- Day Trips, Destinations, Education, Entertainment, Explore with Cassie, Food & Beverage, Latest News, Lifestyle
Live Out Your Wild West Fantasies at White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona
Photos, video and story by Cassie Hepler Back in May 2019, I was on the radio with my East Coast fam, Small Bites Radio on Wildfire Radio. And everyone kept asking about the Wild West… like the gun shooting, horseback riding, free-range roaming desert seen in all the movies. Shortly thereafter, I was at a Visit Phoenix tourism lunch meeting a lovely lady who represented two amazing ranches in Arizona and invited me to stay and play. Little did I know the White Stallion Ranch is consistently voted one of the best ranches in the United States. But I soon experienced exactly why… We had a pretty cool June for…
-
Take a Hike and Be Amazed at the Sonoran Desert in Arizona
Story, photos by Jason Nugent Often when people think of deserts, the image that comes to mind is one of a vast, barren landscape with nothing but sand for as far as the eye can see. As someone who has spent time in deserts around the world and has seen that specific view first hand, I’ll be the first to admit that I thought that the landscape surrounding Phoenix would be similar. Boy was I wrong. The Sonoran desert surrounding Phoenix is home to one of the most vibrant, lush landscapes in the Southwest United States. If getting out and appreciating that appeals to you, then I urge you to …
-
Gertrude’s Fine Dining Tickles Tastebuds in Breathtaking Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler The first time I visited Desert Botanical Garden was during a life-changing Visit Phoenix press trip that inspired me to move to Arizona. When I mentioned this magical place to my mother that showcases the Sonoran Desert and its botanical gardens, she had no clue it existed as she lived here before I was a glint in anyone’s eye and I’m assuming somewhere that was all desert straight out of Looney Tunes. However unlike the cartoons, the Sonoran Desert is home to about 100 species of reptiles, 20 amphibians, over 350 types of birds and 60 mammals. Fast forward to modern day and welcome to…
-
Fulfill Your Flying Squirrel Fantasies with iFLY Indoor Skydiving
Story by Cassie Hepler, video by Suburban Men Who hasn’t had a dream of flying? If you haven’t, that’s weird and a bummer. Ever since I was like 5 years old, I would have a consistent dream of being chased through the jungle by a lion, falling off a cliff and stopping short of the bug-like smush on the ground for a good chunk of my youth. As an adult, it morphed into flying yogi cross-legged style through the air always to an old farmhouse. Where this farmhouse exists I have yet to learn however looking forward to finding it someday! Alas, I digress. But the need to fly through…
-
Feast Your Eyes and Soothe Your Spirit on the Fresh Foodie Trail in Phoenix and Mesa, Arizona
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler (unless otherwise noted) Let’s talk about good karma, shall we? Once upon a time before threats of hurricanes, this travel writer was on a press trip to Visit San Antonio, Texas and met a fellow foodie, travel and fashion influencer from Ontario, Canada named MoVernie on the MOVE. Our mutual love for connecting others lead him to helping me meet the wonderful team at Visit Phoenix which then led to this press trip… where a friend had moved six weeks earlier and my favorite uncle had recently relocated from Colorado. Always one to kill two birds with one stone, it was a week-long plus one…
