Amazing Arizona... 100 things

I am, unashamedly, a desert rat. While I greatly enjoy visiting other places, Arizona is home. There are many things I've grown to appreciate about Arizona...

... the beauty of the desert...

... surreal sunsets.

I have spent many happy hours traveling around Arizona as a child and as an adult. I am convinced one could spent a lifetime exploring the state and never see everything it has to offer. 

Several weeks ago the Arizona Republic ran an article titled "100 Best Things About Arizona." They tied it to Arizona's statehood centennial in 2012, compiling a random list of "the top 100 places to see and things to do around the state." The list includes natural wonders, man-made wonders, restaurants, hotels and museums. Most of the ten items that Clay Thompson (perhaps my favorite columnist since Erma Bombeck died) contributed to the list are more experiences than actual places- "a well-stocked, regularly maintained hummingbird feeder" and "sitting under a bush beside a small trout stream about an hour north of Payson, wearing a floppy hot to fend off a light monsoon shower" for example.

While I disagree with some of their picks- for example, the Arizona Biltmore Resort is not uniquely Arizona; it's just a nice resort like dozens of others- most of them are ones I would have picked. In fact, I've already been to or done more than a third of them.

The article got me to think about what I would put on that list... things I have not yet seen or done. As my list began to take shape, I wondered if I could see/do everything on it by the end of 2012- my own personal tribute to Arizona's Centennial celebration. Realizing there are roughly 60 weeks until the end of 2012, a list of 100 seems a bit daunting, but I'm willing to give it a try. And realistically, I'll consider this challenge a success if I see/do 56 (my age in 2012!) of them.

But I don't want to have all the fun by myself.  I am challenging YOU to make your own list and start touring Arizona. Maybe I'll see you around the state! In the meantime, here, in no particular order, is my list- items with an * are ones that were in the article I haven't seen/done and would like to; the rest are uniquely mine:

1.      Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West  (Scottsdale) *

