Whenever I visit the ASU Downtown Campus, I always find myself walking through the Civic Space…read morePark. This is a park with a lot of potential as there is a nice grassy area, some tables and chairs next to the US Post Office and ASU Student Center, a beautiful sculpture, and other places to hold an event and escape from the heat. At the same time, the Civic Space Park in recent years has been overrun with the homeless who find their own spaces on the east side of the park and sometimes elsewhere in the park. This has led to some safety concerns from ASU students and their families as many students have to walk across the park to get from the Sun Devil Fitness Complex or the Fusion on First upper-division residence hall across to the rest of the ASU Downtown Campus. There have also been a number of altercations over the last few years between multiple homeless and occasionally between a homeless person and a student. I have seen groups of students and even community members holding events in the park either in front of the Student Center entrance at the tables and chairs (gatherings by students or staff), on the grassy lawn area (community members playing soccer, frisbee, or having a picnic), or even on the south side of the walkway (though the lighting wasn't very good in the evening in that area). Again, it may be a challenge if some of the homeless community members try to engage at these events with the students, staff, and/or community members. Another challenge we learned is that it isn't the role of ASU Police or Phoenix Police to monitor the park. Rather there are park rangers who are responsible for doing so, which adds some complications as the rest of the ASU campus is supported by ASU Police and on occasion, by Phoenix Police. If you look at other reviews of Civic Space Park, it is difficult to find one that doesn't highlight the famous sculpture known as "Her Secret is Patience." In fact, I recall doing a photo shoot about 12 years ago under the sculpture at Civic Space Park. This sculpture is a public art sculpture commission that was designed for the city of Phoenix. The sculpture consists of painted, galvanized steel, polyester twine netting, and colored lights. Again, the space has a lot of potential though due to safety reasons, there is some work to be done to really prepare this park to meet its full potential.

Nice park to just hang out at. Lots of grassy area for kids or animals to run through…read more We just sat there for a while soaking up the sun and people watching. At night the tornado looking thing lights up.

AMAZINNNNNGGGG!!!!!! This is a multi-room place you can go and bring your friends for fun…read moreactivities. The rooms range from activities that have strength, brain teasers, teamwork, and more. It's such a great bonding opportunity and allows you to have fun with whoever you bring with phones down. Parking is NO issue at all at this location. They have so many spots available given the strip outlet location it's in. I do recommend not wearing any thick or heavy clothes and bringing as little items as possible, because you will be moving A LOT and sweating will be your enemy. They have a bar and restaurant as well, but we didn't get a chance to go. Definitely will be back, and next time need to go for 4 hours! I think we did 2 hours and it didn't feel like enough time.

We went to Bam Kazam on a Saturday at around 8 PM. There were 4 of us total, 2 have been there…read morebefore, but this was my first time. The premise is similar to an escape room, but there are several themed, interactive rooms that you try to progress through. Each room has a 3 minute time limit and if you pass the first challenge, a door opens to another room. Each themed room has 3 challenges total. We all had a lot of fun working together as a team. The rooms are hard to complete (at least for us lol) and some of the rooms required more physical ability. There are employees there to help you as requested, which helps if you get stuck on what you're supposed to do. The rooms are well put together, theme-wise, which adds to the experience of the challenges. There were a lot of people there, which meant a long waiting time. I feel as though we did more waiting than we did inside the rooms. Although, it didn't help that several rooms broke or weren't functioning correctly throughout the night. There's also a bar in the back where you can grab drinks and food, if you so choose. I would recommend waiting until after the experience since you have a 2 hour time limit. Overall, Bam Kazam is a unique activity to get a group of friends or family together for a night of fun and challenges! I would definitely go back again, but perhaps on a weekday or a time that would be less busy.

I love pickleball. I love chicken. Naturally, I love Chicken N Pickle…read more This place is just plain fun. One of the best things about pickleball is that almost anyone can play. You don't have to be a world-class athlete to have a good time, and that's part of what makes it so addictive. My first visit was with my wife and some cousins and aunts visiting from Iowa. We spent the afternoon playing a few spirited games of pickleball--which I absolutely dominated, for the record--while enjoying some snacks and drinks before heading inside for dinner. The food was surprisingly good. I'd describe it as elevated bar food that actually delivers on the flavor. The staff was friendly, the atmosphere was energetic without feeling overwhelming, and the entire place just had a welcoming vibe. We'll definitely be back... and back... and back. Anyone need a doubles partner?

