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June 16, 2000/13 Sivan I 5760, Vol. 52, No.41
Away for a day
Explore northern Arizona
LEISAH NAMM
Staff Writer
As summer temperatures heat up, Valley residents may want to get away for a day and take advantage of northern Arizona's cooler climates and natural beauty.
From riding high in the air in a hot-air balloon to exploring the rocky terrain in a Jeep, visitors can experience the beauty of Sedona.
A two-hour drive from Phoenix, Sedona is set in the red-hued rocks of Oak Creek Canyon. Galleries and boutiques are scattered throughout the city and in Tlaquepaque, a city recreated as an old Mexican village.
In Oak Creek Canyon, off Highway 89A, is Slide Rock State Park, developed around a 30-foot natural water slide worn in the bed of the creek. Wearing water shoes and sturdy shorts is recommended for sliding down the slippery rock. Call 520-282-3034.
In May, Sedona Cultural Park opened its 50-acre park to offer nature trails, sculpture gardens and entertainment throughout the year. Summer activities include a Shakespeare Sedona Summer Theatre Festival. Call 1-800-780-ARTS for a schedule.
Summer events for The Sedona Arts Center, at 15 Art Barn Road and Highway 89A, include a watercolor workshop and a mixed- media workshop. Call 1-888-954-4442.
For more information about Sedona, call the Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon Chamber of Commerce at 1-520-282-7722.
Thirty-seven miles southwest of Sedona, along Highway 89A, is Jerome, an old mining town perched on Cleopatra Hill.
In the 1800s, miners struck it rich and in the 1920s, the population boomed to 15,000. When the United Verde Branch copper mines of the Phelps Dodge Corp. closed in 1953, the city became a virtual ghost town, according to the Automobile Association of America.
Since then, shops, galleries, studios and museums have been established in the town. As of July 1998, the American Census Bureau reported the Jerome population at 461.
Jerome State Historic Park houses a museum in the old Douglas Mansion, which traces the history of local mining and the family of James S. Douglas, developer of the United Verde Extension mine in the early 1900s.
For more information about Jerome, call 520-634-2900.
Flagstaff, located 140 miles north of Phoenix on Interstate 17, provides some heat relief, as the temperature tops out in the low 80s during summer months.
Flagstaff's name and one of its livelihoods developed from the abundance of ponderosa pine in the area, according to AAA. Legend says that during the Fourth of July celebrations in 1876, one of these pines was stripped of its branches and used as a flagstaff, which served as a landmark for wagon trains bound for California.
A tour of Flagstaff's pioneer past includes the 13,000 square- foot Riordan Mansion, built in 1904. The mansion was home to prominent lumberman Timothy and Michael Riordan and their families. Riordan State Historic Park is at 1300 Riordan Ranch Street. Guided tours of the mansion are daily on the hour and grounds open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 602-779-4395.
Founded in 1894 by scientist Percival Lowell, Lowell Observatory offers daytime tours and evening telescope viewings at 1400 W. Mars Hill Road. Call 520-774-2096.
The Museum of Northern Arizona, located at 3101 N. Fort Valley Road, will hold its 67th annual Hopi Marketplace 9 a.m.-5 p.m. July 1-2. Hopi artists will demonstrate how they make pottery, jewelry, baskets and other arts, and visitors can purchase pieces directly from the artists, watch social dances and taste traditional foods.
The museum will feature its 51st annual Navajo Marketplace Aug. 5-6.
Admission is $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 students, $2 child, 7-17.
Call 520-774-5213.
For more information about Flagstaff, call the Flagstaff Visitor Center, 1-888-788-FLAG.
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