WHITE MOUNTAINS - Every summer, many a desert dweller flees the heat for the cooling pines of the White Mountains. But not all are enamored of pitching a tent or affixing a worm to a hook.
Fear not, urbanites. There's plenty else to do in these hills, whose towns will be teeming from late May through way past Labor Day with festivals and fireworks, car shows and craft bazaars, parades and powwows.
You can also take in a round of golf, cheer on jalopy racers, tour historic Fort Apache, and dine at plenty of palate-pleasing places that serve up everything from pasta to barbecue to some of the best Mexican food found north of South Tucson. Honest. And all of it just three hours and change driving time from Tucson.
SUMMER WONDERLAND: FROM CARS TO POWWOWS
Towns around White Mountains offer fun almost every weekend
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Activities kick off on Memorial Day weekend, May 27-29, in Show Low, gateway to the White Mountains.
Events on Friday, May 27, include an arts and crafts show, along with a vintage-car show, both from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the ball fields behind the Show Low Elks Club, 805 E. Whipple St. The car show continues Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the arts and crafts joining in from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also included all three days are a food court and a children's fun zone.
A parade Saturday begins at 9 a.m. down Show Low's main drag, Deuce of Clubs, followed at noon by a flag-raising and 21-gun salute at the Elks' ball field, honoring the recently fallen members of the military from the White Mountains. Activities conclude Sunday, with the car show from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the arts and crafts event from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Activities are sponsored by the Navajo County Attorney's Office to benefit its Family Advocacy Center. For more information, call 1-928-537-0756, or 1-928-242-6565.
Show Low's hoopla continues the following weekend, Friday-Sunday, June 3-5, with the town's eighth annual Show Low Days celebration.
Events all three days include an outdoor recreation show, featuring everything from ATV rides to fishing lessons; an arts and crafts show, along with a food court; and an expo tent showcasing local businesses.
All events are held at the city park, at the corner of Highway 60 and the Deuce of Clubs. Times are 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. A free concert in the park is also planned for Saturday night.
Linked to the celebration is the Experimental Aircraft Association fly-in Saturday morning at the Show Low Regional Airport, 3150 Airport Loop Road, followed by a 7-10 a.m. breakfast open to all. It's $6 for adults, $4 for kids 12 and under, free to those in military uniform. Free flights will be offered to the youngsters, ages 10 to 17.
All events are sponsored by the Show Low Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the City of Show Low. More information: www.showlowdays.com or 1-888-746-9569.
More than the clanking of coins will also be heard that same weekend, June 4-5, when the 14th annual Pow Wow in the Pines takes place at the Hon-Dah Resort, Casino and Conference Center, 777 Arizona 260, in Pinetop.
More than 300 Native American dancers from as far away as the Dakotas and Montana will compete at the resort's outdoor area, with the grand entry at noon Saturday and Sunday.
Admission is free, with gates opening at 10 a.m. both days. If you've never witnessed this event, mark your calendar. The native dress alone is spectacular. More information: 1-800-929-8744, or www.hon-dah.com.
Show Low again grabs the spotlight the first week in July with its big Fourth of July celebration.
Sponsored by the city of Show Low, events include free concerts in the city park beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, followed at 8:30 p.m. Saturday with a free outdoor movie at the nearby aquatic center.
The July 4 hoopla begins at 9 a.m. Monday down the Deuce of Clubs with a parade that last year featured 137 entrants and thousands of spectators. Activities then shift at 3 p.m. to Show Low High School, off Old Linden Road, with concerts, dancers and games.
Fireworks, exploding over the football field (bring chairs and blankets to sprawl on the grass) cap off the evening. Helpful hint: Dress warmly. It gets chilly on the damp grass once the sun goes down.
Pinetop-Lakeside, 10 miles or so east of Show Low, gets the next nod for its Native American Heritage Art Festival, held July 16-17 at Blue Ridge High School, 1200 W. White Mountain Blvd. in the town of Lakeside.