Chicken N Pickle was the perfect spot for a work networking event! It was so much fun getting to…read moreshow our out-of-state coworkers that Phoenix has some serious personality (and yes... a little rizz too ). The atmosphere is what really makes this place stand out. It's open, energetic, and gives everyone options--whether you want to jump into a game of pickleball, play cornhole, or just relax on the lawn and chat. It made networking feel natural instead of forced. The food and drinks were both great, but what impressed me most was the staff. It didn't matter who we asked for help--everyone was friendly, attentive, and happy to assist. That level of service really elevated the experience. If you're looking for a fun place to host a team-building event, networking mixer, or just hang out with friends, I highly recommend Chicken N Pickle. I already can't wait for our next team event here!

I was pretty sure I was going to hate escape rooms. I like to skip the puzzles in video games, and…read moreI hate being trapped, constant noises, or kept on a strict time limit. Kinda seemed like escape rooms would be the worst thing on the planet for me. But a friend loves the cyberpunk-esque vibes, and I was going to swallow my hatred to try my first escape room here with the Immersive Machine. I leave the experience virtually speechless. (No spoilers here, so read away!) Why it was great for two people new to escape rooms: -You can book the place solo. You don't need to be partnered with strangers who are going to speed run the place. -There is no clock anywhere. Time flies (serously, wow, it went so fast), but you aren't feeling rushed. -I was worried about it, but there aren't any "HOLYSHIT GO FAST YOU'RE GONNA DIE" vibes like some of the "escape to live" ones I've been told about. There's an alarm going off when you first get there, but it's like, a casual alarm that just reminds you that it's going off every 5 minutes or so with a light "beep". Like a friendly alarm. Nothing in here is on a time limit, constantly flashing, or constantly making noise. Nothing is designed for a panic response. This was huge for me. -The gamemaster's involvement is fluid and very immersive in the universe (but they're not in the room), so if he sees you're struggling, he steps in, in-character, to gently guide you without making you feel stupid. -Puzzles make sense, but they're also just really fun. It was a lot more of paying attention to the room's details and exploring the space than trying to solve a Rubik's cube or a slide puzzle. There were a few moments that required some actual hard, focused thought, but most of it was trying to pull together details of the space and alternative universe you're in (that are all easily available if you look around again). -There is nothing to memorize or "called back" throughout the place. You don't need to remember something that was told to you 50 minutes ago or else you can't finish it; everything you need is always easily accessible, and all the puzzles are "solve it and move on". We started by taking tons of notes on our phones just in case, and we abandoned that quickly since it wasn't necessary. -You mostly stay in the same areas, so you can put down waters or drinks and take breaks as needed. It doesn't cut you off of any of the areas, so you don't have to stress about constantly moving. -We finished it, two person, in under the average time, despite never having done an escape room in our lives. Why it was great, overall, in general: -The "alternate universe" makes it a lot more fun. At one point, you'll get to see a calendar the team made, complete with holidays and other details specific to this universe that doesn't exist in ours. It's these small touches that made me super excited (and sad I couldn't just sit and read them). -The gamemaster (Randy, I think?)'s personality was absolutely amazing. He was super friendly, and getting into his character really made it easier for us to feel okay getting into them too. -I'm not super into LARPing or playing pretend, but if you wanted to, there are free costumes and the over-the-top vibe of the gamemaster makes you feel less silly about trying it for yourself. -There's a little personified "friend" that pretty much everyone is going to fall in love with. I now think I love escape rooms, but I'm not sure any other escape room will ever compare to The Immersive Machine. There's no way for me to go but down; there's no way any other escape room will be as good as Immersive Machine was. It entirely converted me, and now I think escape rooms are the coolest thing ever. I see why it has a straight 5 stars on every review platform AND wins annual awards from the escape room social network. This is amazing.

This was such a fun escape room! When you first arrive there's a lounge room to wait in, pick out…read moresome costumes if you want, and there's a mini "warm-up" puzzle. Then, they take you into the escape room where there's some cubbies to store your personal belongings. There is only one escape room here and it's called Sal's Cybernetics and is for 2-6 people. The theme was really immersive and there were some really cool puzzles to solve! The staff increases the difficultly based on the teams progress so we got the hard version and solved everything in 42 minutes.

Had two visits, it's a cool place to let off steam, literally. I really got a kick out of using…read morethat mini version of Thor's hammer, heavy af, but the crowbar was helpful nonetheless. Facilitated deeper sleep on both counts. The staff is always kind and chill.

