A touch of creepy, but a very fun place to visit. Like a step back in time. The scenery is pretty cool, too.

Yeah, it's touristy Old West kitsch - but still worth the trip to see the famous bit of gunslinger history for yourself. The area is different than you might expect - and it's near the bigger part of Arizona wine country, if that's how you roll.

A great place to see the world's desert plant life all in one place. If you're around during Australia Day, it's quite a treat. It's where I first got to play a didgeridoo.

Raw physical beauty, a somewhat down-on-the-heels townscape ... a mixed bag that's truly a slice of Arizona's copper mining industry and its aftermath. Check out Apache Leap, the perlite quarries and the rock climbing area.

A stupendous place for paintball and Airsoft enthusiasts. Well-run, organized, friendly and professional. And the courses are pretty intense.

One of the tastiest places around for sandwiches, pizza slices, bottled craft beer and ingredients for your own homemade feasts.

These good people brought microbrew to Prescott.

Some great mountain biking here - I'll leave the fishing to others.

A great secluded spot near the RV-opolis of Quartzite, Ariz. You can dig for crystals ... or have some sort of creature bolt through your camp at dusk ... or many other sorts of outdoor adventures.

OK, I'll admit this race is the epitome of tough and unpredictable. But is it fun? Yes!

Absoludicrous mountain bike fun. The vibe of this event is sensational, and the trails are amazing. Sometimes, the high-desert winter weather can be brutal, though.

It's not cheap - but that's what you should expect from a place that makes creative dishes from top-quality ingredients. And trust these guys ... even if there's an ingredient in a dish that you don't usually like, they have a way of making it awesome.

Work up an appetite first - then you'll be ready for all these gourmet twists on traditional pasties. What's my favorite? ALL OF THEM!

One of the best-known local mountain bike/hike destinations. A bit crowded on weekends, but still awesome. Check for the ruins of an old mine and the occasional rattlesnake and chuckwalla.

A creepy-cool company mine ghost town now populated by paintballers and Airsoft players. Wander the old ruins and find all sorts of shiny rocks in the slag heaps.

Hiking, biking and rock-scrambling fun just minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Right in the middle of the city, but still a great time. You can also check out the zoo while you're there.

Think of it as putt-putt golf for mountain bikers - not too epic, not too difficult ... just heaping amounts of twisty-turny dippy-divey fun.

My number-one favorite place in the Phoenix area to go mountain biking.

An essential cornerstone of Arizona craft beer culture.

One of the best hands-on experiences you can have at an Indian ruin. The blowhole is a highlight.

The lava flow and hornitos are the best part of this monument since you can't climb to the top or into the crater.

Terrific museum with aircraft from all eras. It's lots of fun to check out the nearby AMARC, too, which you can generally only do from outside the fence or one of the weekday tours.

A terrific cave that gets overlooked because of the better-known Kartchner Caverns. The Wild Cave tour will really appeal to the more adventurous types - you have to put on coveralls and helmets for this look at the undeveoloped sections.

A nice place to get cool and check out a remnant of the once-very-volcanic northern Arizona landscape.

The best place I've ever been in the U.S. for cask-conditioned ales. It's Trooper IPA is also outstanding.

An undeveloped, overlooked cinder cone right near Sunset Crater. You can walk the 5-mile-long lava flow AND climb the entire cone, and even down into the crater!