 If you have visited Arizona you already know how amazing it is. But in case you haven't, this brief guide should help you plan a trip you will never forget*. I've put my favorite places next to the cities below and I will be adding NEW recommendations when I get them. I've also provided a MEDIA section that offers additional resources. NOTE: my web page has live links to every place mentioned and you can share that page by text or email using this link http://www.lesmaness.com/stories/arizona-a-brief-guide-to-amazing-places. As always, check ahead for availability. Have Fun!!!
METRO PHOENIX ANTHEM: Anthem Veterans Memorial, Anthem Community Park. CAVE CREEK: Janey's, Buffalo Chip, The Grotto Cafe, Harold's. Local Johnnys, El Encanto, Stumblinas, The Horny Toad, Hideaway Roadhouse, Mountain View Pub, Tonto Grill. NEW The Village Coffee Shop, Spur Cross Ranch FOUNTAIN HILLS: Euro Pizza Cafe, Fountain Park, Overlook Trail. GILBERT: NEW Downtown Restaurants. PHOENIX: The Yard, Roosevelt Row, Luci's At The Orchard, La Grande Orange, Postino Arcadia, Chelsea's Kitchen, The Henry, Islands, Yard House, NEW CiBo, SCOTTSDALE: Market Street At DC Ranch, AZ88, Olive And Ivy, Grapevine, Rusty Spur, Arcadia Farms, Old Town Tortilla Factory, Coach House, Pinnacle Peak General Store, Kierland, The Living Room, Scottsdale Quarter, High Street, The Thumb, Hike Pinnacle Peak, Music Instrument Museum, Prestons, Pita Jungle, Over Easy, O.H.S.O., Isabella's Kitchen, Kona Grill, Teharu Sushi, NEW Alo Cafe, The Vig. Flo's TEMPE: House Of Tricks. NEW Thai Basil ASU, MEDIA:15 Best Things to Do in Cave Creek (AZ), 15 Best Things to Do in Fountain Hills (AZ), 55 Best Things to Do in Phoenix (AZ), 25 Best Things To Do In Scottsdale (AZ), 9 Best Things to do In Old Town Scottsdale, 25 Best Things To Do In Tempe (AZ), AZCentral Things To Do, New Times Best Of Phoenix 2021, Phoenix Magazine: Best Of The Valley 2021, NORTHERN ARIZONA CLEATOR: Cleator Bar And Yacht Club FLAGSTAFF: Hotel Monte Vista, JEROME: Haunted Hamburger, PRESCOTT: Whiskey Row, SEDONA: Church Of The Holy Cross (AKA Chapel In The Rocks), Tlaquepaque, Oak Creek Brewery, Sedona Hideaway House, Creekside Coffee, Oaxaca, Coffee Pot, Hike Fay Canyon, Sky Ranch Lodge, Mesa Grill, Heartline Café, WINSLOW: Standing On The Corner, La Posada MEDIA:15 Best Things to Do in Flagstaff (AZ). 14 Best Things to Do in Prescott (AZ), 15 Best Things To Do In Sedona (AZ), 15 Things to Do in Winslow (AZ), SOUTHERN ARIZONA BISBEE: Copper Queen Hotel, Shady Dell. TOMBSTONE: Big Nose Kate's. TUCSON: El Charro Café, NEW The Egg Connection, Baja Cafe MEDIA:15 Best Things to Do in Bisbee (AZ), Eccentric Bisbee, 15 Best Things to Do in Tombstone (AZ), 25 Best Things to Do in Tucson (AZ), Tucson Weekly: Best Of Tucson, ALL ARIZONA Only In Your State: Arizona, The Atlas Obscura Guide To Arizona, List Of Films Shot In Arizona, 34 Films Made In AZ, Famous Arizonians, Best Arizona Road Trips, Arizona Outlaws And Heroes, 25 Best Things to Do in Arizona, 25 Amazing Hidden Gems in Arizona, 10 Ghost Towns In Arizona That Are Actually Worth Visiting, Weird Arizona. Les Maness www.StoriesFromTheRoadLesTraveled.com *Disclaimer: I have provided this info for entertainment purposes only. You are solely responsible for your experience. Always drink responsibly. See your Doctor prior to any new activity, dietary change and/or Covid travel concerns. And please treat your servers with kindness, patience and generosity.  My free e-book Go Your Own Way is now available at https://tinyurl.com/stmvepad. The 110 page book follows my 9000 mile, 143 day road trip across America during summer of 2021. The book showcases many of the Amazing Places I was blessed to see, with a special emphasis on my discovery of the many diverse and beautiful wonders of my boyhood home state of Michigan. As with all of my previous travel books (link https://tinyurl.com/f845hbuy), I hope that reading it inspires all those who love travel.
