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 18^th 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…