Cave Creek, AZ

I can't believe its already my last day in Arizona! I have already started to plan my next trip out to Phoenix, and I haven't even left yet. This morning I asked Amanda and her family if they could show me some of Arizona's famous desert country... and so they took me to the town of Cave Creek in the Sonoran Desert. I've seen more varietals of cacti today, than the rest of my life combined.

According to the city of Cave Creek's website, the town of Cave Creek derives its name from a stream that runs past a large overhanging bluff about two miles out from town. Cave Creek was a stopping point for local Indian tribes. However, its modern history can be traced back about 100 years. Its roots beginning in the Arizona Gold Rush and US Army/Native American disputes of the 1870s.

Anyone who has had the privileged of visiting some of the local retail stores and restaurants that including the Horny Toad, Big Earl's Greasy Eats, The Bad Donkey, Big Bronco, the Tumbleweed Inn and the Silver Spur Saloon... you will notice that the town has not changed its aesthetics much since the 1870s.

Amanda and I met up with some friends at the Cave Creek Coffee Shop, and then headed to Frontier Town for some wild west sized retail therapy. We finished up the visit with a stop at the Horny Toad Restaurant in an attempt to stay out of the 96+ degree heat. All in all, it was a fun to get out of the haven of Phoenix and see a bit more of famous Arizona desert. I just wish I had time to see more of the Cave Creek/Carefree area like Bartlett Lake (yes, there is water in the desert) and the Spur Cross conservation area. I guess I will have to save it for next time...