Fun & Games

At 13, we rode our 10-speed to Big Surf in Tempe with a friend on one of the hottest days of the year and suffered from a small bout of heat exhaustion, vomiting what little breakfast we'd had on the side of McClintock Drive. With only enough money to get in, we quenched our thirst from the water fountain and ate ketchup from our fingers, pretending we had fries to go along with it. It was one of the best days ever. We took our pilfered rafts to near the wall where the waves start, riding them across the backs of other swimmers waiting for the surge to take them, too. When we grew bored of the rafts, we gave them to some little kids and tried to body-surf among the crowds of bikini-clad women, muscled dudes, and children who hopefully held their pee until the bathroom. Decades later, amazingly, we can have the exact same experience — only better, because not only do we drive and have the money to pay for lunch, but because Big Surf is better than it used to be. Featured in a 1960s National Geographic issue, Big Surf has changed dramatically over the years to include an array of water slides (some not for the timid) and a play area for smaller kids. The sand that nearly produced third-degree burns in the summer has been long replaced by cooler Astroturf. The staff is more professional than ever, keeping an eye out for mischievous 13-year-olds. We try not to cause too much trouble for the sake of our kids.

Long, tall Randy Johnson was inducted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, this summer, and he deserves it, despite those cornball local commercials he does. Randy, stick to being the most intimidating pitcher of your time — as an actor, Luis Gonzalez you're not. Johnson played for the Diamondbacks during his glory days, even pitching one of his two no-hitters here on May 18, 2004 (he's among five major-league pitchers to have thrown a no-hitter in both leagues, and with the one in '04, he was the oldest pitcher to perform the feat). At 6-foot-10, he's a five-time winner of the Cy Young Award (given to the best pitcher in each league) and one of two pitchers to win it in both the National and American leagues (he played for the Seattle Mariners before coming to the D-backs and played a pivotal role in Arizona's 2001 World Series victory over the New York Yankees). His 4,875 strikeouts rank him second in big-league history to Nolan Ryan, and speaking of Ks, he's won a modern historical five strikeout crowns for a left-hander in the Bigs. The Big Unit may not be headed for an Academy Award, but his prowess as a photographer nowadays comes close to matching his skill as a pitcher. Indeed, check out the skills of the baseball legend who calls the Valley home if he decides to display his art in a local gallery soon. You can also see it at http://rj51photos.com.

Yasmany Tomás was one of two top prospects left in Cuba, where baseball is an even bigger deal than it is in the United States (fans there have a single-minded love of the game, probably because they don't have much to distract them in a communist country where the masses still drive '50s cars). The 24-year-old played five seasons with Cuba's great national team. A power hitter on the island, he started playing baseball in the streets of Havana as a little boy. He was one of the youngest players on the Cuban team, after starting his career with the Havana Industriales, where he hit 30 home runs and batted in 104 runs during 205 games. He somehow escaped from his homeland (details remain mysterious) and lived for a time in nearby Haiti and the Dominican Republic, while working out his immigration to the States. A plethora of major-league teams were interested in him, but largely because of the prestige of playing for an organization headed by the respected Tony La Russa of St. Louis Cardinals' World Series fame, Tomas came to the Diamondbacks after signing a six-year $68.5 million contract. Franchises don't hand MLB rookies this kind of money unless they're expecting big things from them. Through 109 games with the big-league club, he was batting .282 with 107 hits and 45 runs batted in. When the trade happened earlier this season, we wondered why Arizona traded away slugger Mark Trumbo (who was having a good season) in favor of Tomás' taking on a bigger offensive role, but now we know.

Paul Goldschmidt isn't just the best Diamondbacks hitter ever (though it's early in his career), he's been the best everyday player in baseball this year (pitchers don't count in this measure). A National League All-Star again this season, Goldschmidt's having his best year to date, and there's no reason not to believe that his hitting and fielding skills won't continue for a long career. He's not injury prone, he's built like a superhero, and he's a Captain America nice guy (hates talking about himself, asks his teammates for advice on how to better play the game, even when it's them who should be asking him). Goldschmidt's literally the guy the rest of the team is built around, and as we're all seeing, he can't do it alone. But he's damn well trying to carry the Snakes on his back. Let's review his superstar stats: After 143 games this season, he was batting .315, with 28 home runs, 162 hits, and 100 runs batted in. His on-base/slugging percentage was a whopping .984. He's the choosiest hitter in the game, rarely swinging at a pitch out of the strike zone. At this writing, he'd gotten himself more walks than any hitter in the big leagues (108) than all but two other hitters — but this is partly because he's so feared by opposing pitchers (who'd intentionally walked him 26 times). He can beat you with a walk-off homer or a double to the gap — ask the San Francisco Giants, whom he owns. And we haven't even talked about his stellar defensive prowess. Goldy's a Gold Glover who's robbed countless hitters of blazing extra base hits down the first-base line. Signed through the 2018 season, this possible 2015 MVP is a bargain today at $32 million over five years.

