Cowboy bars and kitschy stores abound in Cave Creek Arizona, a desert enclave just 20 minutes north of tony Scottsdale. We checked it out on a whim, making for a fun diversion during our roving retirement.
Sculpture
There is a lot of Western-inspired sculpture on display as you drive the main drag, East Cave Creek Road. There are a handful of shops along the way where you can pick up that bucking bronco or whirly gig your front yard has been missing.
Kitsch
Similarly, there are several shops specializing in Western and desert-themed art of a more playful variety. Thankfully for my pocketbook, our roving retirement precludes collecting any of these treasures for now.
Eats And Drinks
Numerous Cowboy Bars can be found in Cave Creek. Many of them are close enough together that you could easily engage in a bar crawl. Due to Covid closures, we were not able to get into any of the fun-looking bars at this time around. It is not hard to see from the pictures that “if the house is a-Rockin‘, don’t bother knockin'”.
Entertainment
I will definitely check out the live blues at Harold’s Cave Creek Corral when things open up. The Covid lifestyle has left me a bit starved for some live music and entertainment of any kind.
Across the street, another big draw for me would be to go to the Buffalo Chip Saloon and Steakhouse for their Bull Riding sessions. I’ve always been a rodeo fan and I suspect this would combine that along with some other campy bits. Time to Cowboy Up!
Getting There
On your way to Cave Creek straight north on Scottsdale Blvd from Loop 101, you’ll briefly pass through Carefree just before you get to Cave Creek. Carefree has some interesting shops and cafes as well, but keep going to Cave Creek for more fun!
Which music do you prefer, Country or Western?
