I grew up just outside New York City. There were landmarks everywhere- The Empire State Building, the Twin Towers, The George Washington Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, etc. Here in the Phoenix & Scottsdale area, we also have several landmarks that can help to give you a point of reference to get around.

• Camelback Mountain- This is probably the most notable landmark in our area. The head starts in Phoenix with gorgeous red rock formations (boulders actually) and stretches east from 44th St/Tatum to Invergordon Rd (equivalent of 64th St) where the back ends in Scottsdale. It extends south of McDonald Dr toward Camelback Rd.
  • "Camelhead" in Phoenix, runs from 44th St to 52nd-ish and includes the Echo Canyon Trailhead. You may also see the "Praying Monk" rock formation, which really does look like a praying monk!
  • The body of the Camel spreads east and is flanked by the Phoenician Resort on the southeast end at the Cholla Trailhead ("Camelbutt"- yes- I made that up!). The entire north side of Camelback Mountain is in the town of Paradise Valley. The south side lies in Phoenix up to Jokake Dr (the equivalent of 60th St). From that point going east, it's in Scottsdale.
  • If you're somewhere near the middle of town, the houses are suddenly very big & you see lots of hikers walking around, you're probably near Camelback Mountain. If you see big red boulders, you're likely on the west side of the mountain and if you see rugged hills & lush green lawns and lots of oleander trees, you're probably on the east side.
• Mummy Mountain- Mummy Mountain is in the middle of the town of Paradise Valley, not to be confused with the PV Mall area. I personally don't think it resembles a mummy, but that's it's name. Someone must have. Mummy runs from south of Mockingbird Ln to about Indian Bend Rd and from Tatum east to Mockingbird Ln. Mockingbird is a little tricky... it zigs and zags E/W, changing directions at 52nd St & 56th St before turning N/S Invergordon (64th)