Brittney Griner's bad in so many good ways. Indeed, she may be the most exciting athlete in the Phoenix area. At an athletic 6-feet-8, she is transforming the women's professional game. Used to be that dunking was never seen in the Women's National Basketball Association, now it's de rigueur for Griner. Even with the great Diana Taurasi taking a sabbatical from the Phoenix Mercury this season, Griner's keeping the team in the hunt. (The Mercury won the WNBA championship with Griner and Taurasi leading the way last season.) Griner didn't start the season with the team because of her suspension for domestic violence. Yes, this time it was an elite female athlete under scrutiny for an incident with her significant other. Or, in Griner's case her ex, Tulsa Shock forward Glory Johnson. Griner and her then-fiancée got hit with assault and disorderly conduct charges after a disturbance at their Goodyear home that cops were said to have broken up. Both suffered minor injuries (an indication that blame was shared), and both women later were suspended for seven games after a guilty plea in the incident. Twenty-six weeks of domestic-violence counseling also was required by the court. The pair got married less than a month after the incident, but the union was annulled after it was announced that Johnson was pregnant. Griner, 24, had bad games — for her — on her return to the team, but on July 1, she returned to top form, scoring 23 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and blocking four shots in a victory over the San Antonio Stars. She was the WNBA blocks leader in 2013 and 2014 so now it'll be interesting to see if she can block the infamous incident with Johnson out of her mind and return the Mercury to championship material. Because with Taurasi gone, it's her team.

Daryl Washington always was a badass on the football field. A premier defensive player since high school in Irving, Texas, he went on to greatness at Texas Christian University and was considered the fourth-best outside linebacker coming out of the 2010 National Football League draft. As an Arizona Cardinal, he was named to the 2013 Pro Bowl Team. His stats as an inside linebacker for Arizona are impressive: For the 2012 season, he had 108 tackles and nine quarterback sacks, and during every season he played, he was a leader on a defense known as one of the league's best. Yet for all his accolades on the field involving sanctioned violence, Washington is best known for the violence he inflicted on his ex-girlfriend, which along with two substance-abuse violations, got him suspended for all of the 2014 season. He was charged on May 1, 2013 with two counts of aggravated assault on the mother of his then-5-month-old daughter. He later pleaded guilty to the assault and was sentenced to a year of supervised probation. Thus, he joined too many other NFLers, including former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, as poster boys for domestic violence. At this writing, it remains to be seen whether Washington will be reinstated. The two-time suspension for substance abuse (the original forced him to sit out four games during the 2013 season) doesn't help his case. Critics contended that the many incidents involving NFL players prove that too many pampered athletes involved in a violent game cannot leave the mayhem on the field, that examples must be made: lifetime suspensions.

John "Smokey" Brown is a mighty mite. On the street, he'd be of average build at 5-feet-10 and 179 pounds, but he's a shrimp in the NFL. But for what he lacks in size, he makes up for in speed and field savvy. One of the bright spots of a good 2014 Arizona Cardinals season (if the team hadn't been in the same division as the Seattle Seahawks, and hadn't lost its two top quarterbacks, it would have been a great season), Brown showed the world why he deserves his nickname. He often came out of seemingly nowhere, leaving a proverbial cloud of smoke from the friction of his body blazing through the atmosphere of various NFL stadiums. Out of tiny Pittsburg State in Kansas, Brown looked like a long shot to even make the Cardinals roster, much less stand out. But he was a favorite of Cardinals QB Carson Palmer, who'd mentored him in the offseason, and it soon became apparent why. He caught a game-winning touchdown pass against the Philadelphia Eagles last October 26 and followed that up with three more game-winning grabs during the rest of the season — becoming the first rookie in NFL history to make the difference in four victories. Humble to the core, Brown credited everybody but himself with the feat in media interviews.

