Located in central Arizona, Prescott, with its 30,000 residents, is about 90 miles northwest of Phoenix. More than I million acres of Ponderosa pine-covered Prescott National Forest border the city on three sides and the Bradshaw Mountains hover over the city to the south and east.

Historic preservation plays an important role in the everyday life in Prescott. One of Prescott's main streets is known as Whiskey Row, where turn-of-the-century buildings house hotels, retail stores and saloons. The number of saloons on Whiskey Row may have decreased over the past 100 years, but the street continues to buzz with activity.

One of the most historic and picturesque aspects of Prescott is the largest collection of Victorian architecture still in existence in Arizona. Built in the late 1800s, the original owners of these large homes brought a Midwestern look to central Arizona -- a look that has been preserved with care and dedication.

A small-town atmosphere can also be felt in the downtown Courthouse Plaza, an oasis of green grass and large elm trees that surround the imposing Yavapai County Courthouse. The plaza, with its gazebo that harkens back to the days of the early 1900s, continues to be the focal point of activity in the downtown area.

Prescott honors its past while looking toward the future. Two performing arts centers, a hospital, new school facilities, new hotels and major shopping centers all have been built within the past five years. Large and expensive homes dot the hillsides that surround the city.

Just a few miles outside of town, ranchland begins to replace the pine trees of the Prescott National Forest. Some of the oldest ranches in the state are located within 25 miles of downtown Prescott. Vast ranches, dotted with cattle grazing on the grasslands and surrounded by craggy mountain peaks, are located in towns around Prescott with names like Skull Valley, Kirkland, Prescott Valley, Paulden, Wilhoit and Chino Valley. The ranches all are easily accessible.