The event features everything from hoop dancers to more than 50 Native American artists displaying and selling jewelry, paintings, rugs and other authentic items. Times are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5. More info: www.pinetoplakesidechamber.com or 1-800-573-4031.
Next, we head 22 miles north of Show Low to Snowflake and its Pioneer Days, set for Friday and Saturday, July 22-23.
Founded by Mormon pioneers in 1878, the town kicks off the celebration with a rodeo at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in nearby Taylor. Next comes a 9 a.m. parade Saturday in Snowflake.
Arts and crafts, along with a food court, will also be up and running from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. A town barbecue is offered from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at $5.
Also in Saturday's lineup from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.: the Sweet Wheels Car Show at Snowflake Community Golf Course, 90 N. Country Club Drive, featuring more than 200 vintage models and street rods. Free admission.
Fireworks will end the evening. Call 1-928-536-4331 or go to www.snowflaketaylorchamber.org for more info.
What could be sweeter than music in the pines? And you'll find plenty of that Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 13-14, at the open-air High Mountain Music Festival in Lakeside.
A dozen bands, performing everything from rock to R&B, will take the stage of the Mountain Meadow Recreation Complex, 1101 S. Woodland Road, in Lakeside. Times are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Bring your own chairs and blankets, but no food, liquids or dogs. Food available for purchase. Admission is $20 for a one-day ticket, $30 for the weekend. Info: www.highmountainmusicfest.com or 1-800-573-4031.
If you like corn. If you really like corn - along with barbecue, arts and crafts and a parade - then you don't want to miss the town of Taylor's Sweet Corn Festival.
Held on Saturday every Labor Day weekend, this year Sept. 3, the town serves up gobs of cobs from the many farms surrounding Taylor. You can eat it there, along with a swell barbecue, or take home a bagful or two.
A free-admission arts and crafts fair kicks things off at 8 a.m. Saturday, followed at 9 a.m. with a town parade. The barbecue, $5 a person, begins at 11 a.m. Family entertainment is also promised, along with a ranch rodeo at the rodeo grounds right next door. There's also a good chance you can buy Hatch green chiles here, already roasted. Yum. Information: 1-928-536-4331 or www.snowflaketaylorchamber.org
Summertime fun doesn't end in the pines with Labor Day. Witness the annual Fall Artisans' Festival, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24-25, in Lakeside.
Hosted by the Pinetop-Lakeside Chamber of Commerce, the art festival features more than 80 artists selling handmade or handcrafted items at the Mountain Meadow Recreation Complex, 1101 S. Woodland Road. Admission is $2. Times: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.
There's also an antiques show and quilt show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Blue Ridge High School, 1200 W. White Mountain Blvd., in Lakeside. Information: 1-800-573-4031 or www.pinetoplakesidechamber.com
Car enthusiasts also will flock Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24 and 25, to the 28th annual Run to the Pines car show at Pinetop Lakes Country Club, 4643 Buck Springs Road.
Touted as the largest free car show in the Southwest, Run to the Pines can host up to 550 street rods and autos, circa 1973 and older. Times are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. Parking and free shuttle available at the nearby Hon-Dah Resort, Casino and Conference Center, 777 Arizona 260. More information: 1-928-368-5325.
If cars occasionally crashing into each other is more your speed, check out Thunder Raceway, 4701 E. Deuce of Clubs in Show Low.
Every Saturday night from late April through September, late models, pro stocks, sprints and other four-wheelers take to this quarter-mile dirt oval track. Extra races scheduled on holiday weekends. Admission: $12, $10 for seniors, military, kids. Gates open at 5 p.m., races start at dusk. More information: 1-928-537-1111 or 1-928-242-1384. Helpful hint: Don't sit in the lower bleachers unless you like mud flung on your face and elsewhere.
For those hankering for history, Fort Apache Historic Park offers a more-than-fascinating glimpse back in time with its self-guided walking tour that takes in 27 historic buildings dating from the 1870s to the 1930s.
A prime example of the Apache military-wars era, the post includes the 1871 log cabin of Gen. George Crook, along with other military quarters.
