The Republic | azcentral.com 11:18
a.m. MST July 8, 2015
Summer
A-Z is a list of Valley activities and events perfect for kids fun. Look for N
for nature, T for trains and Z for zip lines in the coming weeks as we
celebrate 26 ways to have a great Arizona summer.
H is for hidden fun. There are so
many cool places in Arizona and our list of 11 is doubly so. Not only in terms
of degrees Fahrenheit, but by the "wow" factor involved for kids and
families. From mine tours to a natural water slide down a mountain to checking
out caves or watching bats return to theirs, this list of hidden places offers
fun for you to uncover this summer.
Titan Missile Museum
Near Tucson is a former top-secret
location, now a National Historic Landmark known as Complex 571-7, the only
remaining Titan II missile site of 54 across the U.S. that stood ready during
the Cold War from 1963 to 1987. On one-hour guided tours offered daily, you'll
start with a movie and then descend 35 feet below ground to see at the
intercontinental ballistic missile that in about 30 minutes could have
delivered a nine-megaton nuclear warhead to a location more than 6,000 miles
away. Stops along the way include the launch-control center, where you'll
experience a simulated launch, and the silo where the missile still rests in
its launch duct. Reservations are required for other tours, including the
Moonlight Madness Tour with kids activities from 5 to 9 p.m. the second
Saturday of the month through September. Beyond the Blastdoor and Top to Bottom
tours add areas normally closed to the public. The Titan Overnight Experience,
offered just a few times a year, lets you and three others sleep in the crew
quarters just feet from the missile.
Details: 8:45 a.m.-5 p.m. daily; closed Christmas and Thanksgiving.
1580 W. Duval Mine Road, Sahuarita. One-hour daily tours, Crew Tour and
Director's Tour: $9.50; $8.50 for seniors and groups; $6 for ages 7-12; free
for age 6 or younger. Moonlight Madness Tour: $7 for age 13 or older; free for
age 12 or younger and members. Beyond the Blastdoors: $9.95-$17.95.
520-625-7736, titanmissilemuseum.org.
Batty, batty cool
Watch Mexican free-tailed bats take
flight from a deck off 40th Street, north of Camelback Road. During their maternity
season (spring through late summer), thousands of bats occupy a tunnel in a
diversion channel along the Arizona Canal. The path to the tunnel is on the
northern side of the Arizona Canal. Walk west on the path about 200 yards, past
office buildings and a parking garage, then head north about 20 feet to a paved
path that leads to a viewing area. There you'll find interpretive signs. Go at
sunset for the best view; early birds can see them return at sunrise.
Details: 602-942-3000, azgfd.gov/w_c/bat_conserv_bat_viewing.shtml.
Kartchner Caverns State Park
See stalactites, stalagmites,
columns, crystals and straws dangling from the ceiling in this cave 2 1/2
hours south of Phoenix, including the longest known straw in the United States
at 21 feet, 3 inches. You will enter through a large steel door, a man-made
tunnel and series of airlocks before being hit with 99 percent humidity. Two
half-mile guided tours are offered. The 90-minute Rotunda Tour examines the
role water plays in creating the caverns and highlights the original trail and
colorful formations, including "Kubla Khan," a 58-foot-tall column.
The Big Room Tour will not be open again until October and lasts nearly two
hours. It emphasizes cave fauna, living and ancient, and discusses Kartchner's
resident bat population. An interactive museum, hiking trails, campground,
picnic ramadas and the Bat Cave Cafe are on site. Reservations recommended.
Details: Tours 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.; arrive one hour prior to your tour
time. On Arizona 90 about 9 miles south of Benson. $22.95; $12.95 for ages
7-13. Children younger than 7 are not permitted on Big Room tours. $6 per
vehicle, waived for visitors with cave-tour tickets. 520-586-4100;
reservations, 520-586-2283; azstateparks.com/parks/kaca.
Kartchner Caverns is a wet living
cave with water still percolating down from the surface and formations still
growing. (Photo: Arizona State Parks)
Grand Canyon Caverns
Hidden away amid the high grassy
plains and juniper-dotted hills of Northern Arizona are these caverns, one of
the first roadside attractions of Route 66. Descend via a 21-story elevator and
take a guided tour through chambers and tunnels lasting about 45 minutes,
covering three-quarters of a mile. You'll see flowstone formations, glittering
walls and meet Gertie the Ground Sloth, a 15-foot-tall statue re-created from
skeletal remains found in the cave. There also is a large stockpile of
still-edible food and water hauled in during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1963.
A topside motel, restaurant, RV park, riding stables and gift shop are on site.
A ghost walk, rafting adventure and stargazing are among additional activities.
Details: 22 miles west of Seligman on Route 66 at Mile Marker 115.
Cave tours: $16.95; $12.95 for ages 5-12. $69.95 Explorers Tour allows guests
to don hard hats and nylon suits, and crawl into undeveloped rooms.
928-422-3223, gccaverns.com.
Colossal Cave Mountain Park
Are sacks of loot still hidden in
these caves from train robberies in the 1880s? Unlike Grand Canyon Caverns deep
underground, Colossal Cave is a hollow mountain where the temperature is always
a cool 70 degrees. Some formations were damaged in the early days of tourism,
but this three-dimensional maze still offers plenty of intriguing geological
features. Guided tours last 45 minutes and cover a half-mile. Ladder Tours,
Candlelight Tours and Wild Cave Tours also are available, and the park features
riding stables, butterfly gardens, a desert-tortoise exhibit, picnic areas and
campgrounds. Reservations required.