In today's NFL, if you don't have a good quarterback, you can't compete on any level, much less make it to the playoffs or win the Super Bowl. The Cardinals have had good seasons over the past two years, and the reason they weren't great was quarterback play (and, of course, playing in the same division as the Seattle Seahawks, who won the title following the '13 season). Carson Palmer was no slouch during the '13 season, passing for 4,274 yards on 362 attempts, but it was his first year playing in coach Bruce Arians' system. By the '14 season, Palmer had the system down; the team's offense started to click, but Palmer went down with a knee injury in the sixth game, after throwing 11 touchdown passes well before the middle of the regular season. Backup quarterback Drew Stanton filled in admirably until he, too, got injured. The Cardinals turned in an 11-5 record, but — forced to play with a third-string QB — were embarrassed by their one-and-done performance in the playoffs. Which is why Palmer is the linchpin to the Cardinals' success this season. After winning the Heisman Trophy at USC and getting picked first in the 2003 NFL draft, Palmer played the bulk of his pro career for mediocre Cincinnati Bengals teams. Now's he's on a team that has all the components to challenge the Seahawks for the division title, and if they succeed (because Seattle has been the best team in the NFC), this should mean a berth in the Super Bowl. Palmer has all the tools: He was the only NFL quarterback to beat the Seahawks on their home field when he was healthy in '13, leading Arizona to a 17-10 victory.

Brad Ziegler is an animal, a machine, something crazy good. Placed in the role of closer for the Diamondbacks this season, he has excelled. But the veteran relief pitcher always has, at the Oakland A's and in Arizona. He's so good that he once was labeled as the most dominant pitcher in baseball by the ESPN online magazine Grantland. The headline of its story last year read: "He began his MLB career with a historic streak and has dominated ever since, yet he's toiling in anonymity. Why? It starts and ends with how he throws the ball." That is, submarine-style, a low sidearm delivery during which his throwing hand winds up about a foot off the pitcher's mound. Grantland argued that his seemingly goofy style is why he isn't taken seriously. But when you bore down on said style, you see that Brad Ziegler — whom few outside the two cities whose franchises he's toiled for know anything about — has (at this writing) an earned-run average of 2.48 over eight seasons, which makes him — despite his unorthodox style — the most successful pitcher of his time. At just before midseason, his 2015 ERA was 1.36 with 12 saves. And he started out untouchable, throwing 39 scoreless innings for Oakland before giving up a hit. Consistency is his middle name, and he does it because of his silly delivery, not in spite of it. It's damn hard to hit pitches that come at you with the crazy "stuff" that Z creates for anything other than groundball outs. In fact, his pitches are hard to hit at all — he'd also posted 327 strikeouts during his career. Yet he's an extreme longshot to make the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

The Suns lost in their bid for superstar power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, but they improved their fortunes nevertheless by acquiring veteran center Tyson Chandler to go along with 22-year-old former University of Maryland center Alex Len. Both at 7-1, the two complement each other in that they are good defenders, Chandler one of the best big-man defenders in the NBA. Signed to a four-year $52 million contract by the Suns, Chandler anchored the Dallas Mavericks defense last year, averaging 11.5 rebounds a game, in addition to having the second best field goal percentage in the league at 67 percent. He's somebody coach Jeff Hornacek's Suns team long has needed: a center who can score in the paint, as attested to by his 147 dunks, third best in the league. Published reports say Len, who has turned out to be one of the best young centers in the NBA, is happy that he will be mentored by the veteran. In his second year as a pro, Len emerged in the second half of last season as the Suns' starting center, averaging 6.6 points and 6.6 rebounds in 22 minutes per game, but he still shared big playing time with two other big men. Combining Chandler's other attributes with his 10 points per game, the two should be one of the league's best one-two punches.

First of all, these guys know what they're doing. Steve Berthiaume is an ESPN veteran who's chosen to bring his homespun, everyman talent to our (by comparison) boondocks, and Bob Brenly is a former catcher who was manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks' World Series champion team.

