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Tags: Fall Travel / Surveys / Travel News / Tourism / Arthur Frommer / Arizona Travel / → All Tags

Frommer's Arizona Boycott Can't Keep This State Down

Despite Arthur Frommer’s feelings about the Grand Canyon State, people seem to be ready to head out to Phoenix this fall. It is possible that his opinion might not have made it through to everyone yet, or it’s possible that nobody cares what Frommer thinks. Even though things are slow due to the economy, the Valley of the Sun appears to keep drawing the crowds into town.

According to the 2009 Travel Leaders Fall Travel Trends Survey—catchy name—the Phoenix and Scottsdale area sits just outside the top ten at number 11 among destinations booked throughout the rest of the year. People must want to avoid the cool crisp days of autumn at any cost. About 75 percent of those asked said that trips were down compared to last year overall, and about 60 percent said they had a good feeling about the strength of the fall travel season. Let's just hope the travel season isn't too strong, we're getting used to all the great deals.

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Tags: Best-Factory-Tours-Map / Golf Travel / Best Factory Tours / Phoenix Travel / → All Tags

Fore! Play Through The Home Of Ping Golf In Arizona

Become an informed consumer while still on vacation! Check out Jaunted's newest series of the Best Factory Tours the world over, and let us know if we missed any.

Ever heard the urban legend about how peeling the top layer of a golf ball will cause it to explode? Us too! We expect a tour of Karsten Manufacturing, maker of Ping golf balls, to clear this mystery up for us.

Karsten Manufacturing founder Karsten Solheim got into golf as a young engineer when his coworkers at General Electric strong-armed him into joining their foursome; the putter he subsequently designed first made a big splash when a winner at a Phoenix PGA tournament used it. At Karsten in Phoenix, you can watch club heads being molded in a machine and later, real-life orders personalized for golfers around the world.

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Tags: Open Threads / Dangerous Travel / Arizona Travel / Arthur Frommer / Travel Boycotts / → All Tags

Frommer Announces Arizona Travel Boycott; Do You Agree?

Travel guru Art Frommer proclaimed on his blog recently that he's putting a moratorium on vacationing in Arizona because of its lax gun laws. To clarify his position, Frommer said he was alarmed that the state's gun statutes allowed about a dozen armed people, including one toting an assault rifle, to sit outside a place where President Obama was speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said:

I will not personally travel in a state where civilians carry loaded weapons onto the sidewalks and as a means of political protest. I not only believe such practices are a threat to the future of our democracy, but I am firmly convinced that they would also endanger my own personal safety there. And therefore I will cancel any plans to vacation or otherwise visit in Arizona until I learn more.

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Tags: Rock Slides / Water Sports / Active Travel / Arizona Travel / State Parks / → All Tags

Slide Yourself Silly At Sedona's Natural Rock Waterslide

If you need to beat the summer heat of the Phoenix desert, hop in your car and head north towards Sedona. Not only will the weather be slightly cooler, but you’ll also be able to take a trip down a waterslide custom built by Mother Nature. Slide Rock State Park will entertain you with beautiful views of the area’s red rocks as well as provide a little thrill as you slide down the stream.

In the olden days, the park and surrounding area served as an apple farm, but now it greets visitors daily. Right next to the original homestead sits Slide Rock, a slippery bottom creek that serves as a water chute for those looking to get wet. Remember to tell your grandparents that you checked out this place; they’ll love hearing that James Stewart, Rock Hudson, and John Wayne all shot moves here in the 1950s.

For most of the year the fee for carloads to enter the park is $8, but until Labor Day the summer fee will set you back $10. It seems like a pretty good deal to enjoy an afternoon of hiking, sightseeing, and splashing around. Just remember to start your day here early, otherwise you’ll be hovering around looking for a parking spot. They often have to close the lot on weekends, because it’s just so darn popular.

