Sightseeing and Activities in Phoenix and Arizona
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In addition to ACR's 7th Annual Conference, activities abound in Phoenix and around the state. Over the next several months, we will give you a variety of ideas from scenic ventures to overnights to world class cuisine to sports activities to cultural events.

The Greater Phoenix metropolitan area is commonly referred to as The Valley of the Sun. Approximately 90 miles south is The Old Pueblo of Tucson. Roughly 225 miles to the North is the breathtaking Grand Canyon. In between, we have more than 150 golf courses, museums, concert halls, hiking trails, red rocks, and so much more.

1. Sightseeing: In order to appreciate all the Sonoran desert offers, try out the Desert Botanical Gardens (www.desertbotanical.org) located in beautiful Papago Park (http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/hikepapa.html) about 20 minutes from downtown. Hike the Papago Park trails and go by the Phoenix Zoo (www.phoenixzoo.org) just next door. For longer trips, visit the old mining town of Jerome (www.azjerome.com), the red rocks of Sedona (www.visitsedona.com), and the Grand Canyon (www.nps.gov/grca), in the North. There are also sightseeing companies throughout the state. Just pick your area of interest.

2. A Valley jeep tour: Head off the beaten path and experience the rugged desert West without traveling very far from the conference. (www.phoenixtours.us/tours/tourType.cfm/ttid2/459?gclid=CJvMnMOynYsCFTIeGAodGl-CTQ).

3. Museums: Sense the rich Native American history at the Heard Museum, only 5 minutes from downtown (www.heard.org). You may also want to check out the Rembrandt and American landscapes at The Phoenix Art Museum (www.phxart.org). Try the African American Multicultural Museum in Scottsdale or the Arizona Capitol Museum (www.lib.az.us/museum) or the Arizona Mining Museum (www.mines.az.gov) or the Rosson House (www.rossonhousemuseum.org) or the ASU Art Museum in nearby Tempe (http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu). Phoenix is also the home of the Arizona Science Center (www.azscience.org) and the Pueblo Grande Museum (http://phoenix.gov/parks/pueblo.html). In downtown Tucson, you'll find the Tucson Museum of Art (www.tucsonarts.com/) and in Flagstaff visit the Museum of Northern Arizona (www.musnaz.org).

4. For architectural interests: Try Taliesin West by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in Scottsdale (www.franklloydwright.org) or his masterpiece, The Grady Gammage Auditorium, on the campus of ASU (www.asugammage.com).

5. Concert Halls: Visit the following websites:
ASU Herberger College (http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/news/press_release.php?id=14);
Desert Stages, Scottsdale (www.desertstages.com/sub_pages/index.html);
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org/);
Dodge Theatre, Phoenix (www.dodgetheatre.com);
Phoenix Symphony (www.phoenixsymphony.org);
ASU Gammage Center (www.gammage.com);
Mesa Arts Center (www.mesaartscenter.com/);
UA Centennial Hall, Tucson (www.thepepper.com/tucson_centennial_hall.html);
Tucson Symphony (www.tucsonsymphony.org/PDF/78Calendar.pdf);
Tucson Convention Center (www.ci.tucson.az.us/tcc/concerts/index.html).

6. Sports: Phoenix, Tucson, and Northern Arizona offer golfing, hiking, biking, birding, tennis, high altitude training. For golfing, you came to the right place for world class courses and executive courses. Go to (www.golfguideusa.com/phoenix/list.asp) for golf in Phoenix and in Tucson visit (www.golfguideusa.com/tucson/list.asp). Hiking trails in Phoenix are served by a city-wide park system (http://phoenix.gov/parks/hikemain.html) and range from easy to difficult climbs. In Tucson, there is everything from Sabino Canyon and Mt. Lemmon on the West to a variety of in-town hikes (http://arizona.sierraclub.org/trail_guide/) and four mountain ranges surrounding this high desert city - Tucson, Santa Catalina, Rincon, and Santa Rita Mountains.

7. Professional Sports Teams: The Arizona Cardinals play 45 minutes from downtown in the newest NFL stadium (www.azcardinals.com/). The Phoenix Suns of the NBA (www.nba.com/suns/) play downtown. Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks (http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=ari) also play downtown Phoenix. The NHL offers Wayne Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes (www.phoenixcoyotes.com/) about 45 minutes from downtown.