Winter. Bah, who needs it?
Especially when Arizona is just a short flight away. Tempe, part of the Greater Phoenix metropolitan area, is basically Phoenix’s next-door, ASU-loving, super-cool neighbor. With a happening food scene, it’s no wonder why Tempe is becoming one of Arizona’s most loved destinations. Here are just a few of our favorite ways to enjoy this Sonoran Desert hot spot.
TAKE IN THE CACTI AT THE DESERT BOTANICAL GARDENS
You can’t very well go to Arizona and not see cacti, can you?
Home to 50,000 varieties of cacti and other desert plants, the Desert Botanical Gardens is celebrating 80 years in Tempe. Nestled among the red rocks of the Papago Buttes, this Arizona icon is a local favorite and a can’t-miss destination.
Displays teaching visitors about the cactus throughout Desert Botanical Gardens in Tempe, AZ. Photo credit: Lauren Goldenberg
The Gardens offer special classes and exhibits throughout the year as well. Come check out Wild Rising by Cracking Art—running through May 10, 2020. Traveling straight from Milan, this art installation of over 1,000 animal sculptures was made from colorful and recyclable plastic. On display throughout the desert trails, this exhibit is sure to charm the entire family.
The DBG also hosts special events throughout the year and really know how to do it up during the holidays. This year, they hosted Las Noches de las Luminarias, lighting up the Garden with 8,000 flickering luminaria bags and twinkling lights. The Wild Rising statues were all aglow as well.
TOUR THE EISENDRATH HOUSE
Writer Lauren Goldenberg at the Eisendrath House in Tempe, AZ. Photo credit: Rachel Semik
When Chicagoan Rose Eisendrath visited Arizona’s Valley of the Sun in the 1930s, she quickly fell in love with the charm, spirit and warm winters of the Southwest. She wished to make herself at home—but was sadly turned away by a local valley resort because of her Jewish faith.
Undeterred, she called upon family friend and famed Arizona architect Robert Thomas Evans to build what became this two-story Pueblo Revival Style adobe paradise that she lived in until her passing.
Now a special point of pride for Tempe and the state of Arizona, the mansion highlights the importance of adobe revival structures that became popular again in the greater Phoenix area in the 30s and 40s.
Weddings and other special events are also celebrated here. And visitors are welcomed to explore as well with a ‘by-appointment only’ docent-led tour two days of the week. Check the website for how you can enjoy Rose’s home.