What we love about these guys is that, though they're employed by the team, they're not homers. When the team does something crazy, they point it out. When a player has a bad game, they are on it like pine tar on George Brett's ancient bat. Berthiaume's Cup of Coffee show, where he interviews players, is great. In his inoffensive way, he really gets into the TV heads of players, and even bosses like the legendary Tony La Russa. And Brenly's just a breath of fresh air, when compared to predecessors in the team's broadcast booth and to color commentators for our other pro sports franchises, who border on bush league most of the time. Berthiaume's got quite a broadcasting résumé: He was a SportsCenter anchor and anchored Baseball Tonight. He also worked for the New York Mets' network and covered University of Connecticut basketball for a Hartford television station. As for Brenly, he's been a D-backs manager and broadcaster, a starting catcher for the San Francisco Giants and an All-Star in 1985, and a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. He knows everybody who's anybody in baseball. Brenly comes across as a great guy, but he doesn't mind offending an entire baseball position, as he did when he said pitchers really aren't athletes. This came up in a question from Berthiaume, who asked B.B. if he'd ever wanted to take the mound in a big-league game. D-backs management may not have returned the team to the limelight, but they certainly have professional broadcasters who're at the top of their games.

Bruce Arians knows the Arizona Cardinals inside and out. He coached against them in Super Bowl XLIII as offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cardinals, helmed by Kurt Warner at quarterback, were in a position to win that game, having taken the lead on a 64-yard touchdown reception by Larry Fitzgerald with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter. But the Steelers, under Arians, marched 67 yards to the 6 yard line, and then Santonio Holmes, tiptoeing just in-bounds, made a spectacular catch falling out of bounds to knock the Cardinals out of its first Super Bowl 27-23. Though the Holmes play was drawn up by Arians, you might argue that he's made up for the worst day in Cardinals fans' lives by leading the team to consecutive double-digit-winning seasons, the last despite losing starting quarterback Carson Palmer and backup Drew Stanton to season-ending injuries. And the team he has assembled for the 2015 season should be the best yet: Palmer is healthy, key players have been added, the defense is dominant, star receiver Larry Fitzgerald is as good as ever, and the running game is improved. The much-traveled Arians, 62, proved himself a winner with the Steelers, where he coached in two Super Bowls, and the Indianapolis Colts, where he took over as interim head coach for ailing head coach Chuck Pagano and posted 9-3 record and an AP Coach of the Year Award. This before he landed in the Valley of the Sun to turn around a Cardinals franchise that had gone to hell under former coach Ken Whisenhunt. Now, all he needs to cement his legacy is to take the once-lowly Cards into the promised land with a deep playoffs run that ends with a Super Bowl victory. You owe it to us, Bruce!

The Sun Devils men's basketball program has been in shambles for years. In fact, it's hard to remember a time when it wasn't. Despite a few luminaries, such as the bearded one, James Harden, having toiled for the Devils, there's been nothing memorable about the ASU program: never won an NCAA championship, never even been in the Final Four. The last time they were in the Sweet 16 was 1995, when they lost 97-73 to Kentucky. Over nine years, vaunted coach Herb Sendek only got ASU to the NCAA tournament twice, and his teams lost in the first and second rounds. Now comes legendary Duke point guard Bobby Hurley as Sun Devils head coach. Hurley, who led the Blue Devils to back-to-back national championships in 1991-92, brings instant viability to the ASU program. For two seasons, he was head coach at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where his Bulls posted 19-10 and 23-10 records and won the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. Though he spent five years in the National Basketball Association, he had a lackluster professional career after getting picked seventh by the Sacramento Kings in the 1993 league draft, largely because he never was the same on court after an automobile accident that almost killed him during his rookie year. But he was a luminary in college: Hurley was named most outstanding player in the '93 Final Four. At 1,076, the NCAA assists record still belongs to Hurley, who knows better than anyone what it takes for young men to achieve athletic greatness. Though none have done it before, he has a chance to achieve coaching greatness at ASU.

Steve Kerr never started an NBA game but had pivotal roles with the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs, playing on five championship teams. Um, Michael Jordan loved the guy, trusted him with the ball at the end of close games. Kerr made a couple of the most famous buzzer-beaters in NBA history. Once general manager of the Phoenix Suns, Kerr is the head coach who got away. In his first year as an NBA head coach with the Golden State Warriors, damned if his team didn't win this year's championship against the best player in the league, LeBron James, and his Cleveland Cavaliers — giving Kerr his fifth ring. The former University of Arizona standout was blessed with the best point guard in the league in Steph Curry and a great shooting guard in Klay Thompson, but it's what he did with the rest of the team that made the difference. Case in point: Andre Iguodala. Also a onetime Wildcats starter, Iguodala's best days seemed behind him, but Kerr had the good sense to recognize a man on a mission and give the veteran small forward enough playing time for AI to win the NBA Finals' Most Valuable Player Award. Iguodala played lights-out defense against James, holding the superstar to making 38 percent of his shots from the field. And in clinching the series for the Warriors in Game 6, AI tallied 26 points, five rebounds, and five assists. This after coming off the bench until Game 4 of the series. Kerr, aided by former Suns Coach Alvin Gentry as an assistant, decided to play a small lineup most of the time against the Cavs, and it paid off with the Warriors' wearing down James' bigger squad. Wonder how Eric Bledsoe and since-traded Goran Dragic would've done here with Kerr as their coach. Maybe they'd have been the Splash Brothers instead of Curry and Thompson.

