This hack should work on any of the URL Shortening services out there but admittedly we’ve only tried it on bit.ly (which happens to be our favorite!).

Step 1: Type up your long secret message in any text editor.

Step 2: Do a Find and Replace (Spaces for Quotes)

Step 3: Copy and Paste Coded Message into bit.ly

Step 4: Tweet out your secret message bit.ly link

Step 5: (Well technically this should have been step zero) Instruct your followers on how to copy and paste your secret message back into a text editor and do a find and replace on the URL… after clicking the link of course.

Step 6: Profit!!!! (if you have any screenshots of this step in action please send our way as we would definitely like to profit )

Enjoying Rustler's Rooste on my Bday last year.

So if you’re a frequent reader of iTourAZ.com you saw our “Eat More Rattlesnake” posting a couple months back. If you didn’t, let me give you a quick synopsis: we heart Rustler’s Rooste. That’s right a few months ago we professed our love for Rustler’s Rooste. I think we told you that we had been long time fans of this great restaurant. Well just to prove it I wanted to share with you a paper I wrote in my freshman year of college at ASU. I think the assignment was to “show through words” as opposed to “telling”… well I don’t claim that I did a fantastic job of that, but as you can see it definitely proves that we’ve loved the Rooste for a while now! So here it is in its entirety, enjoy!

