The 80-year-old Heard Museum in Phoenix is world famous for its extensive collection of American Indian cultural art and fine art, unique exhibits and special events. (WAYNE NEWTON/QMI Agency)

PHOENIX, Arizona - Touching down in the Grand Canyon state for the first time, we expected to be dazzled by visual splendor.

But it was an added bonus to discover other sensory pleasures in the state's capital, well beyond the walls of the cavernous wonder.

In Phoenix we experienced the scent of exotic oils, the aroma and taste of sumptuous eats, live uplifting music from home and abroad plus inspiring cultural journeys back in time.

In addition to being a frequent starting point for travellers on the Grand adventure, the desert city is reputed as a prime destination for golfers and spa seekers.

But as we discovered on a 48-hour visit, its tourist attractions don't stop there.

Phoenix boasts a new $250-million musical marvel - Musical Instrument Museum - and the 80-year-old Heard Museum featuring an exquisite collection of Native American traditional and contemporary art.

Among the city's large assortment of spas and resorts, is the luxurious Intercontinental Montelucia Resort & Spa, located in the heart of tony Scottsdale. It springs from the Sonoran Desert like an oasis, and also earned our lasting affection as a tourism treasure.

By the time we got to Phoenix - and its renowned museum of Southwest native culture and traditional and contemporary art - our family had already explored hundreds of miles of Arizona territory, much of it occupied still by natives or long ago by their ancestors.

We'd examined petroglyphics on the walls of Glen Canyon, shared in a mystical tour of Antelope Canyon and carefully stepped into small cliff rooms carved into the limestone walls of Walnut Canyon by the Sinagua Indians hundreds of years ago.

These recent touchpoints likely gave us a better appreciation of the massive 10-gallery Heard Museum, but travellers could just as easily get culturally primed at the Heard, then embark onto the barren yet beautiful landscape.

Earth Song, a striking sculpture of Alabama marble by acclaimed Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser greets visitors at the museum entrance, setting the tone for a remarkable visual journey.

It's one envisioned by the museum's founders, Dwight and Maie Heard, and realized in 1929. The couple, originally from the East, embraced "young" Phoenix as leading citizens active in its commercial and social development.

Dwight Heard died a few months before the museum opened, but Maie continued as a driving force.

Today, the arts and culture haven thrives as a North American native educational centre, attracting visitors from around the world as well as locals drawn to the museum's many special events such as the Sizzlin' Summer Saturdays series.

In mid-July, the Heard was bustling with young patrons making a foam leaf bead necklace, meeting Navajo illustrator Johnson Yazzie, joining a scavenger hunt and enjoying a Hopi dance group in the museum's spacious auditorium.

I was impressed by the physical prowess of the four teenage dancers and the shy seriousness of the presentation.

Video and slide shows describing life events of Natives also bring the past to life.

For me, the most moving exhibit was Remembering Our Indian School Days: The Boarding School Experience.

I attended elementary school in northwestern Ontario with classmates who resided in an Indian residential school, miles from their families. I've never forgotten visits to the institution with its sterile communal washrooms and rows of beds, and can only imagine the stark memories of the residents.

The Heard exhibit employs photos, voices and words of children forced to attend boarding schools to explore the controversial 1879 U.S. government mandate to assimilate them.

In the words of Capt. Richard H. Pratt: "Transfer the savage-born infant to the surroundings of civilization and he will grow to possess a civilized language and habit."

In the words of a native public radio commentator: "I call it the Hiroshima of Indian education because it basically destroyed the fibre of our family life."

Other exhibits showcase the resilience of the Native people.

"Indigenous Revolution" is a 30-foot fence of glass and clay that speaks to the "endurance of our culture. ... it symbolizes our persistent existence," writes one of the artists, Tony Jojola.

On the lighter side, are the curious, colourful Katsina dolls - the Heard boasts 1,400 - some dating back a century.

Made of carved wood, often with feathers and hair added, they were made by the Hopi of Arizona and given as gifts to young girls, each with a prayer for good health, growth and fertility.

Other permanent and time-limited exhibits include ceramics, woven rugs, household items and clothing as well as traditional baskets, exquisite jewelry, paintings and sculpture.

An artist studio provides visitors the opportunity to watch artists-in-residence at work.

The Heard also features indoor and outdoor dining, specializing fresh local cuisine.

The gift shop is a treasure trove of native jewelry and crafts. Be prepared to pay for the authenticity, but it's worth it. That was the advice I received on the plane to Phoenix from a resident whom I respectfully heeded.

www.heard.org barbara.taylor@sunmedia.ca