Arizona high country towns offer summer respite

With the price of gasoline continuing to climb, summer getaways closer to home become more and more inviting.

Some of our favorite, cooler destinations are Prescott, Pinetop and Patagonia. Let’s take a look at each of them:

Prescott – The first thing that strikes the first-time visitor to this former territorial town is the Midwestern atmosphere: Victorian and arts-and-crafts style homes with high pitched roofs, clapboard construction and a lot of brick.

Courthouse Square, the center of town, is flanked by famed Whiskey Row, once said to be Arizona’s most disreputable attraction, where serious drinkers would wager whether they could make it from one end of the block to the other without skipping a saloon, or a drink. The Palace Saloon is still there, and a visitor can slake a thirst at the same bar that served Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp.

Today, serious antique collectors descend on the town in all seasons to browse in the quaint shops all over downtown.

The Hassayampa Inn is a must-see; the Gurley Street art-deco hotel was built in 1927 and restored to its original condition. Other motels, hotels and inns abound and can be compared at www.prescott.com.

Golf, hiking, fishing in any of five nearby lakes or simply exploring this historic part of Arizona will refresh even the most sagging spirit. Prescott now boasts a brand new, full-service mall, two casinos and the town’s most famous landmark, Thumb Butte.

Firearms aficionados may want to visit Gunsite in nearby Paulden, the world-renowned training facility. Travelers might spot agents from the FBI, state police organizations or even SWAT team members practicing their techniques or receiving advanced training at the 2,000-acre facility north of Prescott (visit www.gunsite.com or call the office at (928) 636-4565 before visiting).

Vital statistics: Prescott is 5,300 feet above sea level and generally 20 – 25 degrees cooler than the Maricopa area. Population is 45,000. Distance from Maricopa: 132 miles – about two and a half hours.

Where to stay:

Hassayampa Inn rooms start at about $149 a night for weekends, and they’re right downtown. Call (800) 322-1927 or visit www.hassayampainn.com.

The Hotel Vendome at 230 S. Cortez St. (888) 468-3583 offers comfortable rooms starting at $99 on week nights in a two-story hotel originally built in 1917, which was once home to Tom Mix, a star of silent Western films.

Apple Creek Cottages, at 1001 White Spar, are perfect for family groups, and you can cook your own meals. Rates are from $85 week nights to $125 weekends. For more info call (888) 455-8003 or visit www.applecreekcottages.com.

Where to eat:

Murphy’s Restaurant at 201 N. Cortez St. is a perennial favorite, and not just for green beer on St. Patrick’s Day. Menu and prices are at
www.murphysrestaurants.com, or call (928) 445-4044.

The Peacock Room at the Hassayampa Inn, at 122 E. Gurley Street: call (800) 322-1927 for information and reservations in this linen-and-silver, award-winning restaurant.

129 1/2 American Jazz Grille is named for its address at 129 1/2 N. Cortez. It features dinners only from 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, with live jazz starting at 6:30 p.m.

Pinetop – It’s either Pinetop or Pinetop-Lakeside (the two towns merged in 1984), about 90 miles east of Payson and smack dab in the middle of the beautiful White Mountains of Navajo County, near the Mogollon Rim. From Show Low, on the western edge of White Mountain Blvd. (State Rte. 260), there’s roughly 20 miles of development on both sides of the road as you continue on to Pinetop, and it generally grows more upscale the further east and south you travel along that route.

Just beyond Pinetop, motorists enter the White Mountain Apache Reservation, anchored by the Hon-Dah Casino and Resort, as well as a few RV parks and some of the best-stocked lakes in Arizona. Travel a few miles farther down Route 260, and you arrive at Sunrise, one of only two serious ski resorts in Arizona, and the only one with snowmaking equipment.

Ponderosa pines are the predominant feature in Pinetop, as are the exclusive, gated communities of some of the state’s wealthiest folks (Eddie Basha’s summer home is here). This is a golf, fishing and hunting paradise, and the town actually sits astride the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, containing the nation’s largest stand of the arrow-straight Ponderosa pines.

Don’t miss Woodland Lake Park, just southeast of White Mountain Blvd. on Woodland Lake Road, complete with tennis and basketball courts, the only wooden covered bridge in Arizona, and a sylvan lake surrounded by an excellent asphalt walkway for biking, running or just walking. Benches dot the roughly one-mile trail, which hugs the lakeshore, and visitors can sit and watch the plentiful ducks, geese and other waterfowl fishing, playing, mating and spatting.

Visit Show Low Lake, which is adjacent to a campground with RV hookups. Several ramadas offer shelter from the frequent spring and summer showers that are common in the high country. There’s a great playground for youngsters, and boats may be rented or towed in and launched from a wide ramp. The park features a store, and there are restrooms for campers and day visitors.

You can reach Show Low Lake by turning east on a road just north of the Wal-Mart store in town. Follow the signs. There’s also a new go-kart facility on the south side of East White Mountain Blvd. in Pinetop, featuring three tracks: one for smaller kids, another for a child and parent or older sibling, and the third for Indy types.

