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Introduction
Hey there, welcome to episode #7 of season 2 of The WOA Show. WOA…or W O A…stands for World Of Arizona…and yes there is a website….it is worldofarizona.com. This is a multi-format show all about Arizona and the people, and the businesses, and the places that make it what it is. By multi-format I mean it’s both a video and a podcast. Welcome to all you podcast listeners! We try to be mindful of your lack of vision, but sometimes you may want to check out the video version on either YouTube, or directly from our website.
We have an online marketplace where you can shop Arizona based businesses called WOA Marketplace….and guess what…it also has a website….and if you guessed it would be woamarketplace.com, you would be correct, because that is exactly what it’s called!
And finally, this show is of course in a Run-Down format….meaning that we will run down that list on the left side of your screen, which is what we’re about to do right now. Let’s get to the news!
Arizona News
- Fully Electric Mountain Buses In Flagstaff: Mountain Line expects two fully electric buses to be operating on the streets of Flagstaff by mid-April. They’ll run up to 130 miles/charge, and have regenerative braking. The Arizona Daily Sun reports Mountain Line hopes to have a fully electric fleet by 2032.
- Avanti Windows & Doors Expands Manufacturing & Installation Footprint in El Mirage, AZ: The facility will serve as the company’s headquarters and provide 626 jobs by 2025. Avanti Windows & Doors, a leading manufacturer and installer of vinyl window and doors systems, works with 19 of the top 30 Big Builders throughout the Nation, providing product and installation in support of growing new home demand.
- LG Energy Solution To Invest $5.5 Billion To Build Battery Manufacturing Complex In Queen Creek: LG announced it will invest a total of $5.5 billion to build a battery manufacturing complex in Queen Creek, Arizona. This is nearly four times the initially-announced investment of $1.4 billion. The complex will manufacture electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems creating thousands of jobs for the area.
- Payson Cracks Down on Short Term Rental Parties: The “Disruptive Properties” ordinance would add a section to the town code that expands the police department’s ability to fine and hold property owners responsible for disruptive tenants or guests. Payson follows suit with many Phoenix Valley laws recently put in place to help regulate the vacation rental market.
- Flower Child Restaurant Opens In Tucson: Sam Fox’s Fox Restaurant Concepts, will open a Flower Child on April 4. “Opening a restaurant is a show of love for the city and for the people who will eat there,” Fox said in a statement. Sam Fox is a restaruanteur from Tucson, his parents were in the business in the 70s. He started his first restaurant group at 21 and expanded tremendously in the US to over 4000 employees. Has become a household name in the US for healthy eating when he partnered with Dr. Andrew Weil in 2008 and opened the revolutionary True Food Kitchen.
Go Discover Arizona
Get ready for a new WOA TV series that features Amber & Cooper and their adventures across Arizona. This new docuseries will start publishing episodes this fall in 2023. We’ll be visiting places across Arizona and documenting our journey.
Featured Article | Superstition Mountain Museum | Apache Junction, AZ
Behold the legendary history of Tonto National Forest’s Superstition Mountains at Arizona’s prime tourism destination, the Superstition Mountain Museum, as it tells the stories of ancient indigenous inhabitants and the Old West glory days of gold prospecting.
The List | Maricopa County Regional Parks
It’s hiking, biking, everything outdoor weather in AZ, specifically in Maricopa County so here’s a list of all the Maricopa County Parks to serve your recreational needs.
Adobe Dam Regional Park | Glendale, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/adobe-dam-regional-park/
Unlike our other regional parks, Adobe Dam Regional Park is a concessionaire park. This park does not contain hiking trails, camping opportunities, and other recreational services. And, off-roading activities, as well as dumping, are not permitted within the park. If you would like to trek along the roadway, please park in a designated parking area. Sitting at the base of the Hedgepeth Hills in north Phoenix, this 1,526-acre park offers recreationists the opportunity to participate in activities that require ample space. The land is used by many clubs and is home too: Arizona Model Pilots Society R/C Airport Airfield, Saguaro Central: Maricopa Live Steamers & Arizona Model Railroading Society, Phoenix Kart Racing Association Race Track, 500 Club Championship Golf Course, Victory Lane Sports Complex Ball Fields, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix, Adobe Mountain Speedway.
Buckeye Hills Regional Park | Buckeye, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/buckeye-hills-regional-park/
The Buckeye Hills Regional Park is home to the ASRPA (Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Association) Joe Foss Public Shooting Range. The park consists of 4,474 acres of natural desert, located in the southwest Phoenix Valley. Enjoy the rolling hills of pristine Sonoran Desert, with beautiful views of the Gila River riparian area. The park has restrooms but currently there is no running water or electricity available.
Cave Creek Regional Park | Cave Creek, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/cave-creek-regional-park/
The park, which is located north of Phoenix, became part of Maricopa County’s regional park system in 1963. This 2,922-acre park sits in the upper Sonoran Desert and ranges in elevation from 2,000 feet to 3,060 feet. This desert oasis provides any hiker and equestrian majestic views. The Go John Trail loops around a mountain to provide the illusion of being miles away from civilization. In the 1870s, fever stricken gold seekers staked their dreams on the jasper-studded hills. Guided trails to these sites give visitors an opportunity to travel back in time.