Related Stories:
· Slide Rock State Park [Official Site]
· Cool Off In North Carolina With Nature's Own Water Slide [Jaunted]
· Active Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: edwindavila]

Tags: Best Tubing Spots / Tubing / Rivers / Water Sports / Phoenix Travel / → All Tags

Tubing Is The Only Way To Beat The Heat In The Valley Of The Sun

When you think of Phoenix in the summer, you probably think of the sweltering heat and imagine yourself dodging in and out of the comfort of air conditioning. A relaxing trip down a river in a tube doesn’t even seem like a possibility, but it is, and you can beat the summer rays only 30 minutes outside the city.

After a short ride towards Mesa, you’ll find yourself floating and bobbing along the Lower Salt River in the middle of the Tonto National Forest. Although tubing is usually a relaxing experience, there are some rapids along this route to keep you on your toes. Also, they encourage picnicking along the river and even rent out special tubes to float your cooler right along side your group.

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Tags: Volunteer Travel / Tucson / Arizona Travel / → All Tags

Save Big Bucks (and Help Big Pigs) in Tucson This Summer

A common misconception about volunteer vacations is that they can quickly get to be expensive endeavors. A new travel guide, "Volunteer Vacations Across America" by Sheryl Kane, however explains how you don’t have to shell out big bucks or travel half way around the world to get the satisfaction of helping others. "The biggest misconception about volunteer vacations is that they have to be very pricey, which isn't always the case," Kayne says. In the book, Sheryl lists more than 200 inexpensive volunteer programs right here in the U.S.

The opportunities for volunteering include outdoorsy destinations like national parks, summer camps for kids and animal sanctuaries like the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary in Tucson, AZ.

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Tags: Pizza / Phoenix / Food Travel / Food / → All Tags

Our Five Hour Journey For A Single, Spectacular Pizza In Phoenix

Before we felt it right to make our way to one of the country’s best ice cream parlors, we had to backtrack for a moment and hit up one of the country’s best pizza places first. Located in a historic square along Phoenix’s downtown border, Pizzeria Bianco has been the pizza Mecca for crust aficionados across the country.

We knew that Bianco was a must-eat during our visit to Arizona, so we headed to the restaurant at 4:30 pm, as the place opens at 5:00, and only takes reservations for six or more. From what we’d read, we knew we’d have to wait, but we didn’t totally believe that our wait would be as long as it was. When we arrived, the line was already way down the block, and by the time we finally sat down and were rewarded with two delicious pies, it had become a five-hour journey.

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Tags: Ice Cream / Food Travel / Phoenix / Scottsdale / → All Tags

Scottsdale Has An Ice Cream Parlor That's Worth The Flight

A couple weeks ago we found ourselves in the Valley of the Sun, looking to check out the best that the area has to offer. With temperatures during our stay already approaching 100 degrees, we were eager to find something tasty to help us cool down. Thankfully we learned about Sweet Republic Ice Cream in Scottsdale, but don't expect us to claim that we discovered it because it’s a huge hit on Yelp, with local foodies and Twitter; the place even just made Bon Appetit's list of ten best ice cream shops.

The ice cream parlor is located in a nothing-special strip mall about a 15-minute drive outside the hustle and bustle of Scottsdale’s shopping mecca. Everything here is made fresh daily and in small batches, so when it’s gone, it’s gone. We’re still a little miffed that we missed out on their Peanut Butter Chip. However, we did enjoy the delicious Brownie Swirl with a side of Cookie Monster. Both flavors were exactly what you’d expect and more, and had great flavor and texture—the dessert spoke for itself—and we quickly found out that this wasn’t your local scoop shop.

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Tags: Gold-Mining / Gold Mines / Treasure Hunting / Adventure Travel / Pioneer Travel / Phoenix / Arizona Travel / → All Tags

Pining for Gold Mining: Heli Between Prospects in Arizona

It's a whole new type of laid-off travel; gold mining is back with a vengeance and oftentimes, the richest veins are closer than you think. All this week we'll be digging deep into the USA's dirt to uncover the best spots for sifting your way into a small fortune, or at least one month's rent. Any suggestions or questions? Let us know.

We've covered gold mining the old fashioned way, of panning beside a river, and even a more current version involving Hummers out of Las Vegas, but what about the future of prospecting?

If the streams all get picked over during this recession, we may see more and more helicopter tours departing to harder-to-reach areas, ever in search of a record find. For $4,000 per couple, you can hop such a chopper at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport for a 5-day vacation of flying over mesas and setting down for a little private claim digging—after instruction on the best methods, of course.