Les Maness www.StoriesFromTheRoadLesTraveled.com Contents Books Home Hire Stories  My free e-book Every Picture Tells A Story is now available at https://tinyurl.com/yyum4wrk. The 30 page book chronicles my one month road trip across America during the 2020 pandemic. The book includes photos of some of the Amazing Places I was able to see and offers some reflections about traveling and living during this most unusual time in history. It is my hope that in reading it that you will be able to enjoy the ride and get excited about planning your next great adventure.
Les Maness www.StoriesFromTheRoadLesTraveled.com Cover Home Stories Gigs Photos Topics Books  Original Facebook personal post here and RHS Class Of The 60's group post here.
On August 7–9, 1970, I and 200,000 of my closest hippy friends went to the Goose Lake International Music Festival near Jackson, MI. The weekend festival was billed as Michigan's answer to Woodstock, which actually took place in Bethel, New York one year prior. So our expectations (and musicians) were pretty high. And the revolving stage of artists didn't disappoint. The acts included Rod Stewart, Bob Seger, Jethro Tull, Mitch Ryder, Chicago, MC5, SRC, Brownsville Station, Ten Years After, Mountain, Teegarden & Van Winkle, John Sebastian and the James Gang.. I don't remember much else, so I'm hoping those of you who were there 50 years ago might share a memory. Peace, Love and Bell bottoms. :-) For more about Goose Lake and Woodstock, go to: https://tinyurl.com/yxtyuhx3, https://tinyurl.com/y2lovk3k, https://tinyurl.com/yylaub25 and https://tinyurl.com/y6ga3s4d For big hits from the artists who played there, check out MC5 https://tinyurl.com/y6jjahho Jethro Tull https://tinyurl.com/yxmamvah Rod Stewart https://tinyurl.com/y3o935cd Mountain https://tinyurl.com/yxfpgt7k James Gang https://tinyurl.com/y5cgfb4h Chicago https://tinyurl.com/y57khuyx Ten Years After https://tinyurl.com/yxgb2kn8 Mitch Ryder https://tinyurl.com/yylecwlb John Sebastian https://tinyurl.com/yxgrapke Bob Seger https://tinyurl.com/y56jmome SRC https://tinyurl.com/yyel2s3b Brownsville Station https://tinyurl.com/yyfplug4 Teegarden & Van Winkle https://tinyurl.com/y3cedja9  This e-book has a very simple format. It is one of my images coupled with a powerful quote from some of the world's most life-affirming minds. My goal was to give some reassurance and courage to those who needed it. But what I never expected was all of the inspiration, hope, love and support that was returned to me and shared with others. (See final chapter Thank You for more on this.) To make it easier to copy, paste and share these individual links, I put them in the Table Of Contents. In doing so, I hope these messages of hope find their way to those who really need them.
Les Maness StoriesFromTheRoadLesTraveled.com Contents Books Home Hire Stories  My newest book, Encouraging Words 2 is now available for free on my website at https://tinyurl.com/uj9wd2d. Like my first book, Encouraging Words (https://tinyurl.com/wv4p9b6), this book is a compilation of upbeat, reassuring, humorous and gratitude-inspired posts. It is my hope and prayer that they offer some insight, comfort and perspective to those who are seeking peace, inspiration and restoration.
