Arizona is best known for its cactus-studded deserts along with impressive geological features like the Grand Canyon and the Barringer Meteor Crater. But actually, it's a surprisingly diverse state that's also home to the Navajo Nation,the city of Phoenix (the fifth largest in the U.S.), and laid-back wellness hubs like the town of Carefree. Then, there are the striking White Mountains in the eastern part of the state, with their highland lakes, the 2,000,000-acre Apache-Sitgreaves national forest,
and cozy mountain communities nestled in the pines like charming Show Low, proving there's so much more to Arizona than sand and skin-blistering heat.
Show Low acquired its peculiar name under unusual circumstances. Two ranchers named Clark and Cooley were engaged in a game of cards when one of them, presumably in a fit of extreme foolhardiness, suggested they put the 100,000-acre ranch on the line, winner takes all. According to Visit Show Low, when they reached the final hand of the evening, Clark told Cooley, "Show low, and the ranch is yours." Cooley produced a two of clubs — one of the lowest cards there is — and the rest is history.
Show Low is not the dry and hot Arizona many people know. It experiences four regular seasons, including autumnal falls and snowy winters, and even in summer, temperatures can drop to a chilly 50 degrees at night. The town is also set amidst sprawling lakes, picture-book meadows, coniferous woodlands that look like they belong in Washington or Oregon, and mountains that are home to numerous hiking trails as well as the popular Sunrise Park ski resort. It's true that Arizona is a state of well-kept secrets, and Show Low is definitely among the best of them all.
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Outdoor Adventures In Show Low
Arizona locals living in the hottest corners of the state often head to the White Mountains to cool down in summer, immersing themselves in the kind of nature you just can't find in Phoenix and the Sonoran Desert. Show Low's eponymous lake is where many vacationers go to camp, fish, paddleboard, and float on the calm waters in inflatable dinghies. The 100-acre lake is 6,500 feet above sea level and is open year-round, even when snow is blanketing the forests in winter — though winter is the quiet season for the 75-site campground. The larger Fool Hollow Lake, on the north side of Show Low, is better provisioned, with more camping and RV sites, hiking trail access, two fishing piers, and a fish cleaning station.
Prospective anglers should note that they'll need to get an AZGFD (Arizona Game & Fish Department) license before throwing their lines into the water. But it's worth getting one, as there are lots of great fish to catch in both lakes, including walleye (the largest in Arizona was caught in Show Low Lake, weighing more than 16 pounds) along with trout, catfish, bluegill, and bass.
Sunrise Park Resort, 40 miles southeast of Show Low, is a beautiful property set within a bowl of rolling mountain peaks where visitors go to mountain bike, try their hand at archery, and ride the Apache Alpine Coaster, which is basically a 3,000-plus foot toboggan rail track. In winter, Sunrise becomes a ski resort, the largest in Arizona in terms of land area and number of runs. With three mountains, 67 trails, and a healthy dump of 21 feet of snow annually (not too far behind the North American resorts with the deepest, freshest snow), it's little wonder that Sunrise attracts a multitude of skiers, boarders, and winter holidaymakers each season.
Exploring Show Low City Center
As if the city's name of Show Low wasn't memorable enough, its main thoroughfare is called the Deuce of Clubs, commemorating Clark and Cooley's famous card game. Along this avenue you'll find the free-entry Show Low Historical Society Museum, which features artifacts and trinkets donated by former town residents, including antique toys, games, and sporting goods; old kitchenware and utensils; smithing equipment; pioneer clothing; and much more. There's also a room in the museum that recounts the history of Show Low, starting with the Native people who inhabited the region in precolonial times through the arrival of the first settlers and on to the present. In addition, an intricately detailed, miniature train display explores the history of eastern Arizona's railroad towns.
Other historic sites worth visiting include The Card Player Statue near 9th and Cooley, depicting Clark and Cooley, garbed in cowboy boots with ramrod-straight backs as they set about their wager. Other odes to the city's past are the Adams Cabin next to Show Low Creek, with its coarse timber walls and splintered wagon wheels, and the old Show Low Jail in the town center, made with locally quarried sandstone and now serving as a kind of open-air museum.
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Read the original article on Islands.
