By Joan Fudala Calling all cartographers: There’s so much to learn and enjoy by studying old Scottsdale area maps. From showing sites of former guest ranches to locating now-retired street names, to getting glimpses of how we’ve annexed and expanded our municipal boundaries, maps can create hours of interesting insight. Consider mapping these bits of Scottsdale history: • One of the earliest maps of Scottsdale was a 1913 townsite plan of what is now Old Town Scottsdale. Titled “Scottsdale a subdivision of Maricopa County,” the map showed east-west streets named Scott, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan ..read more

By Rachel Sacco Experience Scottsdale   Over the past two years, domestic leisure travel has largely driven our local tourism industry’s recovery. Though we have enjoyed welcoming new visitors from cities like Houston, Las Vegas, Seattle and beyond to Scottsdale, international travel has been a missing puzzle piece in our full recovery. In 2019, 1.7 million international visitors to Scottsdale generated an economic impact of over $640 million. Experience Scottsdale, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and other Arizona destination marketing organizations spent years building relation ..read more

By David M. Brown Chef and fourth-generation restaurateur Christopher Collins and his staff of 40-plus are serving lunch, dinner and takeout daily at Collins Bros. Chophouse. Located at 8220 N. Hayden Road near Via De Ventura Road inside The Village at Hayden in Scottsdale, the restaurant is inspired by American chophouse-style venues and the newest addition to Common Ground Culinary, which Collins founded in 2011. Collins Bros. Chophouse replaces the company’s Twisted Grove. “Every restaurant we open, we try to really think about what that specific neighborhood needs,” Collins explains. “As w ..read more

By Alex Gallagher It’s been a long road to get back to 100% for a Scottsdale business that is much more than a gas station. Established in 2012, The Thumb immediately began turning heads by offering a gift shop with creative Southwestern products and décor in addition to being one of the few stations to offer 95 gasoline — a blend of 91 and 100 octanes gasoline that is infused underneath the gas station. It also developed a big reputation for award-winning barbecue. However, the pandemic threw The Thumb for a loop after people stopped traveling, going to car washes and eating out. Because of t ..read more

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Professional polo player Nic Roldan is enamored with Scottsdale. “It’s beautiful,” he says via telephone from Florida. “There are plenty of things to do day and night. I love hiking and golfing. It has plenty of great restaurants, beautiful people and the energy’s great. It’s a fun place to be.” He’ll return to the Valley for America’s Greatest Polo Party – The Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships: Presented by Talking Stick Resort, on Saturday, November 5, at WestWorld of Scottsdale. More than 13,000 fans showed up in 2021 for the one-day event. New for 2022 is ..read more

By Alison Bailin In August, Scottsdale resident Christina Spicer was announced as co-chief executive officer of Girl Scouts – Arizona Cactus-Pine Council. In her role, Spicer and co-CEO Mary Mitchell will work to maintain, establish and grow key partnerships within the government and community; continue to make diversity, equity, inclusion and racial justice an organizational priority; and provide strategy and vision to council’s staff, 6,500 adult volunteers and 11,000 girls grades K-12 in more than 90 communities across central and northern Arizona. “We want to ensure that our girls are supp ..read more

Certainly, Mexico has become a hotspot for Valley residents, especially Cabo San Lucas, Playa del Carman and Puerto Vallarta, thanks to the direct flights daily and ample expansive resorts that rival the biggest and best in the world. Here are some worth exploring: Cabo San Lucas: Sun, surf and so much amor Rancho San Lucas, a stunningly beautiful 834-acre resort community along the Pacific Coast of Cabo San Lucas, has gone the extra mile to set the stage for couples looking for a little romance south of the border. Within the waterfront community are a bevy of luxury homes and estates as well ..read more

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski The Nobu brand is known primarily for its iconic seafood restaurants, but within the past 10 years it has brought its penchant for hospitality to hotels. Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace, a boutique space within the Las Vegas resort, debuted in 1993. Last January, it unveiled 182 redesigned guest rooms and suites after a multimillion-dollar refresh. It boasts a residential feel with design inspiration from kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold epoxy. “We changed out our carpet, mattresses, sofas, coffee tables,” says Martha Morales, general man ..read more

By Joan Fudala Much has, and will be, written about the “official” history of Scottsdale’s (and Arizona’s) first master-planned community, McCormick Ranch, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. Perhaps most treasured are the personal, unofficial memories made every day throughout the 4,200 acres known as The Ranch. Let’s walk down that paseo together, and fondly remember: • You’re a Scottsdale old-timer (or heard stories from one) if you remember hunting quail in the area now known as McCormick Ranch from the early 1900s up to the 1940s, particularly in the area of The Slough, the ..read more

By Alex Gallagher Horse season is set to kick off in Scottsdale on Wednesday, September 14, when the Arabian National Breeders Finals returns to WestWorld of Scottsdale through Saturday, September 17. The show, which is a small sampling of the grand Arabian Horse show that comes to Scottsdale every February, is one of the few shows in the world where fans can see the weanlings — or infant horses — trot around a stadium with the finest horses from around the globe. “It’s a boutique show that we started and our vision was to host a high-end horse show that attracted the best Arabian horses from ..read more