Discover Phoenix secrets in ‘111 Places You Must Not Miss’

Travis Swann Taylor, author and travel writer, joined “Arizona Horizon” to share highlights from his new book, “111 Places in Phoenix That You Must Not Miss,” exploring Phoenix’s best-kept secrets.

Taylor spotlights six of his favorite spots in this locals-first travel guide, including the Penske Racing Museum, LIX Uptown Ice Cream and historic silver from the USS Arizona. He also highlights a mystery castle, rare crested saguaros, the world’s tallest Kachina doll and sharks in a toilet.

Whether you’re new to the city or a longtime local, this guide invites you to rediscover Phoenix in unexpected ways.

Learn more about the book or purchase it here: 111 Places in Phoenix That You Must Not Miss

“The contents are diverse, geographically and topic. You have a few restaurants that plays into the election, and the other is been to every single place in the book, so filtering through what I think other people would like and what I like,” said Taylor regarding the process he takes on what places make it into the book and which places don’t.

One of the places mentioned within the book revolves around a sculpture created by Doug Boyd with the name “Bernie the Robot” who is a giant robot sculpture sitting on a bench on 111 Monroe Street, reading a book.

“I’ve met people who have worked downtown for decades and never seen him,” said Taylor when talking about the sculpture. “The sculpture Doug Boyd found himself hiking the Sierra Nevada Mountains and noticed that he was tied to his phone, using GPS, taking photos instead of enjoying the beauty of the nature that we was in. So he thought what if robots or what if humans became robots and robots discovered things that humans have abandoned. So it’s kind of his message to people to put down the device once in a while and connect with other humans and nature.”