Located 30 scenic miles south of Pinetop on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation near White River, the park also boasts the White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, featuring oral histories, extensive basketry displays, archival materials and other items of artistic or cultural influence.
Summer hours are Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $5, $3 for seniors and students age 7-17, free to kids under 7.
Admission also entitles visitors to view the nearby Kinishba Ruins National Historic Landmark, which includes the remains of a village built and occupied by ancestors of today's Zuni and Hopi Pueblo tribes.
More information: Log on to www.wmat.us/wmaculture.html or contact the museum at 1-928-338-4625.
HITTING THE LINKS
For those who'd rather pack a putter than a fishing pole, you can golf in the pines at these public golf courses near Show Low or Pinetop:
• Bison Golf and Country Club, 860 N. 36th Drive, Show Low. Summer prices for 18 holes range from $34-$48, including cart. Call 1-928-537-4564 or go to www.bisongolf.net for more info.
• Silver Creek Golf Club, 2051Silver Lake Blvd., 12 miles northeast of Show Low off Highway 60. Summer prices for 18 holes: $32 to $60, including cart. Call 1-888-537-3673 or go to www.silvercreekgolfclub.com for more info.
• Pinetop Lakes Golf and Country Club, 4643 Buck Springs Road, Pinetop. Summer rates for 18 holes with cart: $55. Go to www.pinetoplakesgolf.com or call 1-928-369-4531.
RESTAURANTS OF NOTE
And forget the campfire grub. Here are some spots yours truly has put to the test:
• Fiesta Mexicana, 350 E. Deuce of Clubs, Show Low. Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily, full bar. Great margaritas and an extensive menu that goes way past tacos and enchiladas, though those are fine here, too. 1-928-532-3424.
• Branding Iron Steak House, 1261 E. Deuce of Clubs, Show Low. Adequate salad bar, prime rib is their specialty. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily, full bar. 1-928-537-5151.
• Licano's Mexican Food and Steak House, 573 W. Deuce of Clubs, Show Low. Good choice if one of you wants Mexican, the other American. They do both well. Open 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., full bar. 1-928-537-8220.
• Aunt Nancy's Family Restaurant, 21 N. Ninth St., Show Low. Open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. for Friday fish fry. I've only been here for breakfast, which is so fine, especially them biscuits. 1-928-245-6909.
• Waldo's BBQ, 1191 E. Hall St., Show Low. Part of the Waldo's chain in Phoenix, this one goes by "swine in the pines" and is definitely unchainlike. Set up in a former home, it now offers breakfast, as well as Mexican food. I've only had the barbecue. Can't beat it, especially those $4 pig sandwiches and dollar sides. Open 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, breakfast-only on Sunday, 6-11 a.m. 1-928-537-1453.
• Chuck Wagon Steakhouse and 1890s Saloon, 4048 Porter Mountain Road, off White Mountain Boulevard in Lakeside. Great ribs, great bar. From Memorial Day weekend on, open 4-9 p.m. daily. 1-888-341-3734.
• The Chalet Restaurant and Bar, 348 W. White Mountain Blvd. in Lakeside. Open 5-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Specializing in seafood, ribs, sushi, and frog legs (call 24 hours ahead for the latter.) 1-928-367-1514.
• Pasta House, 2188 E. White Mountain Blvd. in Pinetop. Best authentic American-Italian food to be had in these hills. Full bar, open 5-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations for parties of five or more. Wait times can be long on summer evenings, it's that good. 1-928-367-2782.
Accommodations
As for where to bed down other than the ol' campground, in general you'll find more cabins in the Pinetop-Lakeside area, more motels/hotels in Show Low. Google White Mountains Arizona lodging for more information.
See you in the pines.
Next week
The cool, pine-topped White Mountains northeast of Tucson lure hikers, anglers, campers and others looking for outdoor recreation high above the heat of the desert.
Bonnie Henry's column appears every other Sunday. Contact her at bonniehenryaz@gmail.com
