This great Scottsdale vacation rental is one of our premiere homes. This four bedroom home is comfy and cozy, offering plenty of light through the many picture windows throughout. In the living room, enjoy watching TV or movies on the large flat screen TV with 5.1 surround sound. The spacious floor plan provides everyone in your family or party to enjoy their own time. The gorgeous gourmet kitchen has granite countertops and awesome stainless steel appliances. Cooking while on vacation won’t be a chore in this bright kitchen. You will have plenty of space to move around, cook, and entertain while you’re at it! Travertine marble tile flooring throughout the home adds a special touch of sophistication.

The real gem of this home is the pool area. The waterfall feature and multi colored pool lights add a richness to the exterior that you just have to experience on your own! The fogging system creates a fine mist on the top of the water that is so serene; you might just want to stay outside. That’s all possible since there is a stainless steel bbq grill, fire pit, and a smoker, so you can barbeque to your heart’s content. This is the perfect summer Arizona vacation home for just that reason. You can have a relaxing day by the pool followed by an evening of dining, drinks, and friends. Sitting under the stars in the in ground Jacuzzi won’t be too bad, either!

The master suite has a king bed and huge flat screen TV. The master bath features a two person Jacuzzi tub, walk in shower, and double sinks. The other lush guest bedrooms have queen beds and their own bathrooms.

Inquire about this cute, comfy, and cozy home located right in the heart of Scottsdale, within minutes of shopping, dining, and entertainment!

Inquire about this home today – contact the Arizona vacation experts!

One of the great benefits of visiting Scottsdale, Arizona is the vast array of breathtaking, long range panoramas available.

These views are especially plentiful with a healthy hike on one of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve’s hiking trails. Best of all, this is all done right here in the city limits!

With the fairly recent addition of the Tom’s Thumb Trail, my wife and I decided to climb up the back (north) side of this prominent Scottsdale landmark. You can get to this particular section of the trail via Happy Valley Road. Here is a map for your reference.

This particular trail is about 4.5 miles round trip. During the journey you will climb a little over 800 ft., with 1350 ft. of accumulated gain. The trails are very well manicured, and will be easy hiking except for the elevation gains.

Young people with young bones will find this easy hiking. Baby boomers can certainly enjoy this hike as well, you just may want to allow some extra time to catch your breath from time to time. We took our time, enjoyed the scenery, had a picnic at the top, and found ourselves back to our car in 4 1/2 hours.

We didn’t take the time to scope it out, but you may want to look around the summit area for the Ogre’s Den. This is a natural cave that was formed by one of the fallen massive granite boulders, and provides hikers a mysterious place to explore.

When hiking in the arid climate of the Sonoran desert, it is imperative that you follow a few critical rules:

• Let someone know where you are going, and when they can expect your return.
• Make certain that you have protected yourself from the sun with a good sunscreen and hat.
• Make absolutely certain that you have a least 2 liters of water/person for this hike. We both had two liters on our backs, and we were bone dry by the time we got back to the bottom.

If you prefer a little easier hike, the McDowell Sonoran Preserve has over 14,000 scenic acres with a trail for every taste.

In closing, it would be nearly criminal to visit Scottsdale and not get some cowboy dust on your shoes while hiking one of our beautiful trails. By all means, leave some time in your schedule for a day hike!

Stan Utley is golf instructor at Scottsdale’s Grayhawk Golf Club.

Request your free destination guide for Scottsdale, Arizona today!

Free golf activities will include on-site instruction from more than 20 area PGA Professionals

A fun-filled day of free golf activities will be held during PGA Play Golf America Day at the McCormick Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, on Sunday March 21, 2010. Created to showcase the game of golf in a fun and relaxed atmosphere,

The event will run from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm. It is designed to provide free expert instruction to golfers of all ages and skill levels, introduce new golfers to the game and provide equipment testing from the best brands in golf today.

Highlighting the day will include:

• Free Instruction
• Golf Clinics
• First Swing Clinics for beginners
• 10-minute tune-ups
• Demonstrations on all facets of the game regardless of skill level

Instruction will be provided by more than 20 PGA Professionals from throughout the Southwest Section of the PGA.

Several of the golf industry’s leading equipment manufacturers will be on-site, including:

• Adams
• Bridgestone
• Cobra
• Callaway
• Nike
• Ping
• Taylor Made
• Titleist and more

Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to gather information on some of today’s most exciting golf participation programs that are part of the Play Golf America initiative, including Get Golf Ready, PGA Free Lesson Month, Women’s Golf Week, July is Family Golf Month, Take Your Daughter to the Course and Bring Your Kids to the Range.