Over the past few years, something of a stadium arms race has developed among Cactus League teams, which are constantly building bigger and more elaborate stadiums across the Valley. Though these new ballyards certainly are impressive, they aren't necessarily better. There's something about Scottsdale Stadium, the spring training home of the San Francisco Giants, that just makes it better than the rest. Maybe it's the location, where you're within walking distance of postgame burgers and beers in Old Town Scottsdale. Maybe it's the energized crowd, which roots for a team that's won three World Series championships in the past five years. Maybe it's the fact that Scottsdale Stadium is becoming something of a classic Cactus League ballpark, if there is such a thing. Or maybe it's something else. All we know is, it's where you want to watch spring training.

The Biltmore is the epitome of the Arizona dream. The entire campus is an idyllic getaway; the architecture is designed so ingeniously that you forget you're in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the country the instant you step in the door. It makes relaxing at one of the hotel's three pools nothing but a relaxing getaway from the smog and the endless sprawl and the hustle of Phoenix. The fabulous Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired vistas will make you happy to drop $15 on a martini as you dip your toe into the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Let's be honest, there's no substitute for Las Vegas. But if you've got money to burn and no time (or urge) to travel, Talking Stick Resort will be happy to accommodate. Talking Stick is bright and noisy in all the right ways, with more than 50 table games, over 800 slot machines, and the state's largest poker room. Looking for a break? Check out cuisine with themes ranging from Creole to Southwestern, along with plenty of bars and lounges at which to regroup, refresh, and count your winnings.

Readers choice: Talking Stick Resort

Steve Thomas and Mike Lovato are what you'd call old-school gamers. The two grew up during the golden age of arcades (read: the 1980s) when said establishments were dimly lit dens filled with blaring rock music, the glow of pixelated graphics, and dozens of games powered by quarters instead of cash cards. And both have cherished memories of spending countless hours at such spots, battling hordes of invading aliens, maneuvering through mazes while munching dots, or rescuing princesses from dastardly villains. So when Thomas and Lovato, who have become collectors of vintage coin-op games in the ensuing years, wanted to open an arcade of their own, they drew inspiration from some their favorite gaming haunts of the past.

The result is StarFighters Arcade, a 4,000-square-foot joystick joint situated in a Mesa office park near Falcon Field. It features a treasure trove of more than 100 classic titles, including many culled from Thomas and Lovato's collections. As a neon Pac-Man hanging from one wall looks on, gamers of every age gather on weekend nights to get their hands on such old-school favorites as Paperboy, Omega Race, Ghosts 'n' Goblins, Spy Hunter, RoadBlasters, and Tempest. There are also clusters of games grouped together by manufacturer, such as a row dedicated to Williams classics like Sinistar and Moon Patrol, as well as such hard-to-find gems as the 1976 submarine game Sea Wolf or sit-down version of the old Atari dogfight game Red Baron. The arcade, which is open only on Friday and Saturday nights, requires the purchase of a membership, ranging from $14 for a single evening or $30 for a month to $120 for an entire year. It's a small price to pay for a chance to take a trip through a warp zone to gaming's yesteryear.

Readers Choice: Dave & Buster's

Plenty of Phoenicians still shake their heads in disbelief when it's said, but it's true: Sunnyslope is pretty cool. Don't believe us? Look no further than Let It Roll Bowl. The independently owned bowling alley has everything you need when you're rolling, with league meetups and cosmic bowling nights, but its charm goes even deeper. The plush bar is sleek and modern but custom-fitted to the building's original 1962 roots. There's a reason the Somewhat Annual Local First Arizona Independent's Bowl tournament is held at Let It Roll: Its funky vibe fits the groovy event like a perfectly selected pair of bowling shoes. 

