From the air, metro Phoenix looks like a mirage, a glistening, shimmering city of 2.3 million, undulating across a vast expanse of desert, its sprawl stopped only by craggy mountain ranges to the north, south, east, and west. 

Get down into it, though, and you'll quickly see why visitors keep coming back for more and why so many of us have moved here since World War II (the dawn of the Age of Air Conditioning). It's friendly, relaxed, and outdoorsy. With 300 days of sun a year, people don't stay cranky for very long. 

The Valley of the Sun-as Phoenix and the 22 smaller surrounding cities are nicknamed-lures visitors with obvious possibilities. Golf is a huge draw, with more than 140 courses in the area. Soaking up the sun at a top-rated resort is another favorite vacation mode. The area also entices sports fans with professional football, baseball, basketball, even hockey. 

The urban metro side of Phoenix mixes the best of the Old West with the new Southwestern culture-all served up in starkly beautiful desert geo-graphy. Rent a car-everything's spread out, and public transit is in its infancy here.

DAY ONE / You've checked into the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa, the grande dame of Phoenix resorts, built in the 1920s by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and the master himself. Have breakfast on the patio of the hotel's informal Biltmore Grill and enjoy eggs Benedict and views of the lushly landscaped grounds. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of opportunities to walk the calories off.

The desert beckons. Don sunscreen and sneakers, take a bottle of water (a good idea for almost anything you do in this dry climate), and drive up to Trail 100 (Charles M. Christiansen Memorial Trail) in the nearby Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Catch the 2.5-mile piece of the path between 40th Street and the Dreamy Draw Park. You'll be rewarded with a good look at the native landscape without overexerting yourself. About a mile into the mostly level trail, you'll lose city views and find yourself surrounded by mountains, cacti, and spring wildflowers-the crown jewel of the city's park system. Local etiquette commands that you move aside for equestrians.

Head back to the hotel for a dip in the lavish pool and a massage at the newly opened spa. Part of the Phoenix experience, after all, is relaxing and enjoying yourself.

You've worked up an appetite, so go really native with lunch at Tee Pee Mexican Food, a favorite Phoenix hangout since the 1960s. Not much has changed since those days-it still has red vinyl booths and neon beer signs-and the locals like it that way. Go easy on the smoky hot salsa and corn chips so you can save room for a Mary-Lou, a folded flour tortilla filled with melted cheese and red or green chiles, or the huge, puffy chiles rellenos.

After lunch, take a 15-minute drive down to the Desert Botanical Garden to learn more about plants native to the Sonoran Desert, which fans up from northern Mexico into central Arizona. Paths loop around the garden's 145 acres, past magnificent cactus specimens. One trail shows how indigenous peoples and early settlers used the desert's plants for food and shelter. Try your hand at pounding pods from the native mesquite trees into flour on a stone metate, an ancient grinding device.

At this point, you're not far from the city of Tempe's Mill Avenue district, an area of turn-of-the-century buildings recently revitalized with new boutiques, restaurants, nightclubs, and more. Relax over a latte at the Coffee Plantation, in the center of it all, and people-watch for a few minutes. This is a university town (Arizona State University), and the scenery can be quite colorful. Changing Hands Bookstore is a great place to browse for new literature, books on the Southwestern United States, and explorations of alternative lifestyles. Hub Clothing is for the fashionable, hip, and young-at-heart.

Back at the hotel, change into something elegant but not too stuffy. Dinner is at Lon's in nearby Paradise Valley. Very Southwestern in style, this intimate restaurant is located within the Hermosa Inn, once home to a Western artist named Lon Megargee. You can eat inside or out. If the evening temperatures dip a bit, hang out in front of a fireplace and try the wood-grilled loin of pork with an apple-fig compote or the fire-roasted vegetable ravioli with goat cheese. Then enjoy a Sonoran Sunset, a chocolate mousse, lemon cream, and pastry concoction drizzled with blue-berry port sauce.

After dinner, dance to local country and western bands at Handlebar J, a popular Western-style saloon about 15 minutes away in Scottsdale. Several nights a week, it offers free swing and line dance lessons to novices. Don't even think about wearing a cowboy hat here; you might as well wear a neon sign flashing "tourist."

After a rousing time on the dance floor, enjoy a soothing nightcap on the way back to the hotel at the El Chorro Lodge, also in Scottsdale. Sit out on the restaurant's patio, next to fragrant orange trees that bloom in the spring, and gaze at the stars.

DAY TWO / Breakfast today is as much food for thought as for the body. You're at The News Cafe, just a short drive from the hotel, indulging in freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, Irish oatmeal, and a foamy cappuccino. Check out the well-rounded newsstand and local artwork. Don't linger long; more of Scottsdale awaits.

During the 30-minute drive up to Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural community, consider that few of the homes and buildings between the hotel and Taliesin existed in 1937, the year that Wright and his apprentices set up their winter camp in the foothills. Taliesin West still looks much as it did in those early days: an architectural oasis, marked by strong, angular buildings. There's a menu of tours from which to choose; the ones that last an hour and a half or more take you inside the more private spaces.

After a little cerebral stimulation, it's time to go shopping and have lunch. Drive 20 minutes north to el Pedregal, an adobe-style (mud block) marketplace that's all rounded corners and brightly colored accents. Pick up a light lunch (a chicken pesto sandwich, perhaps, or a Mediterranean salad) at The Bakery Cafe, and choose an alfresco table in the courtyard. Don't pass up the giant cookies. Then stroll through the shops, many of which specialize in stylish Western wear and Southwestern home accessories.