I really wanted to love Simply Smashing Rage Release Room because I think the concept itself can be…read moreincredibly beneficial. People don't necessarily come to a rage room just to have fun and break things. Some people are dealing with tremendous grief, trauma, anger, stress, or the loss of someone they love, and an experience like this can provide a much-needed emotional release. Unfortunately, I felt the customer service and overall experience were lacking. The check-in process could definitely be more organized and welcoming, and there was very little effort made afterward to ask whether we enjoyed ourselves or had a good experience. Even though the business is centered around breaking things, basic kindness, enthusiasm, and customer service still matter. I also learned that many of the items being broken are used items that have been donated or obtained from thrift stores. What concerned me most was being told by an employee that staff members sometimes pick through donated items and select things they want for themselves before the items make it onto the floor. I obviously cannot speak to the company's policies regarding donated merchandise, but hearing that made me uncomfortable and raised questions for me about how donations are handled. There is a lot of potential here, and the actual idea behind this business is great. I simply think management could significantly improve the experience by focusing more on customer service, creating a warmer and more compassionate environment, and making sure donated items are handled transparently and appropriately. For some customers, this isn't simply about smashing a television or breaking a plate. It may be an outlet for something incredibly painful they're carrying. A little compassion and genuine human interaction could turn this from simply a place where people break things into an experience that actually helps people leave feeling a little lighter.

How could anyone not love this place? Yes, Carl's Damaged Pet Warehouse is the actual name and no,…read morethis is not an outlet store where the pets have minor cosmetic imperfections and are 40% off. It's actually a little animal rescue tucked into the backyard of a private property, where you can visit rescued Highland cows, pigs, goats, donkeys, tortoises, ducks, sheep and assorted other members of the Island of Misfit Pets. It's completely free to visit. You stay outside the fence for safety, but you can still pet and feed the animals (and it's okay to get emotionally attached to them!) Sometimes Carl leaves food outside for visitors to hand out to the "damaged pets" or you can bring your own approved snacks like apples, zucchini, carrots and cucumber. Basically a very wholesome BYOS situation. I posted a photo of the full approved-food list so you too can trick some furballs into becoming your new best friends. You can also leave a monetary donation to help with the cost of caring for the animals. You can visit at any time, but remember this IS someone's private property, so obviously be respectful of the home and neighbors.

Finally decided to stop by and feed these cute animals! It was pretty busy when I stopped yesterday…read moreafternoon and many people were there also feeding them. I saw two turkeys, a rooster, ducks, goats, donkeys, a piggy, and a bull. *Free, just follow the posted rules

I'm not sure if this is a review for the tube renting place or for just going at all. But I highly…read morerecommend buying your own tubes to own forever, and if you have the opportunity take 2 cars to go to the top and drop off spot so you don't have for rent a tube. If you own your own tube, you can still rent a bus ride for $19. This is definitely an Arizona summer classic. Wow!! I'm updating to say that in all my 21 years I didn't realize that there was a difference between rafting and tubing and that there were 2 different of options on what you can do to go down the river. How freaking cool and thank you to the business owner for educating me!

