Phoenix, Arizona--A Romantic Getaway
by Norm Goldman
Artwork by Lily Azerad-Goldman

Driving from the airport to Phoenix, we knew we were experiencing a city that was very much unlike many of the major metropolises in the USA or Canada.

Our first clue was that everything seemed new to us, even the expressways with their unique architecture paying tribute to the city's Native American heritage.

What was most impressive was its unique towering desert mountain skyline that was not hidden by huge skyscrapers. Yes, there were a few tall buildings around, however, nothing to compare to those of New York, Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto or Montreal.

And these were not obstructing the magnificent views of Squaw Peak, Camelback Mountain, the bulky South Mountains, or the McDowells.

Nicknamed the "Valley of the Sun," and blessed with over 300 days of sunshine, Phoenix is set within a flat valley at an elevation of roughly 1,100 feet. With its unusual cacti, desert colors of reds, tans and brown, pink bougainvillea vines and greens, brown grove date palms, spiky yuccas, and glorious sunsets on its mountains, it can probably boast of being one of the finest natural settings of any in the USA.

For hundreds of years, prior to its incorporation as a city in 1881, a very well civilized and resourceful community known as the Hohokam, lived in the area between 700 A.D. and 1400 A.D. They tamed the Salt River and built an irrigation system that consisted of some 135 miles of canals thus creating a fertile land where they would grow beans, corn, squash and cotton.Their name means "the people who have gone." Apparently, they had disappeared without a trace.

In the mid-1800s, one of the first white settlers to arrive on the scene was John Y. T. Smith. One day Smith invited his friend, Jack Swilling of Wickenburg, to visit him at his hay camp. I guess Swilling was impressed with what he had discovered- an area that was predominately devoid of rocks and where heavy frost or snow would not interfere with the vegetation. He probably also noticed the miles of abandoned irrigation ditches stretching across the valley. He thought to himself, why not bring water once again to the area? With a capitalization of $10, 0000 he formed the Swilling Irrigation Canal Company in 1868. No doubt, he reaped the benefits of the ancient Hohokam canals diverting once again some of the water of the Salt River onto the land of the valley.

It was not too long thereafter that an Englishman, Darrell Dupa, gave Phoenix its name. Just as the mythological Egyptian bird rose to life again from the ashes of its own funeral pyre, so did the new city rise from the ashes of the Hohokam culture, and Phoenix was off and running.

continued:

page 2 Romantic Dining in Phoenix: Wright's
page 3 The Legacy Golf Resort--A Romantic Tribute to the Past
page 4 Phoenix Area Attractions, Links, For More Information

Related pages: Romantic Arizona: articles, how to get married in Arizona, and more