Estrella Mountain Regional Park | Goodyear, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/estrella-mountain-regional-park/
These 19,840 acres of desert and mountains became the first regional park in the Maricopa County Park System in 1954. Located near the meeting of the Gila and Agua Fria Rivers in the southwest Valley, the park includes seasonal wetland or riparian area during our winter and monsoon rains. The majority of the park remains pristine desert, very similar in appearance to the landscape seen by the first settlers and explorers. The Sierra Estrella range, or Star Mountains, was once within the Mexican border, and remained so until the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. Today, many amenities are available to visitors, including the only grass picnic area (65-acres) in the Maricopa County Park System.
Hassayampa River Preserve | Wickenburg, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/hassayampa-river-preserve/
At Hassayampa River Preserve you may see any one of the 280 species of birds living, nesting, or migrating along the riparian corridor. Perched atop the massive trees and dead snags are some of Arizona’s rarest raptors, like the zone-tailed hawk, the black hawk, and the Harris hawk. Lucky birders may sight a Mississippi kite or the elusive yellow-billed cuckoo. Trails at the Hassayampa are self-guided, leading you along the lush river bottoms, across the river’s floodplain, through majestic cottonwood-willow forests and dense mesquite bosques (Spanish word for forest) found only near desert waterways. On your walk, a brilliant vermilion flycatcher or an Abert’s towhee on the wing might catch your eye. Also a part of the trail system is a loop around Palm Lake where waterfowl, otherwise uncommon in the desert, are a major attraction.
Lake Pleasant Regional Park | Morristown, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/lake-pleasant-regional-park/
One of the most scenic water recreation areas in the “Valley of the Sun,” this northwest Valley park is a recreationist’s dream. This 23,362 acre park offers many activities, such as camping, boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, picnicking, and wildlife viewing. Lake Pleasant is a water reservoir and is part of the Central Arizona Project waterway system – bringing water from the Lower Colorado River into Central and southern Arizona. Lake water levels can fluctuate throughout the course of the year, with the water typically reaching its highest level in the spring (March/April), and its lowest in the fall (October/November). The acreage of the water surface can fluctuate from over 3,000 acres to almost 10,000 acres at its fullest.
McDowell Mountain Regional Park | Fountain Hills, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/mcdowell-mountain-regional-park/
Nestled in the lower Verde River basin, the 21,099-acre park is a desert jewel in the northeast Valley. Elevations in the park rise to 3,000 feet along the western boundary at the base of the McDowell Mountains. Visitors enjoy a full program schedule, over 50 miles of multi-use trails, and spectacular views of the surrounding mountain ranges. A stroll through the park will allow visitors to likely see deer, javelina, birds, and coyotes.
San Tan Mountain Regional Park | San Tan Valley, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/san-tan-mountain-regional-park/
Consisting of over 10,000 acres, the southeast Valley park is a fine example of the lower Sonoran Desert. The park ranges in elevation from about 1,400 feet to over 2,500 feet. Goldmine Mountain is located in the northern area, with a spectacular San Tan Mountain escarpment in the southern portion of the park. The vegetation changes from creosote flats to dense saguaro forest. Various types of wildlife may be observed, including reptiles, birds, and mammals. San Tan Mountain Regional Park also has a Visitor’s Center. Don’t forget to stop by the Visitor’s Center to pick up educational tidbits, purchase souvenir items, visit with park staff, and see the wildlife exhibits or tortoise habitat. Restroom facilities are available and additional amenities are slated for future development.
Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area | Cave Creek, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/spur-cross-ranch-conservation-area/
The newest addition to Maricopa County’s Regional Parks System, the conservation area encompasses 2,154 acres of diverse, rugged upper Sonoran Desert. The north Valley location contains fascinating archaeology sites and lush riparian areas along Cave Creek, which flows throughout the winter months. Remnants of early mining and ranching, from which the park gets its name, are still apparent in the park. This area is a must see for all wildflower lovers in the spring. The abundant vegetation present in the conservation area provides a rich habitat for a diverse assemblage of wildlife.
Usery Mountain Regional Park | Mesa, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/usery-mountain-regional-park/
Located on the Valley’s east side, this 3,648-acre park became part of Maricopa County’s regional park system in 1961. The park is set at the western end of the Goldfield Mountains, adjacent to the Tonto National Forest. The park contains a large variety of plants and animals that call the lower Sonoran Desert home. Along the most popular feature of the park, the Wind Cave Trail, water seeps from the roof of the alcove to support hanging gardens of Rock Daisy. The Wind Cave is formed at the boundary between the volcanic tuff and granite on Pass Mountain. Breathtaking views from this 2,840-foot elevation are offered to all visitors.
White Tank Mountain Regional Park | Waddell, AZ
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/white-tank-mountain-regional-park/
Nearly 30,000 acres makes this the largest regional park in Maricopa County. Most of the park is made up of the rugged and beautiful White Tank Mountains on the Valleys west side. The range, deeply serrated with ridges and canyons, rises sharply from its base to peak at over 4,000 feet. Infrequent heavy rains cause flash floodwaters to plunge through the canyons and pour onto the plain. These torrential flows, pouring down chutes and dropping off ledges, have scoured out a series of depressions, or tanks, in the white granite rock below, thus giving the mountains their name.
Not listed in this list is Vulture Mountains Recreation Area in Wickenburg, which technically is not a park yet due to budgetary constraints. Other notes, each park has updates and alerts which range from parking lot closures, temporary trail closures, invasive species clearing to prevent wild fires and floating debri alerts. Also not included in the list is Maricopa Trail and Desert Outdoor Center at Lake Pleasant in Peoria.