Vital statistics: Pinetop is 7,200 feet above sea level, so some folks with cardiac or respiratory issues, as in Flagstaff, may want to adjust gradually to the relatively thin air. Walking or running seems harder at first, but most people adjust nicely. The area is usually at least 20 degrees plus cooler than the Maricopa area, and air conditioning is a rarity, except in the newer hotels and motels, so ask before you rent. Population of the area (Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside) is around 11,000. Distance from Maricopa (via State Route 60 and the Salt River Canyon) is 202 miles, about four hours driving time.

Where to stay:

There are 50 cabins and lodges, 12 bed-and-breakfasts, 24 motels and four campgrounds in the area (not including Show Low) and an almost unlimited number of private cabins and homes available by night or longer.

Some of the more popular accommodations include:
Holiday Inn Express, 431 E. White Mountain Blvd., (888) 464-4329
Best Western Inn, 404 E. White Mountain Blvd., (928) 367-6672
Woodland Inn & Suites, 458 E. White Mountain Blvd., (866) 746-3867

Each location has its own Web site, and the area’s chamber of commerce(www.pinetoplakesidechamber.com) has links to more. Rates vary widely, depending on season, time of week and size of the party, but you can plan on roughly $45 to $50 per person per night.

Where to eat:

Fast food restaurants and a Denny’s dominate the scene, of course, but it’s fun to sample the menu at the area’s many independently owned and operated restaurants.

Mama Bear’s, a homey place now owned and managed by Janine Ford, former anchor and host of KPNX-TV’s (Channel 12) “Arizona Mid-Day,” at 2251 W. White Mountain Blvd.

Cap’n Ron’s Fish & Chips (the best in the high country), at 674 White Mountain Blvd.
Mountain Thai Café, 2741 W. White Mountain Blvd.
Munich Haus, 1443 East Fir
Charlie Clark’s Steakhouse, 1701 E. White Mountain Blvd.

Patagonia – This “Jewel of the Sonoita Valley” is probably the least known of the destinations covered in this article, but it’s one of the freshest and most relaxing places in the state. If you enjoy the site of horses gamboling through fields of tall green grasses, framed by mountains, or the peaceful effect a lake can have on a fisherman or birdwatcher, then this is one place you should seriously consider.

Nestled between the Patagonia and Santa Rita Mountains, this tiny settlement in southeastern Arizona is close to the Mexican border, and just a short drive from Tucson. Home to the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, it’s also popular with retirees and boasts an active arts and crafts community.

It also has served as the backdrop for a surprising number of Hollywood epics, including key scenes in “Sound of Music.” The town’s Tin Shed Theatre, (520) 394-9369, brings in artists and performers from around the world. Founded by Pennsylvanian Rollin Rice Richardson, an oil tycoon, the town thrived as a mining and railroad center for many years.

Its name derives from the Patagonia sector of southern Chile and Argentina, with its great grassy plains, moderate temperatures and an abundance of rainfall, temperate in winter and summer. This is a great base camp for people who like to explore Arizona’s old ghost towns, and it’s just a short drive to the Arizona Trail, which reaches all the way from Mexico to Utah.

Vital statistics: Elevation is 4,062 feet, and the population is less than 1,000. Annual rainfall is 19 inches, almost three times the average in Maricopa and Pinal counties.

To get there:

Take I-10 east toward Tucson, take the State Route 83 exit and head south 25 miles to the intersection of State Route 82 and follow the signs to Sonoita. Distance from Maricopa: 159 miles, about 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Where to stay:

The area is big on independent lodgings, and bed and breakfast places abound, so consider one of these:

The Enchanted Garden, 136 Forrest Dr., features two cozy cottages that can be seen at www.enchantedgardenaz.net. For more information call Brandi Miller at (520) 604-0070.

The Black Dove B&B, at 576 Gringo Road, claims that it’s the perfect spot for birding enthusiasts because of the natural habitat that attracts our feathered friends. For information visit www.theblackdovebb.com, or call (520) 394-2080.

Afuera Inn at 275 McKeown Ave., is a convenient location right downtown. Owners Dee Wasson and Dan McGuire have upgraded this economy inn and installed queen beds, coffee makers, microwaves and fridges in every room. Call (520) 394-2182 or e-mail [email protected].

Where to eat:

The Home Plate Restaurant, which shares a patio with the Afuera Inn, offers home-cooked meals and a mesquite grill, with big breakfasts, burgers and ribs as specialities. (520) 394-2344.

Patagonia Grill, at 277 McKeown Ave. (520) 394-0076. Choices for everyone’s palate, plus homemade baked goods.

Tree of Life Café, 771 Harshaw Road, (520) 394-2520. This place, part of the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center, offers “live” food (described as meals prepared at less than 110 degrees F). Visit www.treeoflife.nu.