GOODYEAR, Arizona – I came to the desert for baseball, but found Elvis Presley, Frank Lloyd Wright and Dale Chihuly instead.
I also found Jack and Kathy Kristofco from Highland Heights, whom I met on a recent afternoon at the Guardians team shop in Goodyear, 17 miles west of Phoenix. On the day we met, the Guardians were supposed to play the Milwaukee Brewers at Goodyear Ballpark, the team’s spring-training home since 2009.
Even after they learned spring training would be delayed (canceled entirely?), the Kristofcos decided to make the trek to Arizona. “It’s a good time to get out of Cleveland,” said Kathy, who noted the inches of snow on the ground at home when she left.
And I felt the same way.
I organized this trip around spring training, but I wasn’t going to let Major League Baseball’s infuriating inability to resolve its labor issues ruin all my fun. I went to the desert anyway.
In the absence of baseball, I spent an afternoon at the Musical Instrument Museum, filled with thousands of instruments from around the world set to an incredible soundtrack. I revisited Taliesin West, the Scottsdale-based winter home and studio of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, which is hosting a stunning special exhibit of Dale Chihuly glass art.
And I got reacquainted with the lush Wigwam resort, founded by executives from the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., who came to the Arizona desert from Akron in 1916 to farm cotton for use in tires.
Finally, I discovered a new bed and breakfast at the base of the Estrella Mountain Regional Park, drank some good local beer and took a driving tour of Goodyear, which has grown immensely since my last visit in 2009, its population up nearly 50% to almost 100,000.
Yes, it all would have been even better with Shane Bieber on the mound and Jose Ramirez at third base. But, as Kathy Kristofco reminded me as we chatted outside a shuttered Goodyear Ballpark, “There’s no crying in baseball.”
Here then, a few tear-free ideas for filling time in and around Phoenix this spring:
Musical Instrument Museum
This museum, which opened in 2010, didn’t exist the last time I was in Phoenix. Today, it’s one of the region’s top attractions, and with good reason. My husband and I spent four hours here and easily could have stayed twice as long, wandering the galleries, traveling the globe through the universal language of music.
The museum was the brainchild of Target founder Bob Ulrich, who reportedly got the idea after visiting a similar facility in Brussels. He chose Phoenix, in part, because of its growing size and tourist base and relative dearth of cultural attractions, at least compared to many Northern cities, including his hometown of Minneapolis.
The 180,000-square-foot building in northeast Phoenix includes nearly 10,000 instruments on display, from an elaborate grand piano built for Russian Tsar Nicholas I in 1826 to handmade, hand-held thumb pianos, the ancient percussive instrument used across Africa during ceremonial functions.
There’s a Civil War-era bass drum from the 51st Ohio Infantry of the Union Army used during the Battle of Chickamauga and a viola fashioned out of trash from a landfill in Paraguay. There’s a conch shell trumpet from Mexico and a cornet owned by Louis Armstrong’s teacher.
Cleveland’s H.N. White Co. is well represented, with a 1920s-era patented Saxello, as well as a King baritone, circa 1910-1915. And there’s a set of musical spoons from Cleveland’s Trophy Music Co.
The exhibits highlight both the dramatic differences in a culture’s approach to music and instruments, in the present and through time, as well as the unifying qualities of the art – “the language of the soul,” according to the museum’s motto.
And even though the museum is ostensibly about the instruments – it’s really about the music.
Upon entering the museum, every visitor is given a headset, which automatically connects to the exhibit you’re closest to. You don’t have to enter numbers of push buttons – the music plays automatically, as you wander from exhibit to exhibit, from Beethoven to blues, Johnny Cash to Alice Cooper.
Geographic galleries take up the entire second floor – with huge spaces devoted to the instruments and music of Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia and the United States. The instruments range from a simple flute made from antelope horns in Tonga to the most intricately carved violins in Italy.
On the first floor: The Artists Gallery, which includes instruments from dozens of well-known musicians – Elvis Presley’s Martin D-28 acoustic guitar, played during final live performance in 1977; Roberta Flack’s Steinway grand piano from 1922; and Pablo Casals’ cello.
I could have spent hours in this gallery alone – a mini version of our Rock Hall, but broader in musical scope. I spent at least 10 minutes mesmerized by a video of Clara Rockmore, a prodigy violinist who popularized the theremin, an instrument that uses electrical currents to make sound. Honestly, I had never heard of the device.
Also on the first floor is the Experience Gallery, where would-be musicians can practice on an Indonesian gamelan, a banjo, bongos, ukulele and more. Don’t miss it.
Information: Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, at 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., just off Arizona 101. Cost is $20. For more: mim.org
Taliesin West and Dale Chihuly
Wright was 70 years old when he acquired 600 acres east of Phoenix for a winter home and studio in 1937. “He wants to rekindle and revitalize his career,” said Taliesin West guide Deb Moon.
And that he does.
Wright did some of his most inspired work from this oasis in the desert, a collection of low-slung buildings where he spent much of the final two decades of his life, living and working among dozens of apprentices. Here, he perfected his concept of organic architecture, of fully incorporating buildings into their surroundings.
Our tour weaved inside and out, stopping first in the Garden Room, where we were invited to sit on Wright’s built-in furniture (usually a taboo on a Wright tour). “The low chairs offer better views outside, and bring the landscape in,” said Moon.
