Rare Earth is a wonderful gem and rock gallery. You'll see small and large specimens. Staff are…read morehelpful and knowledgeable. It was like revisiting the Tucson rock and gem show. They have a nice selection of singing bowls. Staff may be available to play them for you. All with unique sounds. You'll also see very large fountains and sculptures outside. They have their own parking lot

I visited even after seeing some of reviews, because it is nothing I am not used to where I live. I…read morewas pleasantly surprised I didn't feel watched at all, or looked down on. The place itself feels more like a museum. The prices feel like a museum. Maybe museums are buying the items? Each aisle has something pretty to look at, and outdoors as well. I know I wasn't going to able to afford anything, so I went in just to stare. They also have a nice selection of jewelry as well. Even the smaller items, seem priced out a little higher than they should, but I was able to just walk at my leisure, and I wasn't asked anything, or upsold which I appreciated. They were having a scavenger hunt for kids at the time we went in, which I thought was a fun idea. The kids got a treat at the end of it. There was also a woman talking to various people, and sharing interesting tidbits . There is a cool transformers guy out front you should visit. All in all, while way out of my budget I had a nice time, and saw some cool things. That is good enough for me. Worth a stop

Things have slowed down at the Desert Foothills Library…read more The snowbirds are starting to leave for cooler destinations. The library still has its regular programming for the year round residents. There are two study rooms one can use for free for a two hour period. We recently had May the Fourth be with You (5/4) with Star Wars characters. That was a big hit. Come visit our cool surroundings. Covered and open parking with free WiFi.

I love this library! The piano, Imagination room, meeting rooms/classrooms, friendly and helpful…read morelibrarians and staff, great parking, great events and services!

This place has been on our lists for a awhile and we were so happy we finally went this weekend…read more The admission is very affordable and the front desk people were so sweet and helpful. The property itself is huge so be prepared for lots of walking. The main trail is paved, and there are other off road trails that are not. We brought our 2 young children and they handled both very well. It was very educational and the houses were kept in excellent condition. I would have liked to see more of the yellow house but I understand why it's closed off. The telephone exhibit was interesting and brought back memories of having land lines as a kid. We will definitely be back!

I highly recommend this property for both adults and children alike and every age in between. This…read moreis an authentic pioneer village in the magnificent Southwest. This is considered "winter time" and the enactment scenes were not on. "Winter time" is 27 - 33C! LOL. Come here! It's an educational experience with wide, open spaces and vistas to walk and explore.

This was my first visit to the Verde Valley archaeology center, and I was truly amazed! I was…read morehoping to see artifacts from the immediate vicinity at this location and was not disappointed! The center has been here for 15 years and exists primarily to display artifacts recovered from a single site in the area. This is extremely rare as most sites have been pillaged by pot hunters over the last 100+ years, and this site was privately owned and protected for many decades. I was honored to received what was basically a private tour of the facility by the executive director Monica Buckle. She took her time and provided much detail to give an excellent overview of this facility. Thank you so much Monica! The entire Verde Valley area is a much overlooked archaeology gem in the history of our country & this facility champions the learning and understanding of this unique place. If you're ever in the area, I strongly recommend a visit. Please note the visiting hours change for the summer season so be sure to research this first.

This spotless well appointed museum is user friendly and can be completed quickly under 1/2 hour if…read moreyou breezed through. We chose the guided free tour which lasted about an hour and was quite thorough. I really enjoyed the quality of items on display and learning about the artifacts. If one is lucky the libraries in Scottsdale have a free pass for 2 people to enter. We paid but it was worth the $5 entry fee each.

I stopped into Desert broom to see what was new. I visited their small book store. I purchased a…read moreDVD on the Māori people. A nice quiet stop. Shared parking and Wi-Fi inside the building.

Planning to check out lots of libraries with my son this summer! This one was not too far from us…read moreand super nice. Looks like they have plenty of activities going on and story time/family fun activities throughout the week! My son enjoyed the 5 and under section and playing with the magnet gears. Love the little shaded patio they have as well. We will be back again this summer definitely!