For serious gallery-hopping, motor south some 30 minutes to Scottsdale's art district. The city is home to more than 100 galleries, most clustered along Marshall Way and Main Street in the downtown area. On Marshall Way, stop in at Lovena Ohl Gallery for contemporary American Indian jewelry, art, pottery, and weavings. At Joanne Rapp Gallery/ The Hand and the Spirit, you'll find museum-quality crafts and wearable art. Along Main Street, visit Suzanne Brown Galleries for contemporary art and Trailside Galleries for traditional Western landscapes. Slightly south of Main is the Riva Yares Gallery, featuring serious contemporary art for serious collectors.

It's late afternoon, so ease into the evening with a cocktail at The Phoenician, dramatically situated at the base of Camelback Mountain, not far from the gallery district. Order a drink out on the wide balcony, where you'll have a 180-degree view of the Valley, and watch as dusk settles over the urban desert.

Dinner tonight is at T. Cook's, back down the road in Phoenix. What was once a New York industrialist's winter mansion is now part of the recently renovated Royal Palms hotel. Give yourself time before dining to explore the hotel's romantic grounds; you can also dine outside, surrounded by cacti, palms, and flowers. Share a Mediterranean antipasto platter (crostini, peppers, olives, prosciutto, and more), then sample leg of lamb, spit-roasted in the restaurant's central fireplace, or the ample paella. And don't miss a perfect wedge of lemon tart for dessert.

Lest you think that the day has been too sedate, get your mojo working by spending an hour or so dancing and listening to the blues at The Rhythm Room, about 15 minutes away in central Phoenix. Park and enter through the back of the nondescript building. Once inside,
you'll see that Phoenix has a very lively blues scene. This particular nightclub features great local talent, with occasional appearances by nationally known artists.

Don't think that you can dance the entire night away, though. Phoenix rolls up the carpet relatively early by international standards-liquor laws dictate that last call is at 12:45 a.m., so most places close by 1 a.m. If you still have time, head back to the hotel for a nightcap.

DAY THREE / Sleep in. When you awake, take a brisk walk along the canal banks adjacent to the Arizona Biltmore. The smooth gravel fitness trail takes you past the golf course and upscale private homes.

Appetite revved up, hop in the car and head for downtown Phoenix. Sam's Cafe at the Arizona Center serves up a Southwestern brunch in an airy, glass-and-stone setting. Sit on the patio and try the blue-corn ginger pancakes topped with caramelized banana syrup, or a ranch house burrito, a flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, vegetables, and cheese. After brunch, explore the many shops and retail carts that fill the Arizona Center.

In addition to shopping and entertainment, downtown Phoenix is the cultural heart of the city. A late 1980s bond election pumped money into the city's arts venues. The museums, in particular, have experienced remarkable growth, with expansions and remodeling; the Arizona Science Center unveiled a brand-new, 120,000-square-foot museum last spring.

Your first stop is The Heard Museum, just a short drive north of where you brunched. "Native Peoples of the Southwest," the museum's signature exhibit, is a great place to learn about the different tribes of the area and their histories. You'll see pottery, baskets, jewelry, kachinas (carved dolls given to Hopi children), and even traditional houses. Other exhibits showcase contemporary art and anthropological sciences. Pick up great jewelry, pottery, books on the Southwest, and items for children at the well-stocked museum shop. Each spring (this year it's March 7-8), The Heard hosts the Indian Fair and Market, where Native American artists display and sell their handmade works. Music, dance, and food abound.

Walk the few blocks south to the Phoenix Art Museum, which, in 1996, doubled in size to 160,000 square feet. By now you're hungry. Eddie's Art Museum Café is tucked away in a corner of the first floor. Innovative chef Eddie Matney, who has the popular Eddie's Grill
elsewhere in Phoenix, runs a smaller operation here, where you can munch on hummus and toasted pita bread, have an espresso, or choose a hearty sandwich before admiring Rodin, de Kooning, and Kahlo.

The museum's permanent collection of more than 13,000 works emphasizes Western U.S., Spanish Colonial, Latin American, and Asian art, along with European art of the 14th through 19th centuries. Each October, the museum hosts the annual Cowboy Artists of America show and sale, and other exhibits throughout the year showcase local and regional artists. A new exhibition of Chinese art runs through mid-April of this year.

Freshen up back at the hotel before driving five minutes to Tarbell's in Phoenix for an early dinner. Owner Mark Tarbell, who earned his culinary stripes in Holland and France, serves up an ever-changing American menu in a sleek setting. Relax with a good bottle of wine and try the veal chop with tomato polenta and wild mushroom ragout or the "very big" vegetable entrée of roasted vegetables, mixed grains, and hummus. Desserts here are meant to be hoarded, not shared. Go for the chocolate bread pudding or the fruit cobbler, made with locally grown produce.

A bit of after-dinner coffee at the restaurant wouldn't hurt, as you're heading back to downtown Phoenix for one more dip into culture at the Herberger Theater Center, one of several live theater venues that are clustered in the area. The Herberger has two intimate stages and is home to several Arizona theater companies and dance ensembles. Ballet Arizona performs its contemporary Earth Dances March 12-15, while Actors Theatre of Phoenix presents the comedy Below the Belt March 6-22. The beginning of April brings the three-week premier of Rocket Man by Steven Dietz, a comedy performed by the Arizona Theatre Company.

The performance ends late, but before you call it a night, walk across the street to the Hyatt Regency, take one of the glass elevators to The Compass Restaurant, pick a seat by a window, and savor a premium tequila-Arizona's answer to cognac-served in a snifter. The restaurant revolves, so you'll catch an ever-changing view of city lights, stars, and, in the distance, planes taking off and landing. Hasta la vista, Phoenix, until we meet again.

Nora Burba Trulsson

March 1998