Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Valley of the Fun
Family-friendly activities abound in Phoenix’s West Valley
Heading to Arizona this spring? Our family has been making the trip for decades, drawn by grandparents, their heated pool and a spectacular golf course adjacency.
When my in-laws retired in the late 1980s, they eschewed popular Scottsdale, east of Phoenix, known for its tony shopping, luxury hotels and swank spas. Instead, they moved to the slower-paced West Valley (about 275 miles southeast of Las Vegas). Back then, you could drive around their tiny town, Litchfield Park, or nearby Goodyear and Glendale and see acres planted with cotton or rosebushes, punctuated by horse stables and cattle barns.
In the years since, the area has boomed. Housing developments and strip malls have replaced farmland and empty desert. An expanded NASCAR track, the Gila River Arena and 2008’s Super Bowl, when the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots at University of Phoenix Stadium, drew people and attention to the area.
Despite the growth, the West Valley has maintained its relaxed, family-friendly vibe. Just before Christmas, I returned with my three children, now ages 22, 20 and 15, to visit family and check out a
FQUITO, Ecuador or more than 80 years, this Andean capital has been guarded by a strange array of kitschy castles — brimming with turrets and towers, spires and faux drawbridges, Moorish cupolas and sweeping staircases.
In a city internationally renowned for its colonial architecture (its historic center has been a United Nations World Heritage Site since 1978) the castillos de Quito have often been dismissed as architectural oddities and midcentury eyesores.
Despite being protected by the city, some have been destroyed outright and others have been modified beyond recognition. Of the 15 castles that Hector Lopez, a researcher who blogs about Quito’s architecture, has identified in the city, perhaps five retain much of their original charm, he said.
To understand how these Disney-worthy fortresses ended up in the South American highlands is to know the story of Ruben Vinci, a Mexican immigrant with a flair for the fantastic.
Vinci is thought to have arrived in Ecuador at the beginning of the 1900s and started working in the southern town of Riobamba. But his big break came in the 1930s when Carlos Larrea, an Ecuadorian diplomat and medieval scholar, approached Vinci about designing a home that reflected his interests.
What emerged was a three-story castle with multiple towers, a moat and a drawbridge — all surrounded by an English-style garden.
In the following years, Vinci was on a hot streak, building more than a dozen palazzos and castles for Quito’s high society.
Today Vinci is largely unknown, but “there was a time where he was super famous,” Lopez said. “He was even decorated by Ecuador’s congress.”
Romulo Moya Peralta, a member of the International Committee of Architectural Critics and the director of Quito’s architectural magazine, Trama, said Vinci’s buildings are an eclectic mix of medieval, neo-Gothic and neo-Moorish styles.
Vinci’s own home (now a restaurant) has a domed, Arabic-looking roof and walls studded with river rock. Another castle is being used as a political campaign headquarters and is splashed in garish orange and yellow, leading one tourist to speculate it might have been built by drug dons in the 1980s.
Whether the castles are considered in “good or bad” taste by today’s standards, they represent a special time in Quito’s history, Moya said. “These castles are unique and exceptional architectural works and deserve to be protected,” he added.
But even during the boom, there were the beginnings of a backlash, said Angelica Arias, the director of Quito’s Institute for Patrimony, which protects Ecuador’s historic buildings.
“They were very ornamental,” she said of the homes, “and at one time people were complaining that Quito looked like it was filling up with little cakes.” In other words, gaudy and overwrought houses.
But the castles were built unwittingly in enemy territory. Over the years, the Mariscal Sucre neighborhood, where most of the buildings are, became Quito’s new commercial hub.
Many of the residential castles were hastily turned into offices, hotels and restaurants. Their once-sweeping gardens became prime real estate to be sold off or developed — leaving some of them encased in other buildings, as if they were sinking into the city.
In 1984, Quito granted many of the castles architectural protection, but the economic forces were simply too strong, Arias said. In a neighborhood zoned for high-rises, the castles were seen as a burden.
“People who owned the homes felt like they were being punished,” she said. “They were stuck with, say, a two-story house, while their neighbor could build a 10- or 12-story building.”