Janey's Coffee Co & Bodega is truly a treasure. Set back from the main road (Cave Creek), I was…read moremildly surprised at how busy it was on a late Sunday Afternoon. I say "mildly suprised" because once we walked up to the actual coffee house we heard the live music on the large back patio. One of our absolutely favorite local artist, Aaron Howard was performing, and he definitely brings in a crowd. It was busy, as I mentioned, but not too crowded, and we found a good table towards the back. As it was the begging of the hot weather this spring, we were very grateful for the generous-sized table umbrellas. But first, we went inside the Bodega to order a Beer and a snack. They have a great selection of Beer and wine! And since we were still 2 hours or so away from dinner, we decided to grab a veggie & cheese board, which had a nice variety of cruditè and humas. It was very satisfying for 2 adults. We spent.a total of about 2 hours there and left there knowing we would be coming back to Janey's. Side note: For those of you who need accessibility, I myself am on an electric scooter for ambulating. The parking lot is dirt and only has a couple of handicap parking spots. But no space is more than approximately 150 ft from the entrance to Janey's. Once you get to the building, it is very easy to get in and out of the main bodega, with wide, level doorways. The doors were propped open when we visited. I did not utilize the restroom on this visit.

Janey's can be found at the Saguaro Ridge plaza. Being in the mood for a hot chocolate I stopped…read moreinto Janey's for a beverage. It had been years since I had this drink. It tasted just perfect. Small sips are the best. Yummy. Free parking on the dirt road in back.

We are in the Bentley Gallery mailing list. They had an art reception for several artists…read more The gallery is a small contemporary art gallery. The works did not compete with each other. The gallery staff asked if we noticed what was above the gallery. We didn't notice but staff told us they were shipping containers turned Air BNBs. Cool idea. Metered street parking and some free parking.

We had absolutely no idea this place existed despite being in the Phoenix area for 40+ years…read more Bentley herself was there, as well as another very kind docent. We got to see the last day of the Deborah Sperber (check her work out!) exhibit and it was wonderful. I could not believe how talented the artist was and the space in general is gorgeous. We were lucky enough to score a parking spot right out front. The gallery is quaint, so I would expect to spend 30ish minutes inside. We will be visiting again soon!

The Sonoran Arts League is located in the Stagecoach Village. A few of my artists friends work…read morehere. One of them was there today. She showed me some of the students works from various classes. In the back of the studio, an artist was preparing clay figures to construct a southwestern style totem. She showed me an aloe that another artist had fired. Nice! A good visit. Shared parking lot.

This art studio and organization as a whole has so much to offer!!! Great place for classes, art…read moreshows, programs and to showcase many artists' beautiful works. They represent "hidden in the hills" artist tours and hold workshops at various places including their Cave Creek studio. So great to take art glasses there!! Staff and teachers are phenomenal!!!! And so community engaged!!!!

I'm not sure why the Yelp page states Arcosanti is closed. We were just there and is open and…read moreoperating. Clearly what the original architect had in mind many years ago never came to fruition as it really hasn't changed in years. Is appears to be a small artist community but we didn't see anything going on at the moment so couldn't tell if it id still active or they make everything south in Scottsdale at Cosanti. There is a gift shop where you can watch a brief video on the history and learn about their wind chime creations. Personally I've received many of the wind chimes over the last 20 years for housewarmings or Christmas gifts. Each is unique. The greeter in the gift shop was friendly and stated there is a tour available as well. We didn't have time for the tour but purchased a couple of small gifts. He suggested visiting the Scottsdale location as well which is called Cosanti. I had no idea it was located in Scott's well. Will check it out.

70s vision for communal living by architect Paolo Soleri, this is on the way from Phoenix to Sedona…read moreand worth a stop if you are into architecture and ecology, you'll see Soleri's unique "arcology" vision here which is a fusion of both. We signed up for the tour and yes the dirt road is rough leading to Arcosanti, our tour guide mentioned a future expansion in the living area but in order to keep building the road has to be paved, hopefully it's better in the future. The behind the scenes tour participants was twice as large as they normally have so at times it was hard to see and hear though our guide tried their best. We loved hearing about the different spaces and seeing what was hand made by volunteers though we enjoyed the more intimate feel of Cosanti more. The gift shop is one staircase above the cafe and it's where the tour meets. There is better bell selection at Cosanti If that's what you are shopping for but Arcosanti has more hand-made knick knacks by residents, there is also a nice selection of books about Soleri and Arcosanti. You can stay the night here and get a good view of the stars and a more intimate experience, we would do this next time. The architecture and vibe would make it worth it!