For nostalgic adventures in goofy golf, you can putt your colorful balls into a replica of the Alamo on the Flying Dutchman course, nab a hole-in-one along King's Arthur's Quest, or chip some dimples into a castle on the Princess Path. Each of the three 18-hole courses at retro Golfland is nestled within a moat of water slides from the adjacent Sunsplash Water Park, allowing for waterfalls, fountains, and mature foliage to help keep things cool and shady. Obstacles such as loop-the-loops, windmills, and fountains make for classic miniature golf staples with wheelchair-accessible options along each course. Each course is ranked by difficulty and boasts distinct themes with corresponding hazards and traps. Whether you foozle or bag the clutch putt, the classic courses at Golfland make the perfect game plan for a retro family fun night.

For a long time, the Stadium Course at TPC was known for being the location of the Valley's lone PGA Tour stop (even if it changed the name to sound more like a weird bathroom joke and less like a somewhat significant professional golf tournament), but not for being a course worth playing on. Last year, the course underwent considerable renovations, and it now boasts one of the better playing surfaces and atmospheres around. As a bonus, it's pretty sweet to be hitting the same links as the best players in the world do when they roll through town every February.

Phoenix Rock Gym was the first rock-climbing gym in the Valley, and it's retained a strong sense of community over the years. Starting in 1992 on South Roosevelt Street in Tempe, the gym moved after a couple of years to its present location, where it's outlived many other businesses in the Aztec Plaza strip mall. If you used to work out there 10, 15, even 20 years ago, you'll remember some of the same faces. We mean the customers, mainly, but co-founder Paul Diefenderfer, a.k.a. "Dief," still puts in hours there — his short beard perhaps a little grayer.

As old school as this gym is, Dief and the rest have done a good job keeping the place fresh. Taped climbing routes are replaced and rerouted often, and one wall always seems to be under renovation, which is a good thing. The gym hosts several 30-foot top-roping walls, one wing dedicated to lead climbing with an awesome roof section, and two first-rate bouldering rooms. If you have grand outdoor climbing ambitions, this is also a good place to meet an experienced belay partner. Hand strength and forearm muscles may fade, but you can always count on the Phoenix Rock Gym to be there for reconditioning.

When most people think of Arizona, they imagine miles and miles of dry rock, sand, and mountains — and the occasional saguaro. Though we can't deny parts of our state fit that description, those who know better also are aware of places like Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, home of Tonto Natural Bridge Falls. This impressive waterfall spills over the side of the Tonto Natural Bridge, which is known to be the world's largest natural travertine bridge. Visitors can see the 183-foot waterfall from observation decks at the top of the canyon or take the easy 300-foot hike to the bottom to get a dose of perspective and realize the scale of this natural wonder.

We asked a hardcore hiker for his favorite early-morning hike — the one offering the best view of the sunrise. He laughed and replied, "The sun is the last thing I want to see on an early-morning hike!"

Buzzkill. But, hey, we get it. In Phoenix, it's a race against the heat. So instead of a mountaintop, we have a different suggestion for getting a bird's-eye view of the desert sunrise: a ride in a hot air balloon. There are several companies that offer rides at all times of the day — some even include a champagne brunch! — in different parts of the Valley, so we'll leave the Googling to you. Enjoy the view and hold on tight.

Readers Choice: Camelback Mountain

The desert has always been said to have healing powers. Maybe it's the fact that plants, animals, and people are able to thrive in this harsh climate, or maybe there actually is something different about this arid place. If you're going to try to tap into these mysterious environmental powers, South Mountain Park, the world's largest municipal park, is the place to do it and the fourth Sunday of each month is the time. Dubbed Silent Sundays, these specific days are meant for cyclists, skateboarders, wheelchair users, and strollers to take over the roads when the main access points are closed to motor vehicles. Appreciate the park peacefully, and let us know if you find any of those fabled powers.

It may be hard to believe when it's the middle of summer and temperatures barely dip below triple digits (even after the sun goes down), but the desert produces varied and beautiful wildflowers when the weather permits in the spring, and Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park has an incredible showing. Take yourself on a walking tour along the main trail, which is 1.5 miles long, and feast your eyes on the colors and varieties of flowers desert plants can produce. To see the most plants in bloom, visit the park in March and April. Be sure to take plenty of photos to remind yourself of the beauty of the desert through the harsh summer months.