2.      Boyce Thompson Arboretum  (near Superior) *

3.      Musical Instrument Museum  (Phoenix)

4.      Roy Purcell Murals  (Chloride)

5.      Flintstone's Bedrock City  (Williams)

6.      Hobo Joe Statue  (Buckeye) 

7.      Frog Rock  (Congress)

8.      Over Easy  (Scottsdale- one of Guy Fieri's DDD places)

9.      Oatman  (Town near Kingman) *

10.    Mount Lemmon Ski Lift  (near Tucson) 

11.    Standin' on the Corner Statue  (Winslow)

12.    Biff's Bagels (Flagstaff) *

13.    Balloon Ride over Arizona (anywhere)

14.    Arcosanti  (Mayer) *

15.    Saguaro National Park  (near Tucson) *

16.    Tovrea Castle  (Phoenix)

17.    Interstate-15 Virgin River Gorge Scenic Drive  (NW part of state)

18.    Antelope Canyon (Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park) *

19.    Wings Over Wilcox  (Wilcox)

20.    Mystery Christmas Tree  (I-17 near Cordes Jct)  (revisited)

21.    Shoshone Point  (hike at South Rim of the Grand Canyon) *
22.    Kofa National Wildlife Refuge- Palm Canyon (north of Yuma)
23.    Recycled Gas Tank Sculptures  (Black Canyon City)
24.    Kartchner Caverns  (Benson) *
25.    Arizona Folklore Preserve  (Ramsey Canyon)
26.    Yuma Territorial Prison  (Yuma)
27.    Walking Bridge over Tempe Town Lake  (Tempe)
28.    El Tovar Hotel  (Grand Canyon) *
29.    Queen Creek Olive Mill  (Queen Creek)
30.    Salsa Brava  (Flagstaff- another one of Guy Fieri's DDD places)
31.    Clifton's Cliff Jail  (Clifton)
32.    Fina's Tree  (Tucson)
33.    Organ Pipe National Monument  (south part of state) *
34.    Junk Art of Chloride  (Chloride)
35.    Wrigley Mansion  (Phoenix)
36.    Velvet Elvis (pizza place in Patagonia) *
37.    SeaLife Arizona Aquarium  (Phoenix)
38.    Matt's Big Breakfast  (Phoenix- another one of Guy Fieri's DDD places)
39.    Copper Queen Hotel  (Bisbee) *
40.    Canyon de Chelly  (NE part of state) *
41.    Tumacácori National Historic Park  (south of Tubac)
42.    Vertuccio Farms Corn Maze (Mesa)
43.    Queen Mine Tour  (Bisbee) *
44.    Tombstone  (Tombstone) *
45.    Mystery Castle  (Phoenix) *
46.    Pima Air and Space Museum  (Tucson)
47.    The "Boneyard"  (Davis-Monthan AFB)
48.    Bisbee  (Bisbee) *
49.    Garden of Gethsemane  (Tucson)
50.    Phoenix Police Museum  (Phoenix)
51.    World's Largest Rose Bush  (Tombstone)
52.    Bola Tie Exhibit at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum  (Wickenburg)
53.    Horseshoe Bend Lookout  (near Page)
54.    Apple Annie's Orchard  (Wilcox)
55.    Phoenix International Raceway  (Phoenix)
56.    The Thing  (between Benson and Wilcox)
57.    Tubac  (Tubac) *
58.    Haus Murphy's  (Glendale- another one of Guy Fieri's DDD places)
59.    Arrow Tree  (Alpine)
60.    Lee's Ferry and Navajo Bridge  (near Page)
61.    Holiday Light Parade  (Prescott)
62.    Riordan Mansion State Historic Park  (Flagstaff) *
63.    "Taj Mahal" in the Desert  (Dome) (revisited)
64.    Butterfly Garden  (Patagonia)
65.    Niels Petersen House  (Tempe)
66.    Picacho Peak Civil War Battle Re-enactment  (Picacho Peak State Park)
67.    Luhr's Building and Luhr's Tower  (Phoenix) *
68.    Chino Bandido  (Phoenix- another one of Guy Fieri's DDD places)
69.    Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge  (Hoover Dam)
70.    Hadji Ali's Tombstone  (Quartzsite)
71.    La Posada Hotel  (Winslow) *
72.    Commemorative Air Force Museum  (Falcon Field in Mesa)
73.    Rosson House Museum  (Phoenix)
74.    US-89A Arizona Strip/Vermillion Cliffs  (northern part of state) *
75.    Kitt Peak National Observatory  (Tohono O'odham Reservation)
76.    Quartzsite Yacht Club  (Quartzsite)
77.    Verde Canyon Railroad  (Cottonwood) *
78.    Arizona Balloon Classic  (Wild Horse Pass)
79.    San Pedro House  (near Sierra Vista) *
80.    Thee Pitts Again  (Glendale- yet another one of Guy Fieri's DDD places)
81.    Ride a Glider over the desert (Peoria)
82.    Glendale Chocolate Affaire  (Glendale)
83.    Apache Trail Scenic Drive  (Tortilla Flat and beyond) *
84.    Shrine of St. Joseph  (Yarnell)
85.    Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch
86.    Barrett's Village  (Quartzsite)
87.    Humphreys Peak  (Flagstaff) *
88.    Mary Coyle Ol' Fashioned Ice Cream  (Phoenix)
89.    Hall of Flame Museum  (Phoenix)
90.    Wigwam Motel  (Holbrook) *
91.    Giuseppe's on 28th  (Phoenix- yes, another one of Guy Fieri's DDD places)
92.    Running of the Bulls  (Cavecreek)
93.    Release the Fear Melted Weapons Sculpture  (Phoenix)
94.    Petrified Forest  (near Holbrook) *
95.    Duppa  House  (Phoenix)
96.    London Bridge  (Lake Havasu) *
97.    Cerreta Fine Chocolate Factory Tour (Glendale)
98.    Arizona Lavender Festival  (Concho)
99.    Strawberry School  (Strawberry)
100.  Greer  (Greer) *

** Links will take you to my blog post for that item**
*** You can see my Amazing Arizona... 100 things wrap-up here. ***