From the moment you enter the Marriott resort center, you know you’re in for something special. As you slowly wind up the mountain towards Rustler’s Rooste you are constantly getting a better view of Phoenix. Rustler’s Rooste is a very unique restaurant. It combines both a fine dining experience and a fun dining experience. People of all sorts come from all around to eat there. There are cowboys, rich people, white trash, and common people alike. After you either park the car or ask the Valet to do for you, you enter the restaurant through the side of the mountain. Next to the entrance there’s a giant bull named Horny (because of the fact that he is a longhorn steer). As you enter the restaurant the smell of food cooking overcomes you, and it sets your taste buds alive.
Rustler’s Rooste was built almost 35 years ago by two people from Tempe. These people built the restaurant from scratch. They poured the concrete and built the tables in the morning, while they ran the restaurant and bar at night. In 1981 the Rooste became the main attraction of the point on South Mountain resort. However, on May 3, 1985 there was an electrical fire. This fire came very close to completely destroying the restaurant. The people who worked there loved the place so much that the very next morning at 6 AM they started cleaning up the place and had the kitchen in working order by the end of the day. Since Rustler’s Rooste opened back up for business it has served 89 tons of red meat, 27,600 pounds of ribs, 17,000 chicken wings, and 3 tons of rattlesnake. There are lots of other statistics but I won’t go into them, and if you are still interested they have them at the Rooste.
Rustler’s Rooste is located on the side of South Mountain in Phoenix. After entering the front door, you walk up a slightly inclined old hardwood floor. On both sides of you are the sheer rock walls of the mountain. A feeling comes over you as you walk up the ramp to the dining area. It is almost as if you have been transported back to the 19th century. As you walk up to the spot where the host stands you can see down to the main dining floor and out the big windows. The view out of the window is absolutely gorgeous. You can see the whole valley and all the lights with the mountains in the background fading slowly away. The hostess behind the counter is wearing a button up collared shirt, black jeans, and cowboy boots. On her head she wears a headset which she can talk to the other hosts or hostesses with, and this sets her apart from the waiters. Once you have told the hostess the name that the reservation is under she leads you off to where you are seated. To get to your seat you have to cross over a wooden bridge. The wooden bridge takes you over the sheer rock side of the mountain, where they have a waterfall running down the side of it. Once over the bridge, you come to a giant slide that goes from the second floor to the first floor, where the main dining areas is at. You can choose to take the slide down or you can take the stairs down. Your hostess then leads you across the dance floor, which is scattered with sawdust, in front of the band and to your table.
After you sit down the waiter arrives and ask you if there’s anything that you would like to drink. He then takes your drink order and tells you that he will be right back with your drinks and complimentary bread, and to see if you are ready to order. He then leaves. The menu itself adds to the whole atmosphere of the place. It is printed on an old yellowish white paper, and it tells the whole story behind Rustler’s Rooste. Everything is named in cowboy lingo. For instance, there is the “Rustler’s cut”, the “Trail Boss”, the “Cattlemen’s”, the “Bronco Burger”, and rattlesnake. They also have areas for people who don’t like steak. For instance they have “The Fishin Hole” for people who want fish, and they also have a section titled “Hey Grazers! (Vegetarians)”, which simply says that they “will have cookie (the chef) whip up something vegetarian (without any meat in it).” The meals range anywhere from $8.95 to $21.95. Our waiter comes back with complementary bread (biscuits and Indian fry bread), which I must say is quite exquisite, and takes your order. He is very polite and takes care to make sure he has everything correct before taking the orders to the cook.
Outside the sun is setting providing a very romantic picturesque view. There is a big group of people outside eating corn on the cob which is being grilled next to a bonfire that the people are sitting around. The waiter returns moments later to refill our drinks and bread basket. I asked him if it would be all right if I asked him some questions about his job. He says that he would be more than happy to answer any questions that I have. “So how long have you been working here?” I ask. “About four years,” he replies. Then I asked how he got into the job and how he actually got the job, to which he replied that he was going to school at ASU and needed the money, and that he actually got the job through a friend. “How much do you get paid,” I asked. “I get a base pay of $2.35 an hour plus tips, but it works out to somewhere around $20 an hour.” Then I asked him what kind of clientele usually comes through the Rooste. He said that in the summer it was mostly locals, with businesses and corporate executives. When I asked him if he had many famous people (which there are lots of that come through the Rooste) he said that he had met Herschel Walker and Ricky Henderson. He also said that there was a list by the guest book that had all the other famous people that had never been there. Some of these names include: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. T., Kirk Douglas, Wilt Chamberlain, Mike Ditka, Richard Dreyfuss, Don Shula, Michael Jackson, Magic Johnson, Steve Martin, Madonna, Dan Marino, Robin Williams, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, John Travolta, Bo Schembechler, and Dick Van Dyke. He said that the best part of the job is working only nights and that the pay was great.
The people sitting next to us overhear me asking the waiter questions and start remarking about how much they love the place. They also include how much more often they would come it wasn’t so expensive.
After finishing my meal, which was the “Bronco Burger”, and included the Burger, a salad, fries, and cowboy beans all of which was served on a big metal plate/bowl’s and was absolutely divine, we paid the bill and got up to leave. On your way out you pass by a display case that is filled with T-shirts, jewelry, Rattlesnake key chains, hat tacks, belts, paperweights, knives, and antique guns. As you exit you notice a giant guestbook filled with names and addresses from all over the world, and written in several different languages. I then go home with my belly full and my pockets empty and a big smile on my face because even though my stomach hurts from eating so much and my wallet is now a lot lighter it was well worth it because it is such a great restaurant.

So, there you have it in all its glory! Not too shabby for a freshman year English paper by a guy from little old Dryden, Michigan. What grade did I get you ask? Well I got a “B” on this paper the professor said the following:

“Josh, this is good — it makes me want to go. You tend to go a little overboard in the step-by-step details (we can assume the waiter leaves) you also may have wanted to interview someone else — the Cook or the hostess or even the waiter. This may have required more visits at a profile of a good place should be based on more than one visit.”

So that’s the skinny, like I said we LOVE Rustler’s Rooste! Now head on over and enjoy yourselves a rattlesnake!

Event Details
When: Thursday November 26th through Sunday, November 29, 2009
Where: Phoenix Convention Center
Times:

• Thursday 9 am – 7 pm
• Friday & Saturday 9 am – 9 pm
• Sunday 9 am – 7 pm

Admission & Pricing Info

Sunday is Family Day with Children under 12 getting in Free!