There are longer and further trips available for the hardcore treasure hunters, but we'd think that 5 days working hard for the money (er, gold) in the hot Arizona sun should be plenty to satisfy your curiosity about heli-gold-digging. -

Related Stories:
· Arizona Gold Adventures [Official Site]
· Panning For Gold Makes a Comback [Jaunted]
· Gold Mining Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: wharman]

Tags: Grand Canyon / National Parks / Active Travel / Outdoor Travel / → All Tags

North Side Representin' At The Grand Canyon

If you’re looking for a more private experience at the Grand Canyon, you might want to consider the North Rim. Due to the weather it’s closed for winter, but now that sunnier skies are here it has finally reopened for the summer season. It’s usually way less crowded, and there are fewer tour buses crowding you out of that ideal viewpoint.

This year’s season will run through October 16, so you have a few months to plan your trip and head out to Arizona. There’s pretty good facilities here, even though it usually gets second billing when compared to the South Rim. They have camping, camper services, groceries, and even a service station to fill up the Winnebago.

If you don’t want to sleep on the ground, fancier accommodations are available at the Grand Canyon Lodge. Standard view rooms start at $116 a night and offer some pretty basic amenities. Just remember that you’re not going for the spa services, they’ll be plenty of those when you drive back down to Scottsdale.

Please enjoy the view, but just be on the lookout for those pesky Jackalope; they’ve been known to appear in this area or at least on our Flickr search.

Related Stories:
·Grand Canyon's North Rim Open For The Season [NPS.Gov]
·How To Celebrate Earth Day At The National Parks [Jaunted]
·National Parks [Jaunted]

[Photo: ooOJasonOoo]

Tags: Dunkin' Donuts Alternatives / Donuts / Tucson / → All Tags

Do-Nuts So Old School, They Won't Drop the Hyphen

Probably everyday since 1935, Tucson residents have driven past the massive Le Cave's Bakery, looked up at its vintage facade and wondered, "what's a vegetable do-nut?"

The answer, it turns out, is both deceptive and delicious. Of course the recipe is an old family secret, but we're assured that despite the beautiful greasiness, it's not anything too lard-y.

Whatever it is, these old fashioned do-nuts have attracted admirers far and wide for their perfect balance of light, fluffy texture and rich, sugary taste. Additionally, Le Cave's keeps their do-nuts traditional by sticking to the old-school flavors: powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, chocolate frosted and maple glazed, each one completely covered in a healthy coating of the sweet stuff—no bald spots here.

While the bakery is not necessarily a place for donut inventiveness, it is a stop on the route of donut history, where you will leave wondering if any of the new-fangled flavors from other donut shops are really necessary.

Related Stories:
· Le Cave's Bakery [Yelp!]
· Are Donuts the New Cupcakes? [Jaunted]
· Designer Doughnuts the Bay Area Way [Jaunted]

[Photo: housechick]

Tags: Airplane Graveyards / Airplane Retirement / Travel News Briefs / → All Tags

The Airplane Graveyard is Getting Crowded

· Where Planes Go to Die: Thanks to the recession, 1,700 planes will be taken out of service this year as fewer people are spending less money on travel. But where are the airlines going to put these old broads? They will send them to great big hangar in the sky. Well, actually, it's not in the sky. It's in the desert at the Evergreen Air Center in Marana, Arizona. [AP]

In other news:
· Star Trek Will Premiere in Australia: Australia is so hot right now. There's not only an airfare war going on right now between Down Under airlines but the new Star Trek movie will premiere at the Sydney Opera House. [Just Jared]

· Samantha Ronson Hates United: She Twitters this sentiment but doesn't really go in depth. Then again, it's United we are talking about here. We can think of enough reasons why she probably thinks they suck. [@JackDaniels9]

· Just in time for Earth Day: Netherlands Scraps Eco-Tax! Hoping to entice more travelers, the Netherlands has scrapped the 11 to 45 Euros tax which was added onto every ticket. [Cranky Flier]

[Photo: AP]