Arizona is the Grand Canyon State — that’s its official motto. No wonder, since the Grand Canyon is an amazing natural wonder. Check out the website of Grand Canyon National Park and check out a Google Earth Tour:
Naturally, Arizona is perfect for outdoor adventures.
Climbing and hiking , of course.
But water sports as well. This is a sweet Aire inflatable kayak, which makes it practical to combine backpacking and kayaking.
We need a couple more photos of the Grand Canyon because it is so amazing.
FreshPlans has visited Nepal and Laos, so we’re used to dramatic vistas, but the Grand Canyon is still stunning.
Arizona had a rough time becoming a state. They tried for half a century, facing multiple obstacles. Like Utah, they had to make polygamy illegal. They also had to agree to conduct their schools in English. There were controversies over the fact that they wanted to allow women to vote (which they did) and concerns over whether Arizona had anything to offer the United States as a state.
At one point, a congressional delegation road a train to Arizona to have a look. They did not get off the train, but went back and reported that Arizona was “completely worthless.” Congress did offer to create the state of Montezuma from Arizona and New Mexico, but Arizona refused. They said they would rather wait than give up their identity.
However, Arizona had a bit of an identity problem. While they had the same kind of cowboy culture as Texas, they were also well known for their outlaws. The town of Tombstone, the Shoot Out at the OK Corral, and desperadoes like Pearl Hart the Bandit Queen and Johnny Ringo were the most well-known things about Arizona in the late nineteenth century.
Arizona persevered and was admitted as the 48th state — the last of the contiguous 48 — on February 14, 1912. Shortly thereafter, thee Good Roads Association put out this guidebook with maps, ads for hotels that boasted running water, and pictures of the special features of the new state.
Phoenix
This was Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, in 1913. The place that was to become Phoenix was settled by the Hohokam, who built irrigation systems there. A man named Jack Swilling  saw the canals and figured they could be updated into a modern irrigation system which would make it possible to live in the desert. Settlers named the town Phoenix because it rose from the ashes of the Hohokam civilization. Even right after statehood, Phoenix was a sophisticated city.
Nowadays it is beautiful. Phoenix is home to one of the largest municipal parks in the nation.
Since it is a desert place, it has some very special plant life which you won’t see in most other places.
But gardeners have learned how to grow beautiful exotic plants from other climes, too.
And combining other features with the plants to design luxurious gardens that can live in the challenging climate is an art.
The Pheonix Art Museum is home to quite a lot of art, including Jurassic Age, a sculpture created by Chinese contemporary artist Sui Jianguo.
Flagstaff
Flagstaff was a small town when Arizona became a state. The Good Roads Guide and Babbit Brothers garage made sure visitors knew they had “hard roads,” which we figure meant paved roads.
This house, the Riordan home, was built in 1904, so it would have been in existence when the Good Roads Guide was printed.
Made of local wood and rock, this house gives a good example of a stylish home of the period. It has places for people to tie up their horses, the most popular form of transportation when this house was built. (That’s Pepper at the far right. She liked it.)
The Riordan House is a fine example of the Arts and Crafts style.
Built into the house is a kachina tile. The local Hopi people believed that such a tile would help to protect the people living in the house.
Kingman
Kingman, Arizona, didn’t get its own page in the Good Roads Guide, but you can see the route from Kingman to Needles, and you’d have been glad to know that they had a hotel with baths and electric light, as well as mostly good roads.
Kingman is the site of several interesting museums, including the Route 66 Museum. Route 66, the Mother Road, runs from Chicago, Illinois, through Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Santa Monica, California.
The first transcontinental highway was as important and historically significant as the first transcontinental railway.
Check out the state symbols of Arizona:
