Catherine Hollis

If you love hiking Arizona trails, you already know the desert is full of surprises, and some of those surprises rattle. Western and Mojave rattlesnakes are a normal part of our landscape, and they show up in some of the most popular spots we love to visit. Knowing where these snakes are often seen helps […]

Somewhere along a quiet stretch of Arizona highway, sea creatures that swam here long before the desert existed are still tucked into the rocks, waiting for sharp eyes to spot them. No admission booth, no crowds, no fancy signs pointing the way, just a paved pull-off and a slope full of ancient shells. Families come

Chain craft stores come and go, but Arizona has a quiet network of independent fabric and quilt shops that keep their doors open year after year. Some sit on old main streets in mountain towns, others hide in strip malls in the desert, and a few have been serving stitchers for decades. These are the

There is a warehouse in Phoenix where the aisles seem to stretch on forever, packed with bolts of fabric, spools of trim, sheets of vinyl, and stacks of leather that longtime crafters treat like a treasure map. It has been quietly serving the state since 1965, long enough that some families have shopped there across

Somewhere in the southeastern corner of Arizona, a small city welcomes tiny, jewel-toned travelers by the thousands each year. More than a dozen species of hummingbirds pass through here, drawn by canyon streams, blooming feeders, and a climate that feels like a reward after a long desert drive. Longtime Arizonans sometimes forget this place sits

Just a short drive east of Flagstaff sits a curved canyon where families carved their homes straight into the limestone walls more than 800 years ago. A single loop trail drops you right past those stone rooms, close enough to peer inside the very spaces where meals were cooked and children grew up. Plenty of

Some places in Arizona have been feeding folks longer than most of us have been alive, and this little spot in Payson is one of them. Since 1962, it has been dishing out homestyle plates so big they arrive on two dishes, and locals keep coming back for the kind of food that reminds them

Out past the edge of the East Valley, where the desert stretches wide and the city lights fade, there is a dirt oval that roars to life on weekend nights. Engines howl, clay flies, and cars circle a track at speeds well over 100 mph while the stars blink overhead. For decades, Arizona families have

When the weather finally starts to cool off across Arizona, sewing season kicks into high gear, and having a great local fabric shop makes all the difference. Whether you are quilting cozy blankets, stitching Halloween costumes, or piecing together fall table runners, the right store saves you time and sparks new ideas. Arizona happens to

Arizona and beaches do not usually belong in the same sentence, yet longtime residents of one small La Paz County town know better. Tucked along a wide bend of the Colorado River, this county seat has quiet sandy stretches, warm water, and a laid-back rhythm that feels far away from the freeway crowds. Locals here

Central Phoenix hides a leafy retreat where cacti, houseplants, and neighborhood cats share the same sunny lot. It sits just off a busy street, yet the moment you wander in, the city noise seems to fade behind rows of greenery and unique pottery. Longtime plant lovers keep coming back for the healthy selection and the

Arizona has a beach with white sand, calm blue water, and shade trees, and plenty of people who live an hour away have no idea it is there. It sits tucked below a busy resort town, quiet enough that longtime residents drive right past the turnoff without a second thought. That means room to spread

Arizona has a sneaky superpower: some of its most memorable trips barely touch your wallet. You do not need a resort budget to stand at the edge of a canyon, cool off in a mountain creek, or wander a historic mining town frozen in time. A lot of the best spots are free to enter,

Along the Colorado River in Mohave County sits a spot that longtime residents once treated as a quiet fishing outpost, a place where the biggest news was the water level and the temperature reading. Times have changed. What used to be a small riverside stop has grown into one of Arizona’s busiest warm-weather destinations, with

Tucked along the Colorado River at the far western edge of Arizona sits a community so small that the last official count put its population at just two people. Most drivers on Interstate 40 blow right past it on their way to bigger destinations, never realizing what waits just off the highway. That near-empty feeling

Arizona hides some seriously good fabric shops, and most of them are far more than a wall of bolts and a cutting table. Whether you quilt, sew clothing, or just love running your hands over crisp cotton and wool, these stores turn a quick errand into an all-day adventure. From longarm studios in Phoenix to

Arizona just got a whole lot bigger on the map for Asian grocery lovers, and the buzz has been building for months. A brand new supermarket in the Phoenix suburbs stretches across 66,000 square feet and tucks seven different restaurants under one roof. Longtime shoppers who grew up with this chain in other states have

Some people book flights not for a vacation, but for a doctor’s appointment. Across Arizona’s largest desert city, a cluster of hospitals, research labs, and specialty clinics has quietly turned into one of the country’s most respected places to get well. Patients from distant states and even other countries land here hoping for answers that

Some weekends call for a slow wander through hundreds of little shops, and one spot in the East Valley delivers exactly that without asking a single dollar at the door. More than a thousand vendors line the aisles here, selling everything from western rugs and jewelry to hot tubs, golf carts, and hardy desert cactus.