Owners sought loopholes and sometimes destroyed the buildings in the dead of night. At least four Vinci buildings were demolished and replaced by office buildings, Lopez said.
And the ones that have been saved often reflect the city’s economic tensions.
In 2013, a development group bought Castillo Larrea — Vinci’s original masterpiece with the moat and drawbridge — and built a 16-story tower next to it that dwarfs the once-imposing castle.
Arias said the developers followed the letter of the law (the bottom stories of the office complex are made out of glass so the building can be seen from the street) but she admits the castle’s “essence” is lost.
Lopez, the journalist, said the city made a mistake by not recognizing that the castles’ surroundings are also part of their architectural charm.
“At Castillo Larrea, the gardens are gone, the drawbridge is gone,” he said. “It’s a huge loss for the city.”
Just across from Larrea is one of Quito’s most intact castles. A staircase leads up past two lion statues, through an ornate doorway — and into the Rickie department store.
Jose Cueva bought the building in 1979 but said it was never his intention to preserve it.
“I’m a merchant,” he explained on a recent weekend. “For me, everything is for sale except my wife and children.”
But over the years, after he has seen one castle after another fall to the twin forces of ridicule and real estate values, he has become protective. When a company recently offered him “good money” to turn the building into a gas station, he felt it was his civic duty to reject it.
“I’m a Quiteno, and I remember that this used to be one of the prettiest parts of the city,” he said. “I didn’t want to be part of the problem.”
It’s too soon to say the castles can survive the onslaught, but they are getting more recognition.
Arias said the municipality of Quito is reviewing its preservation plans and trying to find ways to provide incentives to castle owners “so they won’t see them as a burden.”
And Lopez recently started giving tours of the Mariscal Sucre neighborhood, where Vinci’s work plays a starring role.
“Our first tour was in December,” he said. “It was a total hit.”
few of our favorite things. Here are five we recommend.
Desert by horseback: Estrella Mountain Regional Park, Goodyear
Corral West Adventures operates a riding stable in this park mid-October through late April, sending would-be cowboys out on trails through the desert hills.
Our guide looked the part, wearing a riding jacket, cowboy hat and boots. Before we mounted, he told us about the quirks of a couple of the horses we would ride, noting they needed firm handling. Blimpy was a biter known for nipping the rear of the horse in front of him. And Cowboy was an eater, stopping on the trail to nibble any leaves he could find.
My middle son volunteered to ride Blimpy, with my older son in front promising to keep his horse, Wizard, out of nipping range. My daughter, the youngest, was confident she could handle Cowboy.
We were just a little way down the rocky, sandy trail when the co-owner of the operation, Andy Williams, trotted up to join our group, simply because he felt like riding. As we clopped along peacefully, he pointed out mesquite trees and creosote bushes, as well as low-slung cholla and tall saguaro cactuses — the ones with “arms” and spring blossoms that are the state flower.
When Cowboy inevitably stopped mid-trail to lunge at a tasty tree, Williams told us it was a Palo Verde, which translates as “green stick.” In a drought, the green trunk and branches can carry on with photosynthesis even when its tiny leaves drop.
We wended our way deeply into the park. Ours was a sunset ride, which has been spectacular when we’ve done it before. This time, cloud cover meant the sky gently turned from gray to a purplish hue — still pretty. By the end of the 90-minute ride, our legs were a little wobbly, but we all found it easy and relaxing overall. Wagon rides are available for those who want the experience without actually riding.
Information: maricopacountyparks.net; for the stable, phoenixhorserides.com
Visit the Wigwam: Litchfield Park
This lush resort’s roots are as a retreat for executives from the Goodyear company. During World War I, the tire-maker used cotton to fortify its rubber. The long-strand, Egyptian variety they needed grew perfectly in Arizona’s hot climate and sandy soil, and the company purchased 16,000 acres to grow it. What started as a guesthouse for suppliers morphed into the execs’ retreat center and finally, in 1929, a resort for the public.
