Country Vacations & Resorts

How about this luxury 6-bedroom vacation rental in Arizona?

Several parks and golf courses close by.

Saguaro, Apache, Canyon and Roosevelt Lakes are all within 1 hour distance. Hiking galore in the Superstition, Usery and Red Mountain areas. Everything else that the Phoenix Area has to offer…

Rates & Availability:

6br – Extreme Luxury Mesa Gilbert Chandler Phoenix AZ

Sedona is located about 90 miles north of Phoenix at the lower end of Arizona’s spectacular Oak Creek Canyon and is known for its jagged red-rock cliffs and monoliths as well as its surrounding lush forests. Sedona is located in both Coconino and Yavapai Counties and is completely surrounded by the Coconino National Forest.

Millions of tourists also visit the Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon area each year for its western history, scenic beauty, its thriving arts community, its world class hiking and golf, and its famous jeep tours. Recently voted by USA Today the most beautiful city in the United States, Sedona is one of Arizona’s most popular destinations.

Can you picture yourself in Sedona for a warm Christmas this coming holiday season?

This is not a true travel “wish” since I have already been lucky enough to visit, but I sure wish for a second trip to the Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson, Arizona.

Ocelot

Over 30 years have flown by since my trip to the Sonora Desert Museum but the memories remain. My first glimpse of a live ocelot, my first opportunity to actually hold a snake – this was a bit tentative I can tell you but the Corn Snake was dry, and mellow in nature – not as bad an experience as I might have predicted, and I wanted to take the ocelot home with me…

The Sonora Desert Museum is truly a remarkable place for a travel destination. See the bobcats and ocelot in “Cat Canyon” – natural environments with views from above and also at (your) eye-level. Be greeted at the museum’s entrance by local lizards – not of the lounge variety – who welcome you to this 21-acre animal preserve.

With over 300 species of animal and over 1200 different plants, this museum is well worth a day’s visit for you and your family. Threatened and endangered species on exhibit at the Desert Museum include: Mexican wolf, thick-billed parrot, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, desert pupfish, Sonora chub, bonytail chub, razorback sucker, Gila top minnow, Colorado River squawfish, Isla San Esteban chuckwalla and Apache trout.

Since it’s opening day in 1952, the museum has successfully served four main and important purposes:

- Providing educational programming for the community – for children and adults

- Conserving the Sonoran Desert environment – protecting native plants and animals

- Maintaining and improving the Museum’s collections of live plants and animals as well as other natural history collections

- Supporting ongoing research and advancing scientific understanding of the desert and shaping people’s sense of stewardship

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is located only 12 miles west of Tucson, making this an easy drive from the city.

Temperatures and tourist environment…

About 85% of the Museum is outside, and about 15% of the exhibits are indoors. In Tucson, expect 87 days each year where the temperature is 100° F or higher so be prepared. Wear a hat, sunscreen and comfortable shoes, or appropriate colder weather gear.

Drinking fountains and shade ramadas are scattered throughout the grounds for your convenience and indoor exhibits are cooled for your comfort. Shops for gifts and souvenirs, and food stations, are also available on the museum grounds.

Plan on spending at least half a day at the museum and then head on back to the City of Tucson, home of the University of Arizona.

Note: End up in Tucson on the 4th of July? They used to put on a fantastic fireworks show at the University!

Visit the Metropolitan Tucson Conventions and Visitor’s Bureau web site for their list of “101 Thing to do in Tucson.” or get a copy of their Free Visitor’s Guide.

The Sonora Desert Museum, a unique vacation experience you will never forget.