Every hour, on the hour, a column of water climbs so high it once out-measured the Washington Monument, and half the people watching have no idea it sits right here in Arizona. Locals have been quietly claiming this spot for decades, timing their evening walks so the show goes off just as the sky turns

Just a short drive from Flagstaff sits a curved canyon where entire neighborhoods were carved into stone walls roughly 800 years ago. A one-mile loop drops you down a series of stairs and delivers you right beside about 25 cliff dwellings, close enough to peer into rooms that families once called home. Plenty of longtime

Tucson keeps a few secrets tucked away in the least glamorous corners, and one of the best sits inside a plain building in an industrial pocket of town. People drive four hours from Pinetop just to fill their bags with real Italian olive oil, fresh deli meats, and pans of lasagna they can heat up

Just west of Tucson sits a place that packs a botanical garden, a zoo, an aquarium, and miles of desert trail into one sun-washed loop. Longtime Arizona residents sometimes forget it is right here in their own backyard, mistaking it for a dusty roadside stop instead of one of the state’s most celebrated natural attractions.

There is a spot in Flagstaff where regulars fill an entire cart for around the price of one restaurant dinner, and they walk out grinning. Tucked on a quiet residential street, this shop only unlocks its doors three days a week, which makes every visit feel a little like catching a rare showing. Longtime locals

Somewhere in southeast Mesa, a country-style shop sits behind big roadside signs and a dirt parking lot that longtime Arizona locals have quietly loved for decades. Some families have been shopping here for more than 20 years, drawn by fruits and vegetables that often cost less than the big grocery chains just up the road.

Nothing beats waking up in Arizona, unzipping the tent, and reaching for your fishing rod before you even make coffee. Across the state, from cool high-country lakes near Flagstaff to desert reservoirs outside Phoenix, there are campgrounds where the water sits just steps from your picnic table. That means no long hikes, no boat launch

Summer in Arizona can feel like living inside an oven, and sometimes the only reasonable plan is to sit in cool water and let a slow current do all the work. Lazy rivers and tube floats give you that relief without the effort of a hike or a hard paddle. Some are natural desert streams

If you sew, quilt, or just love running your hands across a good bolt of cotton, Arizona has a few fabric spots that feel more like warehouses than shops. Some of these places stock thousands of bolts, whole rooms of quilting cotton, and enough thread to keep you busy for years. Walking in without a

Somewhere on the west side of Prescott sits a nursery that has been coaching high-country gardeners for more than 60 years, and it does something most garden shops never bother with. On Saturdays it opens the doors to free classes where anyone can learn how to keep plants alive in tricky mountain soil. Longtime locals

Most people think you need a passport to see a castle carved into a cliff, with a river winding below and centuries of history stacked up in stone. Turns out one of the best examples of that hides right here in Arizona, tucked into a limestone wall along a quiet creek in the Verde Valley.

When Phoenix hits triple digits and your car feels like an oven, Arizona still hides pockets of cool air just a couple hours up the road. Thanks to elevation, our state has real mountain towns where summer days stay mild and evenings actually call for a light jacket. Most locals forget that Arizona is not

Arizona summers can feel like an oven, so waking up a few steps from cool water is one of the best tricks we locals have. Across the state, from red-rock creeks to high-country lakes, there are campgrounds where your tent sits close enough to the water that you could roll out of the sleeping bag

Somewhere above the desert heat, at nearly a mile and a half higher than Phoenix, sits a tiny community that most Arizonans have never bothered to find on a map. Locals who need a break from traffic and crowds keep quietly driving north until the pavement climbs into cool pine forest and the noise of

Somewhere in the East Valley, quilters clear their calendars, top off the gas tank, and point the car toward a strip of Baseline Road as if it were a destination worth crossing the state for. And it is. Word travels fast in the sewing world, and this particular shop has built a reputation that pulls

Tucked into the desert north of Scottsdale sits a place most Arizonans drive right past without knowing what waits down the dusty road. Behind the quiet fences, mountain lions stretch in the sun, wolves call across the acreage, and a black bear licks peanut butter off its paws like it hasn’t got a worry in

South Phoenix hides a place where kids scream down a three-story slide while grandparents float a lazy river without breaking a sweat. When the calendar flips to August and the pavement feels like a griddle, most families give up on the idea of splashing around outside. There is a spot near Broadway Road that solves