Posted By Robert Williamson

By MARK J. SCARP, SABEW Staff

PHOENIX – Living in Arizona since I was a boy, I’ve handled more of my share of ribbing from family members back East who may yet believe today what they once did, that it’s 115 degrees here every day of the year – nights included – and of course, nothing could possibly grow here, running water remains a luxury for most and the region’s finest cuisine is found nicely presented at the local Taco Bell.

Normally, in the interest of keeping Arizona for Arizonans, I would respond by grinning and shaking my head slowly from side to side and agree with them, affecting the best Western drawl and clueless countenance that I could. “Yep, ah musht be plum teched to live here,” I’d say. “You folks are plenty smart to keep yer distance. ‘S too late to save me. Save yerselves! Quick!”

Now, this was before I came to work here at SABEW’s beautiful Phoenix office (which you can read either way; this is a beautiful office and it is in beautiful Phoenix). Today, I’m more beholden to you, the members of the organization I serve as your membership coordinator, to share some great places here in the greater Phoenix area that locals know about and seldom share – and which I sincerely hope you make plans to visit during an extra day’s stay (or two) around SABEW’s March 19-21 annual conference.

Your conference program will list great places to visit, eat and shop within walking distance of the hotel and the conference site, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. But if you choose to venture out a bit, in no particular order, here they are, all less than a half-hour drive from downtown Phoenix:

• El Chorro Lodge, 5550 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley. Built in 1934 – ancient history by Phoenix standards – it is one of the best examples of what is called “Old Arizona” (hacienda style architecture, plenty of desert flora, adobe walls and ocotillo ceilings), March will be prime time for enjoying a cocktail on its lovely patio. And the new menu – the place is reopening in February 2010 after a nine-month renovation, includes some of the best of its former bill of fare, plus some new favorites. www.elchorrolodge.com

• Papago Park, along Galvin Parkway between Van Buren Street and McDowell Road. A camera-worthy desert preserve created and donated by the founder of the Motorola corporation, it is home to the world-famous Desert Botanical Garden of rare desert plants, and the easily hiked-to tomb of Arizona’s first governor, George W. P. Hunt. Hunt is buried beneath a white pyramid in a spot that he specifically asked would overlook the Salt River Valley. It does, reminding us of his role in forming a water users’ association that created dams to store precious water and create electricity for the growing Phoenix and environs 100 years ago. Without a reliable source of water, Phoenix would never have risen from the ashes of the former Indian civilization that occupied this valley 1,000 years ago. http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/PARKS/hikepapa.html www.dgb.org www.phoenixzoo.org

• Old Town Scottsdale, Main Street and Scottsdale Road. In 1947, town fathers, picking up on the huge popularity of Western movies of the late 1940s, officially declared Scottsdale – whose roots were as a citrus-growing village – to be “The West’s Most Western Town.” They declared that nothing but Hollywood-style Western buildings go up in the downtown area (historians say that the real Old West looked different, that is, not as romantic) and that an annual parade and rodeo, the Parada del Sol (“Walk in the Sun”) be held to dramatize our Old West “heritage.” It worked. Tourists love Old Town, as the allure of the Hollywood-style West still beckons, even though many of the storefronts hold nightclubs as well as souvenir shops, great restaurants and art galleries. www.scottsdalecvb.com/scottsdale/old-town

• Mill Avenue District, Mill Avenue between the Salt River and University Drive, Tempe. Even as recently as the 1980s, Mill Avenue was home to pool halls, “head shops” and a few other rough-hewn retail establishment you wouldn’t want your children attending nearby Arizona State University to hang out in. But Tempe officials passed zoning changes and other incentives that transformed the old buildings into great nightspots, fabulous eating establishments and eclectic boutique shops. www.millavenue.com

• The Top of the C at the Clarendon Hotel, 400 W. Clarendon Ave. (at Fourth Avenue), Phoenix. Just about two miles north on the light rail line to Indian School Road and a short walk west and south is the four-story Clarendon, known in journalism lore as where Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles suffered fatal wounds from a car bomb in its parking lot in June 1976. The people who ordered the murder were never brought to justice. On the roof is a small bar, the Top of the C, with fabulous views of the Phoenix skyline – and decently priced food and drinks. www.goclarendon.com

• L’Grande Orange Grocery and Bakery, 4410 N. 40^th St. (at Campbell, between Indian School and Camelback roads), Phoenix. Delicious food at breakfast, lunch and dinner, fun kitschy things to buy and a fabulous relaxed upscale environment – plenty of outdoor seating – make this a place locals stand in line for its fresh, taste-exploding baked goods, willingly paying valets to park their cars while they pick up their treats. While there, check out Postino restaurant next door (the name is taken from the building’s previous life as a U.S. Post Office) for great sandwiches, appetizers and a choice wine list. www.lagrandeorange.com

• Aunt Chilada’s, 7730 N. Dreamy Draw Drive (near 16^th Street and Northern Avenue), Phoenix. Delicious Mexican food in the Sonoran tradition with fabulous views of the Valley of the Sun. Aunt Chilada’s dates from the 1890s, when its original building was a general store and supplies depot for miners passing through the Dreamy Draw (a small canyon through the Phoenix Mountains). Large outdoor patios with beautiful desert plants as well as indoor seating. www.auntchiladas.com

(Mark Scarp is membership coordinator for SABEW.  He works in the Phoenix office.)