“The PGA Play Golf America Day at McCormick Ranch Golf Club will be a terrific golf experience for players of all levels,” said Curt Hudek, Executive Director, Southwest Section PGA. “From avid golfers, to golf enthusiasts and newcomers to the game, this event will provide a fun-filled atmosphere that combines instruction, product testing, skills contests and some great golf giveaways.”

For more information on the PGA Play Golf America Day at McCormick Ranch Golf Club on March 21, log on to http://www.playgolfamerica.com/index.cfm?action=days_list or call the club at 480-948-0260.

Jason Kaplan is the President & CEO, The Driver Provider.

Request your free destination guide for Scottsdale, Arizona today!

This year’s festival is backed with entertainment, including:

• Born to Ride: World famous trick rider and trainer Brian Bausch is the epitome of everything the world “cowboy” stands for, and he rides hard, shoots straight and is a consummate horseman. Already a three time overall world champion mounted shooter, Brian Bausch is a world-renowned horse trainer, trick rider, trick roper and fancy gun handler. Along with his wife, Paula and their new son Abram, Brian Bausch travels the United States and many foreign countries demonstrating his skills, giving clinics and entertaining in the style and spirit of the great cowboys who came before him.
• Chuck Wagon Competition Is Now All Four Days: Cantankerous cooks and wagons come from across the United States to compete in Scottsdale’s world renowned competition, vying for prizes in categories like Most Authenticity Chuck Wagon typical of the 1880s’ era and Best Trail Style Grub. The menu includes beef, beans, biscuits, gravy, stew, ‘taters, hot coffee, and fruit cobbler prepared over a wood fire.
• Extreme Cowboy Races: Internationally renowned horse trainer, Craig Cameron, created the Extreme Cowboy Race to test horse and rider. Cameron is known throughout the equine community as the Cowboy Clinition and is respected by all disciplines of horsemanship. He is recognized as one of the finest horsemen in the United States.

Gates open at 10:00AM. Adult: $14; Senior: $12; Child: $5; 4 day pass: $45. Special senior price on Thursday – $7. Call (602) 996-4387 for group rates. Third weekend in March, 2010

Of all the places I’ve visited across the country I adore Scottsdale, Arizona, for so many different reasons from the top championship golf courses to the world class resorts, spas and dining venues, but most of all for the TRAVEL THERAPY feeling I get when I visit this unique desert destination.

She also appeared on ABC News discussing Scottsdale as the perfect getaway from the harshness of winter. You can watch the video clip on their site.

The major renovation included filling and leveling gravel along the trail, improving drainage, clearing debris, stabilizing culverts and walls along the trail, creating wheelchair accessible ramps, adding natural rock steps at trail inclines and implementing safeguards to reduce the effects of future erosion.

Sedona attracts nearly 4 million visitors from around the world each year, eager to see the richly colored landscape and to experience the spirituality that accompanies this unusually beautiful area.  All of this traffic takes its toll on the local trails causing erosion, flooding and loss of vegetation. Pink Jeep Tours is dedicated to giving back to the community that has made the past 50 years of business possible.

The Honanki cliff dwellings in Sedona is one of the major archaeological historical areas of Sedona.  The Sinagua (ancestors of the Hopi) lived in the dwellings from about AD1100 to 1300.  The site is managed by the U.S. Forest Service under the Red Rock Pass Program and is open to the general public from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. seven days a week. Pink Jeep offers the Ancient Ruins Tour to these dwellings, a once in a lifetime archaeological adventure.

The first river to run in the United States every year, the Upper Salt River, also offers more rapids per mile than any other Arizona river. With ten to twelve intermediate class III "wet and fun" rapids on the one day section the Upper Salt River provides excitement for beginner and experienced rafters alike.

"We are very excited for the upcoming season," said owner Alex Mickel. "With the current snowpack this rafting season is shaping up to be one for the record books."

For more information on Upper Salt River Rafting for ages 8 and up, contact Mild to Wild at 800-567-6745 or go to www.Mild2WildRafting.com.

Follow Mild to Wild on Facebook now for the chance to win one of 4 One Day Salt River Rafting Trips!

Mild to Wild Rafting & Jeep Trail Tours