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Kerry mentioned in a post after our picnic that we should try to come up north which I would love to do. If I do that, I would love to find a nice little hotel and spend at least one night so I don't have to rush back and I could see the town. Another trip would be to go see Crowlady at the Reniassance Fair which starts in February. I also still like the idea of going to South Mountain. They are having a great Indian Festival there this weekend, maybe we can attend next year. Another trip some day would be to park our cars at the park-and-ride lightrail station here in Phoenix and ride to Mesa, maybe come back to Tempe or Phoenix and have lunch or early dinner. I keep saying I'm going to ride the lightrail but never seem to take the time to do it. It's a great looking train.

I have a friend that is coming to stay with me in January and one of the places I intend to take her is to Jerome and go on one of the ghost tours, at night. I would also still like to go to the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. It might be better to go later in the spring when there is a better chance of the roads being open. In Williams there is a hotel that has a train ride to the Grand Canyon and back as a package deal to an over night stay there.

There is a show on cable called Arizona Highways. It is an interesting show with many nice places to visit. Have any of you seen it?

I vote on somplace up my where Casey lives. I would love to see that part of the country. Think us desert rats can take some cold weather? I'll bring the hot chocolate!!

Fellamhg..there is also a monthly magazine called Arizona Highways, you may want to pick that up. It shows lots of beautiful places to go and see in Arizona (like the TV show you mentioned)

Arizona Highways magazine has been since 1925. The magazine has always had beautiful photography and visits to interesting places. Frequently, you can find old copies at thrift stores and yard sales.

Cool I will definitely look for it in Barnes and Noble here in PV.

The grocery stores usually carry it too.

There is another magazine that comes out also lists all the areas and events on a quarterly basis. Called Pinal Ways $1.50. great magazine I use it to tell my customers about arizona. It is put out by the Tri Valley newspapers of southern and southwestern arizona.

Thanks Rolling - I live in Northern AZ. But I will check it out.

Here is another idea to ponder. The Verde Canyon Railrod train ride and dinner at the Blazin'M Ranch in Cottonwood or just one or the other. For me, I checked out a cute little hotel in Cottonwood, very, very reasonable and they even have a 2 BR House to share if that is something you would like to do. My friend from L.A. went on both the train ride and the ranch for dinner in one day and loved it. I would like to stay overnight to visit the town and maybe go to Jerome again. Also, in Sedona is the Pink Jeep Tour which I would love to do when it is warmer.

Fella, I went on the Grand Canyon Railway train a few years ago and it was wonderful. I drove to Camp Verde on Thanksgiving Day, spent the night at Cliff Castle Casino and had dinner there (didn't win any money though), then drove to Williams and stayed 1 night at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel to be ready to jump on the train the next morning at 10 a.m. At Christmas time, the station goes all out to decorate and it is really fun to walk around. I took the train to the Grand Canyon, then took a sight-seeing bus tour around the canyon to see different points of the canyon. I spent 1 night at the Maswick Hotel on the North Rim in the village. The next morning I walked to the edge of the canyon to watch the sunrise and it was mesmorizing. I walked along the north rim to see the El Tovar and other restaurants and gift shops. At about noon, the train picked me up and took me back to Williams. On the ride back the outlaw cowboys ride alongside the train and at some point they jump on and rob all the passengers, then the good cowboys bring on their guitars and sing and are they are really good. I stayed 1 more night in Williams because it was getting dark and I did not want to drive all the way back to Phoenix alone. The next day there were some strong winds in Williams and it was really cold but I jumped on the freeway and made it back home in 3 hours. I would not drive that far again alone but it was sure worth the trip to see the Grand Canyon.

I found a package deal for the 1 night in Williams (this included dinner and breakfast the next morning), 1 night in the canyon, the train ride and bus tour.