This is such a cool, interesting feature for this community. I wouldn't elevate this as a must see…read moredestination. However, if you live within 15 minutes and looking for a nice easy date night stroll with a great view payout, this place is worth the stop. Best time to go is right before sunset to enjoy the desert hillside views.

Wish I'd done a bit more research before heading over considering it was about a 40 minute drive…read morefrom where I started. Directions will take you to the spot, but doesn't let you know to drive past to a small parking lot near what appears to be a visitors center/coffee shop to a housing community. We parked and unfortunately I was quite disappointed. There's a small walkway behind the shop to take you to the tower. I wouldn't even call it a star tower considering it closes around 8. There is a small set of circular stairs that takes you to the top. The view is decent of the mountains looking towards Estrella Regional Park. There is so much road noice it's not exactly relaxing. This seems to be more of a residents only spot. Cool to see maybe once, but I wouldn't come again unless to get coffee nearby and hike in the park a few miles away.

I love a good bit of history. Do you know the story of Hobo Joe's origin? I first came to see this…read morerandom figure in Old Town Buckeye, but had to know more. He was originally made around the 1960s for an Arizona Coffee chain. Made of fiberglass and standing 25ft tall. He was designed by Disney creator Jim Casey but cast by someone named Marvin Ransdell. Unfortunately Ransdell was never paid so the statue sat hidden away in a friends meat packing plant until finding its home in Buckeye in 1989 where it was saved from foreclosure at the plant by the Buckeye Main Street Coalition. How cool is that? He was technically not even meant to be a "hobo", but known for of a traveler. Which would be a great story considering the 85 goes through town. In 2021 it was moved to its current location after being restored. It now sits behind or should I say behind adjacent to the newly opened Heritage serving great food and you guessed it...coffee. Come check it out.

Hobo Joe is a wonderful quirky statue that resides in downtown Buckeye. His history is interesting…read moreand he's been recently sanded down and painted as seen in the photo. He's a special part of Buckeye and if you visit downtown, most everyone will have a story about him. Come check him out!

Took a road trip a few weeks back to fish Gillespie Dam off the old Highway 80. Great little spot…read morewith plenty of historical scenery. Huge catfish, decent size bass with some giants (especially if you use a kayak). Glad we checked it out, it's a fun day trip! If ya go, there's no place "to go"...gotta rough it. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll go back :)

If you love history you'll love the Gillespie Dam Bridge. We'd been riding OHV nearby and I just…read morehad to come check it out. There is a small parking lot nearby and you can walk up a small steal walk way that gives a great view of not only the bridge but the damn itself. What was once a very traveled road connecting your route to Yuma/San Diego etc it sits pretty quiet these days off old Highway 80. Complete and opening in 1927 it was primarily built with free labor from prisoners. While damaged multiple times by floods it's never completely fell pray to the river. If you want to ride your OHV vehicles to the damn etc there are trails and can get pretty close to the water by accessing the nearby dirt area and going under the bridge. There are also petroglyphs nearby If this old highway could talk. Very cool.

We had an absolutely wonderful day on our private Grand Canyon tour from Phoenix. To be honest, we…read morehad two hesitations when we booked: (1) It sounded like a LONG day (with a really early start), and (2) It seemed a little pricey. At the end of the day, though, everyone in our group agreed that it was well worth the price (and, particularly if you're coming from the East Coast, you're going to be awake early anyway!). Our guide, Jon, made sure that everything ran as efficiently as it possibly could have. Not only did he ensure that we hit all of the Park highlights, but he took us away from the biggest crowds to show us views that were true " hidden gems." Jon was so knowledgable on the history, the environment, and other facts related to the area that we could not have enjoyed it more. Truly an experience of a lifetime! If, like us, you are making your first trip to the Grand Canyon, this is THE way to see it! Thank you, Jon - and Arizona Scenic Tours - for a very memorable trip.

Wonderful trip. Steve was extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend this company.read more

This is a really pretty park!! They really keep it clean…read moreand everything is trimmed really nicely. There are quite a few places to sit and relax. The trees provide a lot of shade. It's a great place for a gathering of friends, family, and community groups. I have seen a few events here as well. They are well manned, easy to find someone to ask a question. Great for picnics too.

This is OPEN! Just went to visit Arcosanti with a friend that came to town and what a cool…read moreexperience. You have to schedule a tour, self guided are not allowed. The tour guide Joseph was so kind and full of energy. The video you watch when you get there is a very heart felt explanation of the passion to continue this community. They own 800 acres and the property is built on 20 acres, it was built between 1971-1975 for the main spaces that are shared. 45 people live there but could range to 80. They show how the products and structure are made. I had no clue about silk casts and loved the hands on understanding and history. They have concerts, events, gatherings. Etc at the amphitheater. Check out the website. The cafe is closed. You can stay as a hotel guest overnight. They offer apprenticeship also.

