Workers prepare the framework for a canvas tent that will house a kids’ area next to the University of Phoenix Stadium, where Super Bowl XLII will be held Feb. 3. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
Dobbins Lookout, the summit at South Mountain Park/Preserve, offers a sweeping view of Phoenix. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
From the park entrance, it’s a rocky, cactus-lined 2.5-mile hike to the lookout. Along the route are Hohokam pictographs etched into massive flat, black rocks. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
A family takes in the view from Dobbins Lookout. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
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There’s an interesting story behind Phoenix’s Mystery Castle. When the current owner, Mary Lou Gulley, 80, was a girl, her father promised to build her a castle. And he began that effort in the desert, using rocks and salvaged tiles and steel. Today, the structure has 18 rooms and 13 fireplaces, and Gulley has opened it up for tours. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
Mystery Castle visitors examine a display of shoes. The castle includes a children’s playroom, a bar, a chapel and a cool, dark room in between the latter two known as “purgatory.” (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
In Tempe, Mill Avenue is hopping after the sun sets. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
Patrons at the Big Bang nightclub, where dueling pianists perform, enjoy the show. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
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At Alice Cooperstown, on Jackson Street in Phoenix, Janelle Weisenberger serves mini-burgers to hungry Arizona State University students. The happening spot is operated by rocker Alice Cooper. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
Diners begin the day with a full stomach after a visit to Matt’s Big Breakfast, on 1st Street in Phoenix. The minuscule establishment serves memorable omelets, writes a Times reporter. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Ariz., was the winter home and architectural campus of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The buildings reveal his fondness for acute angles, low, slanting roofs and an abundant use of natural material. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
Guide Kathy Deering holds up a portrait of Wright during a tour of the compound, which includes peeks at Wright’s office, bedroom, living room, movie theater and a subterranean cabaret theater. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