Les Maness www.StoriesFromTheRoadLesTraveled.com / www.LesManess.com  Having a rhyming name myself, I am drawn to Amazing Places and Amazing Faces that have quirky names. And certainly this town and this store rank at the top of the unique list.
All of which begs the question, have you ever been there, and if so...Why or Why Not? :-)  Just when I thought Bonnie Hasper Thornton and Rick Thornton and their amazing volunteers couldn't possibly top the previous class parties, they surprised everyone with this year's rock star event. Because not only was the place packed with Wyandotte, MI Roosevelt High School alumni who came to celebrate, the entertainment was two live bands from back in the day - headlined by our own hometown rock star, Frijid Pink front man, Tom Beaudry. I've attached a few photos I was able to get with my cell phone and included some links to previous RHS Classes Of The 60's parties I photographed below. In doing so, I hope they give you an opportunity to relive the many great memories we have been blessed to share together. Note: I've included the web page links for those who are not on Facebook. And for those who are, you may need to be a RHS Class of The 60's member to view some of the Facebook posts, and even then the Facebook links are sometimes a little finicky. (So please blame Mark Zuckerberg, not me.) :-) RHS Class Party 2019 web page Facebook post RHS Class Party 2018 web page Facebook post RHS Class Party 2017 web page Facebook post RHS Class Party 2016 web page Facebook post                          Some people are dreamers. Some people are doers. And some people like Ed Keeylocko are both. Ed dreamed of a place where everyone followed the "Golden Rule". Where people could gather to share a story or a laugh, have a cool drink, encourage one another to blaze new trails, and experience the true heart of the West. So, he bought land near Tucson, Arizona and set out to build a town by hand, board by board, building by building. And when he was done, he had created Cowtown Keeylocko, a place like no other in this world. Ed passed away recently, but his dream, town and legacy lives on in all those who knew and loved him. They are working to restore the buildings, host events, add improvements and help spread his message of equality, kindness, hope and humor. And they are welcoming anyone who would like to help. To learn more about how you can visit, volunteer or support, go to www.CowtownKeeylocko.com and check out their Facebook page Cowtown Keeylocko. And feel free to share or tag this post, or send this link with additional photos https://tinyurl.com/y3z86azz, so that others may be introduced to legendary dreamer and doer, Ed Keeylocko. Les Maness www.StoriesFromTheRoadLesTraveled.com New Post 3.29.19: Cowtown Keeylocko, Arizonahhh  I have photographed a lot of Amazing Places and Amazing Faces https://tinyurl.com/y3pyxxf5, but I have never experienced anything like Cowtown Keeykocko near Tucson, Arizona. I will be writing more about the life of the extraordinary Trail Blazer who hand built this town and the many people who are keeping his dream alive. But for now, to learn more, go to www.CowtownKeeylocko.com, to contribute go to https://tinyurl.com/y32ty5kl and to experience it for yourself go to Cowtown Keeylocko. New Post 11.5.19: Cowtown Keeylocko, Arizonahhh  When I went into the Blue Dog Saloon in Cowtown Keeylocko on Friday afternoon and saw this live horse standing there, it immediately reminded me of an old joke. "A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, 'So, why the long face?'". :-) However, unlike the horse, no one who ever visits this unique town has a long face because the place is so much fun. New Post 11.5.19: Cowtown Keeylocko, Arizonahhh  I got to spend a few hours enjoying Cowtown Keeylocko Days last Friday afternoon. Some of the good folks there were kind enough to pose for me in gunslinger character and some were just having fun. The town is the legacy of the Ed Keeylocko and it is supported and run by the many people whose lives were touched by his kindness, wisdom and sense of humor. For more about this authentic Old West town near Tucson, AZ, check out their website at www.CowtownKeeylocko.com and see my posts here, here, here and here.                      Original Facebook post September 25 at 7:14 AM
Here's to all the family members who came out to support their kids at the 2018 Desert Mountain High School Homecoming Dance. You can see photos on my Facebook page at https://tinyurl.com/ya5t6pgg and additional photos on my website at https://tinyurl.com/y78252zy :-) Les Maness www.StoriesFromTheRoadLesTraveled.com |