I'm not sure why the Yelp page states Arcosanti is closed. We were just there and is open and…read moreoperating. Clearly what the original architect had in mind many years ago never came to fruition as it really hasn't changed in years. Is appears to be a small artist community but we didn't see anything going on at the moment so couldn't tell if it id still active or they make everything south in Scottsdale at Cosanti. There is a gift shop where you can watch a brief video on the history and learn about their wind chime creations. Personally I've received many of the wind chimes over the last 20 years for housewarmings or Christmas gifts. Each is unique. The greeter in the gift shop was friendly and stated there is a tour available as well. We didn't have time for the tour but purchased a couple of small gifts. He suggested visiting the Scottsdale location as well which is called Cosanti. I had no idea it was located in Scott's well. Will check it out.

The owner, Justin, is a great pilot, business owner, and all around person. He's knowledgeable…read moreabout his aircraft (and a bunch of others) and the local scenery. The air tours AZ Air Tours offers give some amazing views of the valley and some of the most well-known local scenery/landmarks. You will be treated as royalty and the red carpet rolled out for you...literally! If you want to take in the beautiful sights, book a tour!

From the owner: Tour the Valley of the Sun by air in our six seat, high performance Piper Cherokee Six. Fly with a…read morepilot/tour guide who has over 15 years of flying experience, and local knowledge of the sights and history of the Sonoran Desert.

It was interesting but many of the petroglyphs were high in the rocks. It made seeing them…read moredifficult. I guess the best part for us was the building. There we could get some information about the peoples that drew them. In my opinion, a better place to see petroglyphs more closely would be at White Tank Regional Park.

Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve In the Phoenix, Sun City area…read more Open 8 to 2 Wednesday through Saturday. There is a small entry fee but I don't mind helping to support the University's work I think it's $5 for seniors. Of course covid has changed everything so you need to check in on the Is hours with the website. There It's very accessible although it's not really a paved ADA wheelchair accessibility A beach wheelchair might do fine if someone was helping to push. It's a gravel trail so seniors that are mobile should have no problem. Families with children should have no problem. It's a little more than a quarter mile down the trail. They seem to be relying on the audio tour inside and outside though I believe it's posted on spotify. It actually makes me a little sad that they're not relying on volunteers or students as much anymore. It seems to be a trend and it's probably related to covid possibly, to modern Digital Culture rather than human interaction culture that I and my generation come from. I'm also sure like everyone else in the service industry it's urban industry they're finding it hard to get volunteers and employees. It reminds me of the self service lines in grocery stores and retail now, It's all about speed and efficiency rather than service. There was an archeological student from the University of Arizona, who was doing some kind of trail sweep who I naturally engaged in a conversation with, she had a wealth of information about the site and she enjoyed talking about it as well as some of the frustrations of trespasser's and worrying about artifact theft and vandalism. There was no one else around so we talked for 45 minutes. When I asked her about her future in archeology she felt that it was probably going to be in museum work cause that was the only place that you could possibly get a salary if you weren't teaching. I always enjoy listening and learning from bright young people about their passions. The rock art was produced by Archaic (before 150 CE,) Hohokam (1 - 1450 CE,) and Patayan (ca. 900-800 CE) cultures. It focuses on the rock art found a short way from the building on an outcropping of basalt boulders found along a quarter mile trail facing southeast. Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to ask the student about differentiating from the different the different time periods of rockheart and asking her to show me some examples. I really recommend a visit especially for families and seniors of a certain age or for initial cultural markings experience. It's will also help you get oriented to the indigenous culture of the Phoenix area. The museum and interpretive centre discusses the site and its petroglyphs as well as tools and pottery associated with the site and Hohokam culture. Archaeology of the site includes features aside from the rock art which are described in the museum, but are not accessible to visitors. These include the remains of a pit house with middens and cooking areas, and the foundations of two masonry rooms top the outcropping where the majority of petroglyphs were found. It's heartening to see that this site helped to preserve an acreage of desert from encroaching development, the fragility of such sites will only increase with with increased tourism, and they do there best to manage it. A small number of rock art pieces were actually moved to their current location when the nearby dam was built. (All moved pieces are so identified.) The preserve is the result of a partnership by a number of organizations, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Maricopa Flood Control District and Arizona State University. The site is protected and operated by Arizona State University.

I'm forgetting our tour guide's name but he was so awesome! We were the first people to tour the…read morecottonwood cemetery, and the experience was great! He didn't hover over us, just let us do our thing and that was the best. He goes into some detail regarding the history of Jerome/Cottonwood which was interesting. We had so much fun that the 2 hours we were out there felt like 15 minutes. He even let us take the spirit box and EVP with us for the night! Super cool experience and would highly recommend it to anyone that likes to ghost hunt!

What a joke! $45 walk a short distance over a long period of time, with only a few stories and…read morelittle to see. But, we did get to carry a phony electronic ghost buster device. I least expected a decent tour of town and some history. Standing around listening to walkie talkie static pretending to be a ghost?????