Parking
Easy In & Out Parking! Follow Signs Off 7th Street

For Additional Parking Options:
http://www.phoenix.gov/extranet/pccd/directionsandparking.html

1. The Phoenix Zoo is the Nation’s Largest nonprofit zoological park that does not receive public subsidies for its operation!
2. The Phoenix Zoo is responsible for the existence of the Arabian Oryx successfully breeding them back from the brink of extinction.
3. More that 42 million people have visited the Phoenix Zoo since it opened its doors in 1962.
4. The Phoenix Zoo has been a field trip destination for more than 5 million children!
5. More than 200 endangered species call the Phoenix Zoo their home.
6. There are 2.5 Million Lights used for the Phoenix Zoo’s Annual ZooLights Event!
7. It takes over 2,400 man-hours to install all the lights for the Phoenix Zoo’s Annual Zoo Lights Event!
8. Gaia, a female Komodo Dragon that is part of the Phoenix Zoo’s newest exhibit (Land of the Dragons at the Phoenix Zoo), is the first Komodo Dragon in North America to Lay and hatch eggs with out a male mate.
9. The Phoenix Zoo was originally named the “Maytag Zoo” in honor of it’s founder Robert Maytag.
10. The Phoenix Zoo has about 1,200 animals on exhibit at any given time!

The four of us here at iTourAZ.com are huge fans of the Phoenix Zoo and so we’ve dubbed this week Phoenix Zoo week! We’ve got lots of exiting blog posts planned so stay tuned for some great posts from the entire team.

Photo Courtesy of @kevinspencer

A little bit about why we chose the Phoenix Zoo as one of our themes weeks:
Well, for starters, they are a fantastic organization that has become a staple of visiting the the Phoenix Metro area as well as Arizona in General. The Phoenix Zoo is home to some 1300 animals and is the largest privately funded zoo in the nation! Additionally the Phoenix Zoo has recently been voted into the list of top 5 zoo’s for children! Though only recently voted on to this list we’ve been enjoying the the Phoenix Zoo since we were children and was a top vacation spot destination for us before we lived in this great state of Arizona!

There’s so much to see and do at the Phoenix Zoo and we plan on sharing our favorite activities, memories, and events that enjoy at the Phoenix Zoo! Here’s a little sample list of some of the articles we’re working on for Phoenix Zoo Week!

1. The top 10 fun facts about the Phoenix Zoo.
2. The top 10 exhibits at the Phoenix Zoo.
3. Support the Phoenix Zoo – 5 Ways you can Help!
4. Kids Corner: THe Top 5 Things to do with your Kids at the Phoenix Zoo
5. Five things you wouldn’t think of doing at the Zoo… but now will

So, stay tuned folks… we’ve got lots of great content on the Phoenix Zoo coming your way!

Please let us know if there is a particular topic or question about the Phoenix Zoo you would like to have answered by hitting us up in the comments!

Netbooks, What are they?
Well, for those of you less new gadget crazed out there, a Netbook is a lightweight, small form-factor, less than full featured, & cheap laptop computer. Wikipedia defines a Netbook as:

“a rapidly evolving category of small, light and inexpensive laptop computers suited for general computing and accessing web-based applications” – wikipedia

What makes a Netbook so cool?
Well, I suppose that depends on the person using them… but from our perspective it’s the fact that they are a perfect complement to you full featured Laptop or Desktop machine that you have at home. Additionally they have all the features you want while traveling to the great state of Arizona! Specifically our favorite features are as follows:

1. Super fast boot up and wake from sleep: Have you ever sat their waiting for your laptop or desktop to come out of sleep mode or boot up? Of course you have! Well you don’t have that problem with the Netbooks they wake from sleep almost instantly and depending on the operating system and type of hard drive you have they boot up very fast.
2. Most (but not all) come with Solid State Hard drives: In layman’s terms these things are pretty durable! There’s no moving parts to the solid state hard drives so there’s a lot less likelihood of that hard drive you just upload all your days photos to crashing because you’re traveling so much and that hard drive is bouncing all over the place.
3. Built in video cameras & microphones: Most (but again not all) have built in video cameras and come pre-loaded with software that lets you do on the fly video chats with family or friends back home. It also allows you to quickly take fun snapshots or record video journals of your trip. Some of our favorite software for video conferencing is Google Talk and Skype.
4. The form factor: These things are just the right size for Traveling (like to the great state of Arizona) with! They are typically about 3lbs and have a 9 inch screen.
5. Battery Life: Some models advertise 9 straight hours of continuous use before you have to charge them up again!

