AZNikon wrote:
Keep 'em comin'. I live in Mesa and haven't seen a lot of the ones you listed.
Here are some more.
I didn't know about this until my Architecture class took a tour of it. Huge museum and very interesting.
http://www.hallofflame.org/Glendale Historical Society. When I was growing up this was a working ranch and was in the middle of nowhere about a mile from our ranch. We rode our horses here with friends from the area. The owner of the ranch had a white 1957 Tbird with the circle window hard top.
Superior, Globe Miami area with the open pit mines (Ray Mine) which wiped out the town where my Father lived for a while as a youth and rode his horse down the street roping the senioritas.
Sierra Ancha Mountains, very beautiful scenery
Florence Courthouse is beautiful and the town is quite interesting.
Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg is fascinating.
Take highway 88 from Roosevelt Dam north to where it intersects 87 this has some beautiful views of the Tonto Basin as well as Tonto Creek.
A bit up from that intersection is the road to Gisela where AZ pioneer Daniel W. Jones' Wife was killed in a storm and his youngest child when a tree fell on them and they are buried there. His statue is in Pioneer Park across the road north of the Mesa Temple. He is also noted in other museums including the science museum in downtown Phoenix. He organized the first irrigation canal in the area following the ancient Indian canal and founded Lehi. He petitioned for the formation of the Salt River Pima reservation for some Indians who had no land and were impoverished. He also hired them to work for him. He wrote the book "Forty Years Among the Indians" Less than an 8th grade education and speaks and writes better than 95% of college graduates today.
Pleasant Valley, another beautiful place, where the very famous Pleasant Valley War occured or also known as the Tonto Basin Feud, or Tonto Basin War, or Tewksbury-Graham Feud. Beautiful scenery.
Also south of the Valley is Tucson which is very rich in history and scenery including the beautiful Catalina Mountains and a must visit, Sabino Canyon (A whole day of scenic shooting there). San Xavier Mission just south of Tucson.
Saguaro National Park
Old Tucson Movie Studios
Old Tucson (The real one)
Tucson though is about 2 hours south of Scottsdale so is a bit of a drive and more like a 2-3 day trip.
Old Town Scottsdale and there are museums there and many restaurants (Take photos of your food LOL)
Finally I have been many places just following forest roads. I use the US Forest maps and my Jeep Wrangler to go to places by the hundreds where you are generally the only person for miles like on top of Four Peaks where you find pottery and stuff laying all over the ground.
Have fun.