This review is for a RAFTING & CAMPING trip (lol, I can't believe how many people have left reviews…read morefor tubing)! It's going to be my longest review ever! Where do I start?!? I have wanted to raft the Grand Canyon (Colorado River) my whole life so when my friend asked me if I wanted to raft the Salt River I said "heck yeah"!! My 2 top takes from this trip are RESPECT (respect these guides, the river and the land...they are awesome and deserve every bit of it) and don't judge a book by its cover... Upon arrival my friend became really nervous (she even had me getting nervous). She walked over and found our guide Ara and immediately came back feeling a lot better. We had plenty of time to get our PPE, buy some shirts/stickers/sunglass straps (cheaper than Amazon) and use the porta potty. An awesome guide explained safety instructions and insisted people listen! Respect him - it could save your life. He made sure everyone could see and hear him. Safety is their #1 important thing! All the rafts left at the same time. Us 3 and our guide in one boat. The rest of the boats seemed to be a high school trip. You do some practice paddling in the eddy before the first rapid. On that first rapid you have someone from the team taking your picture! After some amazing fun we stopped for lunch where the guides gave us chips and salsa to start while they made chicken fajitas (the chicken is separate from the onions and peppers which my friend appreciated because she doesn't like those veggies). We had plenty of time to eat, drink water and use the porta potty. I highly suggest doing the full day because this is where it would end for the half day/no lunch trips. It is soooo worth it to continue on. We got to learn a lot about our amazing guide Ara, we instantly trusted her beyond words. She has years of experience and has paddled rivers from AZ to Alaska! She has her own raft and constantly going on new adventures. Looking at her...young and a girl...you may second guess going with her but this is why I say never judge a book by its cover! She was amazing!!! We all had absolutely 100% trust in her!!! The whole team is on top of things. I was so impressed how they handled a raft that was pulled over. One by one they pulled to the side and waited or assisted the stopped raft. Later I overheard one of the kids say he purposely fell off the raft - don't do that. It's not cool - respect the river and the guides!! They drove us back to our truck and dropped Ara off at camp (where we had lunch) to start preparing for our evening of appetizers and dinner. We drove back to camp and set up our tents and Ara brought over a wonderful charcuterie board (I love these)!! After setting up Ara had a nice fire going while she finished up dinner. She made the most amazing Alfredo/pesto tortellini, salad and bread! It was so good I forgot to take a picture!! While we were eating she mentioned something about baking a cake (I was thinking it must be one of the guide's birthday's). Nope!! She baked us a pineapple upside down cake in the cast iron Dutch oven! Omg so delicious! All the guides in the camp were so welcoming and friendly! They invited us to play horseshoes, sat with us by the fire and really made us feel included (after all this is their home for the season). The next morning Ara had yogurt, fruit, leftover cake (my friend was really happy about that) orange juice and coffee waiting while we tried to wake up. We took our time...Ara always made sure things flowed on our time. She never pressured us or rushed us - it was absolutely wonderful. She cooked us a nice breakfast of croissant sandwiches and we had to pack up and head out. We made sure to tip her (and if I could have made it 100% of the cost I would have) she hugged us and we said our goodbyes! Everyone we met was amazing!! Ara, Annie the dog, Stu and G-String (my ears must of been waterlogged because I swear that's what his name was - lol). I wish I remembered more names but these were our top favorites. They have me wanting to do the 5 day trip next!!

My bf and I are escape room enthusiasts (we have done 125+ rooms) and tried both the Jellybean and…read morethe Buried Alive rooms today. Although they weren't all that challenging for us, we still enjoyed them quite a bit. The Jellybean room was very aesthetically pleasing and the theme was whimsical and fun. There were some puzzles (and one lock) in there that we hadn't seen before and we always enjoy when we see something new in a room. I appreciate the way the clues were given and how they kept even that part in theme with the room. This is a good family-friendly room. As for Buried Alive, there is a creepy factor to it but it's not scary. There are some effects in the room that really add to the immersiveness of it. The puzzles were good and were themed to the room as well. However, having just completed the Jellybean room minutes prior, I noticed that there was a similar puzzle in both rooms (an object with letters on it) and that was kinda a letdown. I don't like to see similar puzzles repeated across multiple rooms at the same location. One thing I especially liked about Grande Escape (compared to some other places) is the themes of their rooms. They're different. They're not the typical pirate ship, jail or western room that has been done and redone so many times. So props to them for thinking outside the box. After all, isn't that what is an escape room is about anyways? As for our GM, David (who also happens to be the owner), was great. He was very accommodating to our scheduling request and just an overall personable guy. We also enjoyed talking shop with him while we were there. If you're into escape rooms or even if this is your first time, this place is worth checking out. And for any enthusiasts up in the valley (like we are), drive down and see these guys. You won't be disappointed.

This was our first escape room experience and it was fantastic!!! We had a blast and The owner…read moreDavid is the best... the room we did was buried alive and it was super fun and very challenging! We will DEFINITELY be back!

As Jew in the Isreal army, I visited America for first time week last. Handsome young man named…read moreMatt helped me buy first kart but i end up buying six more. Good deal, he promise me play Mario Kart together if I do. i crash into small child and they go hospital but still fun. Next time I in America, I visit again.

I wanted to get into karting so I visited Innovative Karting. I talked to Curtis about my plans…read more He explained the best and most economical way to proceed with this sport. What he told me was something I didn't want to hear, but something I NEEDED to hear. I was going about it all wrong. He is a real straight shooter, not trying to sell you things you don't need. He was super friendly and easy to talk to, even about questions he probably answered millions of times. His shop and floor space were neat and clean. I will continue to use Innovative, as apposed to buying on-line. We need to support owners like Curtis. You rock.