Riding from the south on Scotts-dale Road, the route to Bartlett Lake takes you through North Scottsdale and finally into Carefree, a modern Mayberry in the desert. Coming from the west on Carefree Highway to Cave Creek Road, you'll rumble through the less posh but equally scenic Cave Creek and its biker bars. Either way, you'll be having fun even before you take the final leg east to the lake. Once clear of civilization, the ride turns into pure heaven for motorcyclists. Though not as full of twists as the road to Tortilla Flat, plenty of curves and dips unfold on the last few miles. The asphalt on Bartlett Dam Road is smooth, but watch for sand drifts around the bends.

For a round-trip ride that takes only two or three hours from most points in the Valley, you get the feeling that you've gone somewhere much more remote. Arriving at the lake doesn't mean you have to grab a burger and beer at the marina. Take off your boots and cool your heels in the water on one of the beaches, or keep riding on the smaller, fun park roads that surround the lake. It's definitely better in the cooler months, but Bartlett satisfies the jones for something other than the Valley's straight-edge grid system.

Most Phoenicians know to stay indoors during the hottest summer months, but sometimes you just have to break out your hiking boots and hit the trails even when it feels like the inside of an oven outdoors. Whether it's the fact that you drive 40 miles out of the city or it actually is a bit cooler, Lost Dutchman State Park makes the summer heat tolerable. With an abundance of fauna and flora year round and the legend of the Lost Dutchman to keep you entertained and on your toes, there's no better place to explore the desert landscape in the most brutal time of year than this destination in Apache Junction.

Minutes from nearly anywhere in the Valley, a wonderful and relatively safe outdoor adventure can be had by nearly any decent bike rider, on nearly any bike that has gears and fat tires. Start from South Mountain Park's Pima Canyon entrance near 48th Street and Elliot Road. Once on the trail of rolling hills, the ordinary world vanishes. The single-track trail guides riders and hikers through miles of up-and-down and across much of the 16,000-acre, surprisingly lush Sonoran Desert park. Endorphins will flood your brain as you strain to conquer the uphill portions, followed by tsunamis of adrenaline on the twisty paths down. A few technical sections may cause you to push your bike uphill for a few feet — practicing these parts and nailing them is very satisfying. It's great to go out and back a few miles, like a dusty luge run. But if you keep going, the goodness continues for a total of roughly nine miles each way. Doing the entire 18 miles can be a mini-epic sort of experience, yet one that even novice riders can handle (as long as they bring plenty of water).

Readers Choice: South Mountain

For those of us who enjoy driving off the pavement, a trip on the famous Apache Trail is an experiment in misery. Unless you're out there at the crack of dawn, you'll undoubtedly be stuck behind people driving 10 mph who have no interest in letting faster traffic pass. Luckily, there's a much better alternative in the Four Peaks Trail. The starting point, off State Route 87 north of Fountain Hills, is fairly far from the start of the Apache Trail, but they both end up at Roosevelt Lake. The trail is quite a bit rougher than the Apache Trail, but that only means it's more fun, and you can take it on even with the puniest of SUVs. All the drivers we've encountered on this trail are willing to concede their position to faster traffic, leaving your pace up to you — which is probably the most important part of enjoying an off-road drive.

Readers Choice: Sedona

This oasis in the middle of Gilbert is ever-changing, with an abundance of desert flora and fauna. But our favorite activity while exploring the 110 acres of the preserve will always be seeing how many different kinds of birds we can spot. During the cooler months of the year, October through March, the Riparian Preserve and the Desert Rivers Audobon Society offers family bird walks free of charge on every third Saturday — possibly the best way to catch the almost 200 birds that call the preserve home.

The rangers at McDowell Mountain Regional Park — a 20,000-acre county park in the northeast corner of the Valley — offer sunset hikes, reptile-feeding expeditions, and the particulars regarding the state's most majestic cactus, the Saguaro. For $6 (unless you have a park pass) and an hour of your time, you'll take an easy half-mile walk and learn everything from how long the Saguaro lives to whether you can get water from it, and more.

Readers Choice: Desert Botanical Garden

For the slightly more advanced sport climber, Lookout Mountain is like an outdoor gym. The climbing area, conveniently located in a north-central part of town at Greenway Road and 16th Street, consists of a single crag with about a dozen bolted routes ranging from 30 to 50 feet high. From the parking lot, take the trail up and right to the sheer climbing area. Some sections of loose rock are on the crag, meaning rock fall is a potential danger — so exercise caution. Most of the basalt is fairly solid. Novices will find nothing too easy here, and most of the climbs have to be led from the ground up. If you can lead 5.10 or 5.11, though, you can spend the better part of an afternoon here blowing out your forearms. Since the tragic closure of Lower East Wall in Scottsdale years ago due to a housing development, Lookout Mountain is the only spot in the Valley we know that has a single wall with multiple quality routes. Their proximity means you can quickly set up and climb several routes in a row, providing a workout experience superior to the plastic holds of indoor gyms. The best part: no entry fee.

