8.            “Walk on the Sky” at Grand Canyon Sky Walk - it is man made but it is one exhilarating thrill - http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/
9.            Spend a day at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - a world class outdoor museum where you can discover everything you have ever wanted to know about the Sonoran Desert - http://www.desertmuseum.org/
10.          Experience the Gallery In the Sun - Ted De Grazia was Arizona’s most famous artist who captured the story of Arizona on his canvas.  His gallery in the northern part of Tucson is very special - http://degrazia.org/Splash.aspx

And now the rest of our bucket list of Top 100+ Arizona places to visit and enjoy!
 
11.           Visit Sabino Canyon - Tucson
12.         Hike Aravaipa Canyon - Winkleman
13.         Discover the Honanki Ruins - Sedona
14.         Enjoy Lynx Lake and the Granite Dells - Prescott
15.         Discover Woods Canyon Lake, White Mountains of Arizona
16.         Spend a night at Molly Butlers Lodge, Greer
17.         Travel to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and spend at least a night.
18.         Visit the Chocolate Falls after a heavy Spring snowmelt - northeast of Flagstaff
19.         Visit Fort Bowie National Historic Site - Bowie
20.        Boat on Lake Powell, Paige
21.         Explore the monuments of Wesley Bolin Plaza - visit Arizona’s “National Mall” at the state capitol, Phoenix
22.        Visit the Vermillion Cliffs and discover the release site for the California Condors, near Lee’s Ferry.
23.        Be amazed by the balance rocks of the Chiricahua National Monument.
24.        Feel the indescribable power found at the Titan Missile Museum, Green Valley.
25.        Squeeze through the slots of Antelope Canyon, Paige
26.        Walk the narrow trails of Walnut Canyon National Monument, Flagstaff
27.        Avoid the crowds and discover the South Rim of the Grand Canyon during the winter
28.        Travel back in time and explore the Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert, Holbrook
29.        Spend a few days at the historic Hannagan Meadow Lodge, Alpine
30.        Discover the greatness of Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott
31.         Travel to the summit of Bill Williams Mountain, Williams
32.        Ride the Grand Canyon Railroad from Williams to the Grand Canyon, Williams
33.        Take a class from the staff of Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior
34.        Drive the Apache Trail, Apache Junction
35.        Find the fern grotto at Tonto Bridge State Park, Payson
36.        Enjoy a picnic at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Fountain Hills
37.        Watch for Bald Eagles while riding the Verde Valley Railroad, Clarkdale
38.        Spend Halloween night at the Grand Hotel, Jerome
39.        Make a summer escape to the historic Isabella Greenway’s Arizona Inn, Tucson
40.        Recapture a slower time at the Shady Dell, Bisbee
41.         Stay in our favorite Arizona Hotel, La Posada, Winslow
42.        Drive the longest uninterrupted stretch of America’s Mother Road - Route 66, Seligman to Topock
43.        Take another opportunity to meet a ghost at the Copper Queen Hotel, Bisbee
44.        Walk the “Streets of Tombstone” especially on a moonless Saturday night, Tombstone
45.        Visit the Amerind Foundation Museum, Dragoon
46.        Travel into a copper mine at the Copper Queen Mine Tour, Bisbee
47.        Photograph a burro on the main street of Oatman
48.        Relax and enjoy our favorite Sedona area escape, the Briar Patch Inn, Oak Creek Canyon
49.        Visit and be thankful you were never sentenced to the Yuma Territorial Prison, Yuma
50.        Walk across London Bridge, Lake Havasu
51.         Hike the Grand Canyon so you too can wear a T-shirt that proclaims, “I Hiked The Canyon!”, Grand Canyon
52.        Enjoy the wildlife found at Bearizona, Williams
53.        Finally discover for yourself “The Thing!”, Dragoon
54.        Bicycle or walk across the Snake Bridge, Tucson
55.        Drive the loop and visit both Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments, Flagstaff
56.        Hike Peralta Canyon to Weaver’s Needle, Superstition Mountains
57.        Visit the real Fort Apache, Whiteriver
58.        Walk the ruins of Besh-Ba-Gowah, Globe
59.        Fish in the waters of Big Lake, 25 miles from Eagar
60.        Visit Montezuma Castle National Monument and Montezuma Well, Camp Verde
61.         Travel to Quartzsite during January and discover 1000s of Snowbirds, Quartzsite
62.        Explore the ruins of Kinishba, Whiteriver
63.        Follow the Turquoise Trail, Tucson
64.        Dine at Mormon Lake Lodge, Mormon Lake
65.        Spend a couple of nights at the Lodge on Route 66, Williams
66.        Buy some honey at the Honey Stand, Pine
67.        Discover the universe at Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff
68.        Eat pie at the Strawberry Lodge, Strawberry
69.        Explore the buildings of Pioneer Living History Museum, Phoenix
70.        Discover Robson’s Mining World, Harcuvar Mountains
71.         Float down the Colorado River, Grand Canyon
72.        Take a tour of Hoover Dam
73.        Enjoy the ruins of Guevavi and Tumacacori National Historic Park, Tumacacori
74.        Walk among the Chloride Murals, Chloride
75.        Walk among the cacti at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix
76.        Feel the pride at the Pima Air Museum, Tucson
77.        Discover an Arizona like you never knew it, Patagonia
78.        Walk in a dry cave at Colossal Cave Mountain Park, Vail
79.        Feed your artistic side at the Tubac Art Festival, Tubac
80.        Walk inside Biosphere II, Oracle
81.         Discover the Singing Cowboy at the Rex Allen Museum, Willcox
82.        Spend a night in the Wigwam Teepees, Holbrook
83.        Locate the Green Frog Rock, Congress
84.        Taste your way through the Wineries of the Verde Valley
85.        Pick some vegetables at Mortimer Farm, Dewey
86.        Discover the petroglyhs at the Deer Valley Rock Art Center, Phoenix
87.        Pick pumpkins at Apple Annie’s Orchard, Willcox
88.        Eat ice cream at the SnoCap Ice Cream Parlor, Seligman
89.        Ride the elevator down into the Grand Canyon Caverns, 65 miles from Williams on Old Route 66
90.        Rediscover Zane Grey at the Rim Country Museum, Payson
91.         Travel up Yarnell Hill to Prescott
92.        Enjoy the Heard Museum, Phoenix
93.        Attend the First Saturday Art Walk, Jerome
94.        Eat at Charly’s Pub & Grill in the Weatherford Hotel, Flagstaff
95.        Discover Arizona’s first Museum, the Arizona State Museum on the campus of the U of A, Tucson
96.        See the heavens at Kitt Peak National Observatory, 60 miles west ofTucson
97.        Be amazed by the Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff
98.        Stop for and enjoy a date shake on your way to San Diego, Dateland
99.        Locate and visit the Bouse Fisherman Geoglyph, Quartzsite/Bouse
100.       Spend a night enjoying the Western entertainment found on Whiskey Row, Prescott
101.      Visit George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center, Phoenix
102.      Etc., etc., etc…














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