Its groupings of Southwest-style villas are clustered on impeccably manicured grounds, with palm and orange trees lining the perimeter and flower gardens and fountains creating peaceful resting spots along pathways connecting villas, pools and the main building.
Even if you don’t plan on lodging there, walk the grounds and take in the sumptuous lobby, where Navajo rugs line the floors and Native American artwork decorates the walls. We checked out paintings of Hopi Kachina dolls, which represent spirits and are given as ceremonial gifts to children. Then we sat in front of a blazing fire on deep leather couches, admiring the heavy wooden tables and benches and impressive iron light fixtures.
We meandered down a hallway through the Wigwam bar (open to the public, serving excellent coffee in the morning and cocktails in the evening) before going for a swim and hot tub at the main pool. Sadly for us, the outdoor cafeteria was closed during our visit. Otherwise we would have ordered the seasoned fries and smoothies the kids adore.
Instead, we went to eat at the Old Pueblo Cafe across the street from the resort, in Litchfield Park’s two-block “downtown.” It serves hearty Mexican dishes, freshly made warm chips and a red salsa we’ve been known to order by the quart and pack home in our bags.
There is a reduced rate for Arizona residents.
Information: wigwamarizona.com Ancient petroglyphs: White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Waddell
Waterfall Trail in this Maricopa County park gets its name from the water that flows, only during rainy periods, from the mountains to a little pool at the end of the path. Though it rained the morning of our hike, a park ranger told us we’d missed seeing the water gush down by a few hours.
But petroglyphs that you can spot on rocks as you hike are perhaps the bigger draw — no pun intended — to this well-traveled trail. (There’s even a wide, flat viewing area called Petroglyph Plaza.) Archaeologists believe prehistoric American Indians of the Hohokam culture created most of them. These farmers built sophisticated irrigation canals to grow crops that included beans, maize, cotton and tobacco. They were also artisans who made coil pottery and decorated shells. And they left behind art on rocks that isn’t completely understood today.
Some who study the petroglyphs think that shamans controlled their creation. Others think the signs are about mundane topics such as weather or directions. But no one has yet fully cracked the code of what they mean.
As you check them out, don’t forget to also take in the scenic views. And if you want more than the 2-mile round-trip walk along Waterfall, there are plenty of other well-marked trails in the park.
Information: maricopacountyparks.net Plane-watching: Glendale Municipal Airport
Tiny Glendale airport has become a favorite family stop over the years. It’s where my young children thrilled to see small planes wobble and bob their way up, up and away — or back down to the ground. Now that they’re grown, we all still get a kick out of it. Plus, we watch the smallengine drama while eating lunch at a low-cost diner tucked inside the nondescript airport building. The Something Special Aviation Cafe is a no-frills spot, open for breakfast and lunch only and serving mainly regulars and the pilots and their passengers who arrive and depart from the tarmac out back. It has big picture windows and a little patio to make your viewing easier. The food, sent out of a kitchen that doubles as a catering operation in the evenings, is fresh and satisfying — especially the dishes with Southwestern flair.
For more ambitious plane watching, be on the lookout for F-35 fighter jets taking off and landing at Luke Air Force Base (www.luke.af.mil). F-35s create a roar familiar to locals as the jets head out over the desert on training missions.
Information: ssacafe.com Hand-feed a giraffe: Litchfield Park
Yes, at the Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium and Safari Park, visitors can climb aboard a 12-foot-tall platform, put two quarters in a pelletdispensing machine and feed the treat to giraffes that amble over and use their black, slobbery tongues to lick up every bit.
It’s simultaneously disgusting and adorable.
You’ll learn from signs that giraffes have black tongues so that they don’t get them sunburned as they spend their days grazing on treetops.
The zoo and aquarium offer plenty of other interactive activities for kids. At the Kangaroo Walkabout, you step into an enclosure with kangaroos that sometimes hop along next to you — or nap indifferently. At the aquarium, you can reach into pools to touch stingrays and other sea creatures. There’s a train beloved by small children, a zip line that pleases older ones, a white rhinoceros, white crocodile and white tigers. Plan on spending at least half a day.
Information: wildlifeworld.com