Getting around in Arizona
Arizona, the home state of Senator John McCain, is literally the “newest” of the 48 contiguous states having joined the Union only in 1912. At the same time, it is also the location of one of America’s oldest natural attractions, the amazing the five-million-year-old Grand Canyon.
Bordered by Mexico in the South and Utah nearly 500 miles in the north, it contains some of America’s most spectacular scenery and most popular vacation destinations along with thriving and vital Jewish communities.
Tucson, with a population of some 450,000 is the southernmost city in the state located in the heart of the desert. It has a hot, dry climate with temperatures often soaring past 100 degrees in the summer months. Among the city’s foremost attractions is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
The city also boasts a lively “art scene” with many galleries featuring Native American crafts. There is also live theater and music due, in part, to the influence of the University of Arizona whose main campus is in the city.
Tucson has an active and affluent Jewish community with several synagogues of all denominations, Chabad Houses and a state-of-the art Jewish Community Center which offers a wide variety of educational and cultural programs throughout the year.
Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, has a population of more than 1.5 million, making it one of America’s largest cities with all the advantages, and problems, this implies. Within its metropolitan area is Scottsdale which was once referred to in The New York Times as “a desert version of Miami’s South Beach.”
Scottsdale is a planned city of beautiful homes, luxury hotels, golf courses and upscale shopping centers with some of America’s most prestigious shops. No wonder that Scottsdale has become a mecca for “snow-birds” seeking to escape Northern winters.
The Phoenix area has a large and prosperous Jewish community with synagogues and institutions catering to every taste, including the gay and lesbian as well as the Bukharian communities, plus traditional Orthodox, Conservative and Reform temples and several Chabad Houses.
Traveling northwards, one leaves the desert behind and climbs into a mountainous region with snow-covered peaks reaching as high as 12,000 feet. Here, there are breathtaking vistas in place of large cities and one can begin to appreciate the vastness – and loneliness – of the American West.
While names of towns such as Prescott and Flagstaff (both of which have small Jewish communities) will resonate with Western movie buffs, the most spectacular resort in Northern Arizona is undoubtedly Sedona, a small but exquisite town with unique and incredible red mountain formations, superb hotels and restaurants and a truly sophisticated atmosphere complete with a small but well-established Reform temple.
From Sedona one can make excursions to spectacular national parks, to Indian Reservations and old “Wild West” towns as well as to the south rim of the Grand Canyon for never-to-be-forgotten views of one of nature’s great wonders or adventures such as a helicopter tour of the canyon or a white water excursion on the Colorado River.
While Arizona is a rich and varied destination with limitless attractions all by itself, it is also a convenient gateway to Las Vegas, to the north and to Southern California, to the West. In a time of rising inflation, an Arizona vacation is still relatively reasonable when compared to many other major tourist destinations.
Peter L. Rothholz is a former public relations, touring company and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines executive. He and his wife have traveled extensively and live in East Hampton, N.Y. and Santa Monica, Calif.