Other stops include the six-sided cabaret theater, designed for excellent sound; and the drafting room – “the heart of the fellowship,” according to Moon -- with designs for New York City’s Guggenheim Museum on the tables. “Some apprentices would stay for a year or two,” said Moon. “Or you could be here your entire life.” And indeed, two former Wright apprentices still live on the grounds, according to Moon.
As for why it’s called Taliesin West? “We’re west of Wisconsin,” said Moon, referring to the location of Wright’s original home and studio, Taliesin – Welsh for shining brow – in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Both Taliesins are among the eight properties included on the new UNESCO World Heritage Site celebrating Wright’s works.
The structures here are made of rounded river rock, quartzite and desert sand, with plenty of access to natural light. “He wants to be living in nature, he wants to be inspired by nature,” she said.
Glass windows were added years after initial construction, as was electricity and air conditioning, as the campus “evolved from rustic to more refined,” according to Moon.
Adding more refinement: The glasswork of Dale Chihuly, who has six art installations in and around the Wright structures, part of “Chihuly in the Desert,” a special exhibit through June 22. Among the pieces: “Alabaster and Amber Spire Tower,” spiky and cactus-like with desert hues, at the entry plaza; “Red Reeds” in the triangular reflecting pond in front of the complex, picking up on Wright’s love of red; and “Black Saguaros” on the lawn, a reflection of the desert landscape all around.
Tours: Guided, 90-minute tours of Taliesin West, which incorporate Chihuly’s life and works with Wright’s, are $49; self-guided, outdoor-only admission is $35. Tours frequently sell out in advance (ours did). For information: franklloydwright.org/taliesin-west-tours.
Extend your Chihuly experience at Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden, which is running a parallel “Chihuly in the Desert” exhibit. Information: dbg.org.
The Wigwam resort
Wright first came to Phoenix in the late 1920s to consult on the Arizona Biltmore, one of the city’s swankiest resorts.
The same year the Biltmore debuted, another resort opened in the region – the Wigwam, on the far west side of the town, developed by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., initially for company executives, but open to the public in 1929.
Goodyear sent executive Paul Litchfield to the Arizona desert in 1916 in search of land to grow cotton for use in tires. The company stopped farming in the area in the 1960s, and sold the resort in the mid-1980s – but its legacy persists, in the form of its namesake city, as well as Litchfield Park – where the Wigwam is located – named after the former CEO.
The resort is now owned by JDM Partners, one of the largest landowners in Arizona, headed by former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo.
Even if you don’t intend to stay here – room rates start at about $250 in the off-season -- it’s worth checking out the property, with lush flowers and towering cacti, three golf courses, three restaurants, two pools, a spa and more. Stop in for a drink at the Wigwam Bar or lunch at Red Allen’s Bar & Grill, named after the resort’s long-time golf pro.
Don’t miss the Organization House, off the hotel lobby, part of resort’s original core, where Goodyear executives used to gather, and where the tread of a Goodyear tire is still incorporated into the room’s historic windows. Information: wigwamresort.com
Where to stay: Rockin’ M Bar Ranch
Another option for an overnight in the West Valley: Rockin’ M Bar Ranch Luxury Bed and Breakfast, at the base of Estrella Mountain Regional Park. Mark and Susan Brutcher, retired engineers, built the property and opened it to guests in 2016, with four overnight suites available November through March.
The couple have two horses on the property, a hot tub, plus an amazing night sky away from city lights. They host an afternoon happy hour and serve up a terrific breakfast (mushroom omelet and French toast during our stay).
The inn has some unexpected availability in March due to the lack of spring baseball, with more than a dozen cancellations in recent weeks. “It’s our busiest month,” said Susan. “We’re usually completely booked at this time.”
Room rates run $180-$190. Information: azluxurybnb.com.
After breakfast, my husband and I burned off a few calories hiking the 2.5-mile Baseline Trail at nearby Estrella Mountain Regional Park. We didn’t see many other hikers, but we passed numerous travelers on horseback, on riding tours organized through Corral West Adventures.
Where to dine: Located just north of Goodyear Ballpark, Saddle Mountain Brewing Company (saddlemountainbrewing.com), open since 2014, is also lamenting the loss of spring training.
In addition to fewer fans stopping in before and after games, the brewpub also sells beer at the ballpark, a special sessional IPA dubbed Hop Fly, which, regrettably, was being tapped the day after we stopped in. Instead, we sampled a flight of six other tasty brews, including Hop Snob, Problem Child and 5G. Also recommended: the Reuben sliders, with house-smoked corned beef.
Restaurant manager John Acosta regretted the loss of another year of spring training, after 2020′s shortened season due to COVID and last year’s limited-capacity crowds. Feeling optimistic earlier this year, Acosta ordered a couple hundred Saddle Mountain Brewing spring-training T-shirts. But, he added, “I didn’t put the year on them – just in case.”
Getting to Goodyear: Goodyear is located in Phoenix’s fast-growing West Valley, which also includes the communities of Buckeye, Surprise, Avondale, Litchfield Park and Glendale. Among the regional attractions: Glendale’s State Farm Stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals, the Fiesta Bowl and host of the 2023 Super Bowl; Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium and Safari Park in Litchfield Park; Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, which hosts two NASCAR events annually; White Tank Mountain Regional Park in Buckeye and more.
Numerous airlines fly nonstop between Cleveland and Phoenix, including United, American, Frontier and Southwest. Goodyear is about a 30-minute drive west of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
For information: visitphoenix.com
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