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USA - ARIZONA : THE BEST OF ARIZONA'S WEST by Ursula & Eldrid Retief   The theme from The Magnificent Seven filled the streets of Old Tucson Studios where so many Westerns have been shot, a young Steve McQueen riding shot-gun to a cheroot-chewing Yul Brynner, menacingly togged out in black.It put us in mind of another magnificent but more serene seven - the Best Western inns and hotels we had found on a driving tour of the central and south eastern regions of Arizona. One of the world’s best known brand names, Best Western has been welcoming guests for more than half a century. Its distinctive hotels and motor inns reflect their locations and the character of their regions. It has managed quality control without stifling individual style and charm. In fact many Best Western owners run their hotels as an extension of their homes.
Later the hotel’s shuttle took us to downtown Phoenix. Make your first stop the Heard Museum, founded in 1928 to spotlight Indian culture. Today it houses 75.000 artifacts. Or nip into the Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Art Museum with its 18,000 works, the Arizona Mineral Museum and Pueblo Grande, and the restored Orpheum Theater. Cool off at the Arizona Center, a shopping mall designed like an oasis. What wouldn’t the Arabs give for the cooling spray that keeps the temperatures down. The Desert Botanical Gardens, nestling amid the buttes of Papago Park, is home to the world’s largest and most diverse collection of succulent plants, including rare, threatened and endangered species from around the Southwest. Really “discovering “ Phoenix meant for us a longer stay, not far off in the Ahwatukee foothills of Phoenix at the Best Western Grace Inn at Ahwatukee. A short detour took us to the Best Western Rancho Grande in Wickenburg, 80 kilometers northwest of Phoenix in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains along the banks of the Hassayampa River, passing place names like Dead Cow Gulch and Horse Thief Basin. Don’t you just love it ?! Wickenburg has a rich Western history which is still evident today. The stop signs say “WHOA!” The town is filled with cute boutiques and art galleries, and its Desert Caballeros Western Museum showcase an acclaimed collection of Western art and artifacts. It’s surrounded by ghost towns and abandoned gold mines which bear testimony to Arizona’s gold rush days. We then bypass Phoenix to head southeast to the San Carlos Apache Reservation, the lands where Apache chiefs Geronimo and Cochise once battled the US Cavalry. Along the way, imposing saguaros, rugged mountains jutting out of the desert, and four lakes created by dams on the Salt River give you a glimpse of Arizona’s beauty and diversity. Don’t miss, on US 60, the Boyce Thompson Southwest Arboretum with its collection of more than10,000 desert cacti, flowers and trees. On the way to the Best Western Apache Gold Hotel and Casino you pass through the neighboring silver and copper mining town of Globe and Miami. You learn all about Globe (named for a 50-pound globe-shaped silver nugget) at the old courthouse, built in 1906 and now home to an arts center. Meandering west from Globe-Miami is the famous Apache Trail. The spanking new Best Western Apache Gold Hotel & Casino is within the boundaries of San Carlos Apache Reservation which is also home to the San Carlos Apache Culture Center and the San Carlos Recreation and Wildlife Retreat, and 30 miles from San Carlos Lake, a popular water sports and fishing area. It is about 40 miles to Roosevelt Lake and the same distance to the Tonto National Monument, a well preserved complex of cliff dwellings occupied over 500 years ago by the Salado Indians. On the way to Tucson spend a morning at Biosphere2, the world’s largest glass-enclosed ecological laboratory which once provided a self-contained and sealed environment in which eight technicians lived, worked and conducted their scientific experiments. Since then, many changes have taken place and new educational, research and visitors programs have been instituted. Knowledgeable guides will take you through. The Best Western Royal Sun Inn and Suites in Tucson, near the University of Arizona, is ideally place to explore the entire area. This four-star hotel has the most comfortable of amenities and delightful Best Western-style hospitality. A visit to Old Town Artisans in Tucson is a great way to get acquainted with Tucson’s rich cultural heritage. The beautiful adobe restoration fills an entire block in the heart of the historic El Presido neighborhood. Parts of the building were said to be constructed in the early 1850s when the Presido wall protected the Mexican settlement of Tucson from Indian attack. Nearby is Mount Lemmon, the southernmost ski area in the US, the Sabino Canyon, a cool retreat of shady streams, waterfalls, hiking and biking trails and picnic areas. Not 10 miles away is the Arizona-Senora Desert Museum, an exciting mix zoo, botanical garden, mineral collection and aquarium, rated as one of the top zoos in the world. It showcases animals of the Senora Desert, including jaguars, mountain lions, wolves and javelina in their natural habitat On your way there you drive through Saguaro National Monument where the stately saguaro cactus can grow to 50 feet in height, some weighing as much as 10 tons, some over 200 years old. Old Tucson Studios, a western theme park and motion picture studio, is 12 miles west of Tucson. Originally constructed in 1939 as a movie set for the epic “Arizona", Old Tucson Studios has been home to over 300 motion pictures and television series. You walk through a mining town, an old fashioned carnival area, the 1890s Town square, and a Mexican Mission Plaza, chatting with the heroic sheriff, whip-yielding desperadoes and other western characters who roam the streets. Only 112 kilometers to the east is Tombstone, home of the OK Corral and its infamous gunfight
The country surrounding Green Valley abounds with historic attractions – early Spanish Missions, frontier outposts and gold mines. From the Best Western Green Valley in the Santa Cruz Valley you can plan a day's outing in the colorful Old Mexico with Nogales practically down the road. It’s near the Titan Missile Museum, a 10-minute drive to Madera Canyon, 15 minutes to to San Xavier Mission, 20 minutes to Spanish Mission Your last night can be spent at The Best Western Dobson Ranch Inn & Resort in Mesa, surrounded by 20 lush green golf courses. Mesa is home to the Camplin Fighter Museum, the world’s largest private collection of fighter aircraft, close to Phoenix and its attractions, and handily placed for the wilderness of Superstition Mountains where, legend has it, is hidden the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine. Photo: courtesy Gill Kenny © Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau
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