(Stockbyte Silver/Jim Foxx/Getty Images)

The Phoenix, Arizona, area is the sort of place you either flee from or flee to.

The climate is brutally hot in summer but becomes blissful from November through April. Average daily highs plunge from the 40s Celsius to 19C in December and January and are in the mid to high 20s by March.

And it's bone dry, a blessing for folks whose joints ache in damper destinations such as Florida.

TONY RESORTS

No wonder Canadians are heading in increasing numbers to the tony resorts of Scottsdale, or a little further out to the RV parks and less expensive digs of Mesa and Apache Junction.

What do they do? Golf, of course, at any of 200 or more locations. But there are other ways of enjoying the outdoors, too. These include:

- South Mountain Park/Preserve, at 7,040 hectares the biggest municipally owned park in the United States. Stop at the visitor centre to see samples of the 8,000 panels of petroglyphs found in the park and learn about the wildlife.

Although it's almost an island amid urban sprawl, there are javelinas -- the only wild native pig-like animal in the U.S. -- Gila monsters, and six varieties of rattlesnake. Relax, they hibernate in winter.

You can hike, cycle or drive to four lookout points. Dobbin's Lookout is especially popular with folks who go to see the city lights. The park is free and open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Golfing in Arizona is much more sufferable in the winter. (Digital Vision/Digital Vision/Getty Images)

- Desert Botanical Garden, home to 139 rare, threatened and endangered plant species from around the world. Anyone concerned about global warming should check out the Desert House. It was designed to show how people can live comfortably and economically in hot, arid regions without wasting natural resources.

- Hot air ballooning. Next to Albuquerque, N.M., this may be the best venue in the U.S. Last December I went up with Hot Air Expedition, Inc., in one of the biggest balloons in the country, 33.5 metres tall and holding more air than the Goodyear blimp.

It was a deceptively gentle experience; one minute we were just lifting off, the next we were at 100 metres and a small plane was passing below us.

OUT OF THE SUN

Sports enthusiasts may want to time their visit to watch Canadian basketball superstar Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns or Wayne Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes. (Note: The Super Bowl will be held in Phoenix in 2008.)

If you can tear yourself away from the sunshine, consider these:

- The Heard Museum, renowned for its collection of Native American art. Key collections areas feature textiles, katsina dolls, pottery, jewelry, baskets, cradleboards, paintings and sculpture.

- Taliesin West, architect Frank Lloyd Wright's winter headquarters. A guided tour provides fascinating insights into a man who never studied architecture yet became world famous. He's been dead since 1959, but rights to his designs are still being bought for projects ranging from a shopping centre in Scottsdale to a golf club in Maui.

- For a glimpse of how and where the really well-off stay and play, drop by the Phoenician and the Arizona Biltmore.

The Phoenician has an opulent lobby and a $25-million US art collection, which includes many of the late Allan Houser's life-size Native American bronze sculptures.

The Biltmore, the grande dame, opened in 1929. Guests include presidents and movie stars; Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas while lounging by the pool. The architecture will surprise you and the gardens are lovely.

Air Canada flies daily non-stops to Phoenix from Toronto.

For more information, phone the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1-866-268-0844 or visit visitphoenix.com.

-