Readers Choice: AZ on the Rocks

Channel your inner cowboy or cowgirl and hop in the saddles at Ponderosa Stables, which has been offering the best trail riding in Phoenix for about 40 years. Not only will you have the opportunity to explore South Mountain from the comfort of a horse's back, but you'll be led by a trained and knowledgeable guide who will offer interesting facts about the environment and the way cowboys lived back in the day. Take your pick from a daytime ride, breakfast ride, or steak dinner ride, which ends after sunset at T-Bone Steakhouse. Rides start at $55 per person and can vary in length of time.

Phoenix has no shortage of glorious hiking trails within its city limits. But the problem with those trails is that they make you feel very much that you're in a city. You're constantly reminded of mankind's incursions into nature by the city views you're working so hard to avoid. You have to go a little farther outside city limits to really get that immersive outdoor experience, but thankfully you don't have to travel long. The Superstitions offer one particular hike that has it all: the Peralta Trailhead to Fremont Saddle. The trail is mostly isolated from city views, is only five miles round trip, and has a fantastic reward at the end: panoramic views of the endless layers of rock and saguaro of the Superstition Mountains, one of the most beautiful ranges in Arizona, and a spectacular view of Weaver's Needle, a dominant peak that juts prominently to the northwest.

Readers Choice: Camelback Mountain

Everyone knows there's nothing quite like an Arizona sunset. However, the view from your backyard is nothing compared to a view from higher up. To really take in the sunset, go to the top of South Mountain. The directions are easy: Drive south on Central Avenue until you're at the top. The view of Phoenix is fantastic — there's a great panorama of downtown Phoenix, and even something like the University of Phoenix Stadium, more than 20 miles away, can easily be seen. Then, when the sun goes down, and the sky's colors start to change, you'll hear the oohs and aahs of everyone there, as if it were a Fourth of July fireworks show. One word of warning: This view of the sunset is not a secret, in any sense. You'll want to get there early to secure a parking spot and a place to watch.

Readers Choice: South Mountain

For those not familiar with the equestrian world, there are two styles of riding, Western and English. Though there are several differences between the two styles, the differences in riding boil down to how the rider guides the animal. English riders use reins connected to the horse's mouth and Western riders use their saddles, weight, and reins connected to the horse's necks. As you may have guessed, out here in the Wild West, Western style reigns supreme, for the most part, and the best place to experience it is at MacDonald's Ranch. This family-owned and -operated ranch is a peek back into what life was like in Arizona back when the Richardson family opened the ranch in the 1950s. But it's the stables that caught our attention. MacDonald's breeds its own horses so it can ensure that the animals are docile and well trained. From trail rides and cookouts to touring around in a stagecoach, MacDonald's will give you a true Western experience.

We'll miss Oak Flat Campground and its nearby thousands of bouldering routes when they're gone. Great places to boulder — a term for rock climbing that focuses on short routes where a fall isn't deadly — are not that common in or near the Valley. Oak Flat is a uniquely scenic part of the Sonoran Desert, populated by ancient lava formations frozen and twisted into spectral forms that just happen to contain great hand- and footholds for climbers. Located about 30 miles east of Phoenix, just east of Superior off U.S. 60, Oak Flat is a peaceful land of creek beds, bushy mesquite, and a lifetime's worth of exhilarating bouldering routes concentrated in one convenient place.

And the area will be gone, it appears, unless a political miracle occurs. In December, Arizona's U.S. senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, shepherded a dead mining bill onto a must-pass defense-spending bill, achieving what Congress could not: the giveaway of Oak Flat and hundreds of surrounding acres near Devil's Canyon — land that some Native Americans claim has been held sacred for centuries — to a foreign mining company. Resolution Copper plans to dig into the rich ore under the land, destroying the surface in the process. Climbers will miss the former home of the world's largest outdoor bouldering contest, so get out there as much as possible in the next few years.

Four miles east of Superior off U.S. 60
602-225-5200
www.fs.usda.gov/tonto

Readers Choice: Camelback Mountain