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University of Oklahoma football fans heading west for the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona are in for some real treats and the lucky ones will plan on spending extra time in the area.

The great recent weather makes Phoenix look better and better. Earlier this month, daytime highs averaged mid-60s. This is desert so expect chilly evenings. Phoenix boasts an average 325 days of sunshine but, trust me, it can rain in the Valley of the Sun. Plan on bringing layers.

With so many sunny days, outdoor activities lead the list of favorite pastimes. There are a lot of great places to hike and more than 200 golf courses. Some of the resorts offer horseback riding as do several independent stables. Whatever you do, be sure and get out into the desert -- jeep tours are popular -- the scenery is spectacular.

The OU headquarters is at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale. This is a Starwood property with a lot of amenities -- golf, spa, multiple pools, etc. The Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl featuring OU and West Virginia, starts at 7:30 p.m. CST in the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

Phoenix is huge -- the fifth largest city in the country -- with the metropolitan area, which includes Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe and many other communities, covering about 2,000 square miles. Package trips are great for getting you to and from the games but you really need a car to see the sights.

No. 1 on my do-not-miss list is the Desert Botanical Garden with 50 acres of trails. From towering cardon and saguaro cactus to rotund barrel cactus, the walks are lined with more than 50,000 specimens of cacti, succulents and desert wildflowers.

Birders flock here, too, to see cactus wrens, Gila woodpeckers, gilded flickers and Abert's towhees. Following a path marked "Quail Trail," I spotted a chubby Gambel's quail scooting across the walk. Could I catch up and get a photo? The path led by an outdoor patio where many people were sitting, having coffee.

At their feet were several mourning doves, pecking for crumbs -- and a half-dozen quail doing the same thing.

I stopped and chatted with the coffee-drinkers, obviously birders from the binoculars around their necks.

They were on a regularly scheduled bird walk and had just stopped to swap stories of their sightings.

Art lovers have high praise for the Heard Museum, internationally famous for its collections of art and artifacts of Southwestern American Indian tribes, while the mecca for fans of architecture is Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's desert retreat. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, now headquartered here, offers several different tours of the property.

Many Sooner fans will stay at the Arizona Biltmore. They'll have their own Frank Lloyd Wright experience. Wright's influence is evident from the specially designed desert-sand construction blocks to the slender sprite figures throughout the gardens. Check out the ceilings in the lobby, original dining room and Aztec room. They're covered with more than 312,000 gold leaf squares -- more gold than in the Taj Mahal.

Before the Fiesta Bowl, some Sooner fans will no doubt take in in-state rival Oklahoma State University's performance in the Insight Bowl. OSU faces Indiana at 5:30 CST Dec. 31 in the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.

The official Oklahoma State pep rally is at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort where the team is staying. Owned by the Gila River Community (the Pima and Maricopa Nations), this Starwood property is one of the Valley's most interesting resorts. Starwood actually broke 117 of its own rules to incorporate features reflecting the Pima and Maricopa cultures. Panels with traditional American Indian greetings welcome guests into the hotel. From the lobby, guests enjoy a panoramic view of the pool, golf course, desert and mountains beyond. Kai, the fine dining room, is one of only three AAA Five-Diamond award restaurants in the state of Arizona.

I had lunch in the more casual -- and less expensive -- Ko'Sin and was very impressed. A lot of the produce is grown on the reservation and everything is fresh and homemade -- even the ketchup.

Hopefully, Cowboy fans will be in the mood to party after the Insight Bowl because the Tempe's Insight Fiesta Bowl Block Party will be the place to be after the game.

From Tempe Town Lake, through the Mill Street District, more than 100,000 people are expected to ring in the New Year with entertainment, headlined by the Barenaked Ladies, food and fireworks.

Travel writer Elaine Warner lives in Edmond.