Phoenix-area Recommendations

We were up at ASU in February with my 12 yr old. It is kind of cramped and crowded and there are kids everywhere riding longboard skateboards and bikes with no brakes. My son had previously seen NAU in Flagstaff and he said ASU was "too urban". I would think it might be kind of empty right now with summer vacation.

You will definitely get some heat in Phoenix right now! There's lots of stuff to do if you wear a camelbak and can stand the heat.

Stay inside......

Best place to go is http://gomxracing.com/ you can check out pretty much everything that is going on moto wise.

Golf is very cheap right now you can play top courses for less than $50 and if you are like me and can stand the heat it's half that after 1 or 2 pm.

Also check the local resorts many of them have water parks and have excellent rates this time of year. Big Surf is cool and so are the other water parks , we have a Golfland Sunsplash 1 mile from the shop in Mesa has cool stuff.

Scratch the dirt motoing, and go moto-H2o on some stand-ups. Get-off's aren't so hard on the body, and FOTW views are plentiful. FYI- looking at 113F next week, stay hydrated.

113F predicted for today. In Scottsdale...you can check out Old Town. In Chandler there is Rawhide (old west town). If you feel like driving Tombstone is cool (not temperature wise, though). I wouldn't bother to go look at U of A. ASU is ok, but probably a little sparse by ASU standards. There is a place in South Scottsdale called Full Throttle Powersports and they rent boats and PWC's, so that might be a thought.

Funny thing is people in AZ would rather be in Oregon this time of year.

Don't worry about the heat, anything over 110 just feels hot. Plenty of things to do. Just pick up a local NewTimes news paper or look it up online www.phoenixnewtimes.com to see what's going on. Hanging out by a pool is always perfect this time of year.

Go karts at F1, golf, hit the pool, get the hell out of phoenix and head up into the elevation.

Yeah I forgot about the cart, that's fun. So is polar ice, a skating rink if you feel like getting cold then really hot...Also Tempe towne marketplace. Go to Dave and Busters. Good for all ages, since you can drink and the kids can play games.

Speedway karts are better imo, right next to airport as well

People in Phoenix either go to San Diego or Flagstaff. Just make sure you get some good Mexican food - I miss real Mexican food and would kill for some of it here in Atlanta.

Mill Ave in Tempe is pretty cool, but will be light on the usual flavor as ASU is out for the summer. Go to Big Surf with the kids, its one of the first water parks in the country and at one time had the biggest wave pool. I heard you could really surf there, but they had to tame the waves down to keep from drowning little kids! UA down in Tucson is a pretty campus, but not really worth the drive to see (my opinion). Just Golf, maybe do a morning hike on one of the local mountains, and generally enjoy our hot dry climate. Its not as bad as people think. Oh, and get some killer Mexican food.

If you have to see some moto, Im sure Speedworld will be having some kind of race on Saturday night, they always do. The problem is that it will still be 105 at 10pm.

stay inside, with the AC ON!

Be very careful with the heat if you do anything outside. Every time I go to some touristy thing here I always see Canadians and people from Minnesota turning beet red and looking miserable. Wear a camelbak and drink drink drink nonstop. You will be sweating massively but your skin will be dry as a bone since it evaporates as soon as it comes out.

Speedworld has an airport for RC planes. Kids would like that.

Big Surf is good, big wave pool and a few slides.

If your kids are really into water parks, try Wet-n-Wild in North Phoenix. Also has the wave pool, but 2 years ago they spent big bucks (some Aussie company bought it- CR22 connection?) and added about 15 water rides. All kinds of tubes and rafts, some really innovative water rides.

Of course the lines are equally long, just get to the gate right before they open and have a plan to hit 4-5 of the most popular first (just like at Disneyland without fast passes).

Too damn hot to go anywhere that does not involve water or A/C, unless you go north. But since you came from the north, water is probably what you are looking for on your trip.

And as other said, many resorts have some pretty good water parks within the resort and are pretty cheap in the summer. Arizona Grand is the current home of my wife, middle daughter, and 4 of her Girl Scout friends tonight and tomorrow night. They just mentioned Girl Scout troupe and got a $79 per night rate at a nice resort with great pools and slides.

Have fun!

That's the plan in July...

- Columbia River Gorge
- Mt Hood
- Florence
- Newport
- Seaside
- portland
- Tillamook
- Washougal