Details: 16721 E. Old Spanish Trail, Vail, about 20 miles east of
Tucson. Take Interstate 10 east to Exit 279. Turn north and follow the signs
for about 7 miles. Guided tours are $13; $6.50 for ages 5-12; $5 admission per
vehicle. 520-647-7275, colossalcave.com.
Goldfield Ghost Town
This former mining hub at the base
of the Superstition Mountains in Apache Junction was founded in 1892. Keep cool
on a 25-minute tour of a mine shaft as a guide talks about the good ol' days
before the gold played out. The town includes a museum, LuLu's Bordello, a
church, livery stables, a reptile exhibit and a mystery shack where objects
seem to defy gravity. Panning for gold, a shooting gallery and rides on a zip
line, train or horseback are among the activities, and gunfights are held Saturdays
and Sundays. A steak house and saloon offers chow, cold drinks and options for
kids.
Details: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Prices for attractions vary. 4650 N.
Mammoth Mine Road, Apache Junction. 480-983-0333, goldfieldghosttown.com.
This Victorian style building houses
Lu Lu's Bordello in Goldfield Ghost Town, located 4.5 miles northeast of Apache
Junction. (Photo: Srianthi Perera/The Republic)
Tonto Natural Bridge
The man who first documented the bridge
came across it while being chased by Apaches in 1877. David Gowan, a
prospector, hid in a cave inside the bridge for three days. Despite that
unfriendly welcome, Gowan claimed the land by squatters rights and persuaded
his family to emigrate from Scotland. It is believed to be the largest natural
travertine bridge in the world, standing 183 feet high over a 400-foot-long
tunnel that measures 150 feet wide. The half-mile Gowan Loop Trail leads down
the bank of the creek — and several steep flights of steps — to an observation
deck near the tunnel under the natural bridge. Two other short trails provide
good views of the park's features.
Details: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. through Sunday, Sept. 7; last entry 5 p.m. 10
miles north of Payson off State Route 87, Payson. $5; $2 for ages 7-13; free
for age or younger. 928-476-4202, azstateparks.com/parks/tona.
Slide Rock State Park
The park seven miles north of Sedona
is crazy popular in summer, but there may be a wait. Fodor's Travel named it
one of "America's 10 Best State Parks" where you can "slip down
the smooth, red-sandstone water slide and be carried over the surface by a
cooling creek into the swimming hole below." Hike the flat, easy Pendley
Homestead Trail to see apple orchards, the original Pendley homestead and barn,
and beautiful canyon views.
Details: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily; last entry 6:30 p.m. 6871 N. Arizona
89A, Sedona. $20 per vehicle of four passengers age 14 or older ($30 holiday
weekends); $3 each additional passenger. 928-282-3034, azstateparks.com/parks/slro.
Queen Mine Tours
Outfitted in hard hats, slickers and
miners headlamps, visitors ride a narrow, multicar train 1,500 feet down into
the tunnels for an up-close look at mining techniques, conditions and dangers.
Guides are former miners. The tour draws more than 50,000 tourists a year and
may get sold out. It's located across U.S. 80 from Old Bisbee. The Visitor's
Passport offers a package deal for the mine tour and admission to the Bisbee
Mining & Historical Museum. The Queen Mine was one of Bisbee's richest and
operated from 1877 until 1975. Tours are offered five times a day, seven days a
week. Arrive 20 minutes prior to your time and bring a jacket; the temperature
underground is 47 degrees year-round.
Details: Tours daily at 10:30 a.m., noon, 2 and 3:30 p.m. 478 N.
Dart Road, Bisbee. $13; $5.50 for ages 4-12; free for age 3 or younger.
866-432-2071 or 520-432-2071, queenminetour.com.
Sunset Tours at Deer Valley
Petroglyph Preserve
Join Arizona State University's
Center for Archaeology and Society and view more than 1,500 Native American
petroglyphs at the Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve. Visitors can hike the 1/4-mile
trail while learning more about ancient cultures and possibly viewing wildlife
such as squirrels, hawks and desert reptiles. The 47-acre preserve is nestled
into the Hedgpeth Hills. Participants need to wear suitable footwear and bring
water. Reservations are required.
Details: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Fridays, July 10, 24 and Aug. 7. Deer Valley
Petroglyph Preserve, 3711 W. Deer Valley Road, Phoenix. $7; $3 for ages 6-12;
$4 for seniors. 623-582-8007, shesc.asu.edu.
A hummingbird hovers near a
succulent at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. (Photo: Tom
Tingle/The Republic)
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
The museum is part zoo, part
natural-history museum and part botanical garden. About 85 percent of its
exhibits are outdoors. You may see bighorn sheep, beavers, otters, coatis,
prairie dogs, mountain lions, bears, deer, wolves or screech owls. The museum
has an underwater viewing area, a cave, a walk-in aviary and tortoise,
butterfly and hummingbird exhibits. The Warden Aquarium features aquatic life
of Sonoran rivers and seas. Kids will love the 30-minute Running Wild show, which
brings a skunk, ringtail cat, porcupine, pelican and a few macaws on stage. The
hourlong Live and (Sort of) on the Loose program introduces visitors to
venomous reptiles of the Southwest. Families can enjoy Cool Summer Nights
activities from 5 to 9 p.m Saturday nights through Saturday, Sept. 5. Themes
include astronomy, insects, creatures of the night, festivals and comedy.
Details: Hours through August: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays-Fridays; 7:30
a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays. 2021 N. Kinney Road, Tucson. $19.50; $17.50 for age 65
or older; $15.50 for ages 13-17; $6 for ages 4-12; free for 3 or younger.
520-883-2702, desertmuseum.org.
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