Camp Verde, Arizona: Nearly every community in Arizona can point to some remnant of its Old West past, but few embrace and nurture that legacy like the town of Camp Verde. Just 90 minutes north of Phoenix on the banks of the Verde River, Camp Verde is steeped in pioneer history and an authentic, vibrant rural culture.
Fat, sleek horses and cattle graze in amazingly green pastures right off the banks of the Verde River, 18 miles of which travels through Camp Verde. The river is what drew the first people to this area ten thousand years ago, and it's still the main artery of life for this town of about 10,000 today. Farming is still big here, but not big corporate food machine style; we're talking real family farms, often worked for generations by the same clan.
A glimpse at the big yearly events calendar makes it perfectly clear that this is a country kind of place. First off, there's the Annual
Corn Festival. Yes, there's a Corn King and Queen, a corny joke contest, and a "corn ball" for those who gotta dance. And of course, lots and lots of fresh-from-the-field local corn, courtesy of Hauser and Hauser Farms. 2006 marks the 15th year of the Corn Festival, which takes place July 15.