Why don’t I already have one of these fantastic machines!

Well, they are a relatively new category of computing machine. They’ve really only been on the scene for about 3 years. Additionally they don’t do everything you want or could do with a full featured desktop machine. They simply don’t have the kind of horse power under the hood that you need. These machines are designed to consume very little power but the tradeoff there is the amount of computing power you have available to you. Specifically the things that you can’t do that most buyers have a use for are as follows:

1. Play graphic intese video games.
2. Stream and view HD Video.
3. Use other client based software that is CPU intensive like editing videos, editing photos, running multiple applications at once.
4. Anything you need a built in CD/DVD ROM device for… um these things don’t have one.

Where can I get one and how much do they cost?

As to where you can get one well… just about anywhere! They sell these things at Target, Walmart, Bestbuy, and just bout every online store! We recommend a tried and true purchase online with Amazon.com to find the best deals with a trusted source. You can expect to spend between $200 and $500 on one.

Why are you talking about NetBooks on a site like iTourAZ? What does this have to do with Arizona?
That’s an excellent question! Our answer here is that we suspect if you live in Arizona you’ll be doing some amount of traveling over the holidays that are coming up…. if you don’t live in Arizona and are checking out this site it’s likely that you’ll soon be taking a trip to our beloved Arizona and this is the perfect travel companion for that trip of yours!

What makes it a perfect travel companion?
Well, lots of the things we stated up above in this article… but… if we had to break it down into a list for you it would look something like this:

1. You don’t want to lose those photos do you? With a Netbook you can easily transfer the pictures you take each day onto your netbook for quick simple editing like cropping but more importantly you can use the built in wireless connection to upload to your favorite photo sharing and archiving site (ours is Flickr). This also keeps you from filling up that memory card right before the “oh so perfect” shot materializes!
2. Blogging!!! Using your netbook you can easily journal your entire trip as you are taking the trip and share with friends and family in near real time how your adventure at the Grand Canyon, Sedona, or the Cards game is playing out.
3. Video Chat! Trying to keep in touch with mom and dad … or the kids if you’re brave enough to leave them home along and want to keep a tab on them and the “No house parties” situation. These Netbooks are just perfect for that!
4. Quick access to Google each night: If you’re traveling and want quick access to Google to get directions, updates on traffic, read up on your tourist destinations for the next day, or shoot off some emails to friends and family this device is just perfect for that!

Are there any particular machines you recommend?

Absolutely! We really like anything that ASUS makes they seem to have the best value for the money! We are currently particularly enamored with the latest offering from ASUS: It’s called the ASUS Eee PC T91MT Tablet and its’ fantastic! This little gem of a Netbook weighs only 2.2 lbs and features a multi-touch (think iPhone) swiveling screen, a gig of ram, and 32GBs of Solid State Drive goodness! ASUS also gives you 500GBs of online storage (think a constantly backed up hard drive in the sky). You get all of this for $532 shipped to your door in two days if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber! You can also check out this great LifeHacker post on the 5 best Netbooks topic. There’s lots of other ASUS Eee PC’s out there. We’ve listed a few here for you to browse through:

Good luck on finding the yourself that perfect Netbook! Hit us up in the comments and let us know your favorite thing about Netbooks or if you have any questions we can help answer! Also be sure to check out our Black Friday posts for some fantastic deals on Netbooks!

Hey folks, just a quick note to say that there are some fantastic deals out there right now! Especially if you’re flying to or from the midwest! Be sure to check out Allegiant Air, they fly into and out of Mesa’s Gateway Airport and they provide a great value for your money especially when you consider the hassle you don’t have to put up with that you would normally a big airport like Phoenix Sky Harbor! Check out the picture below to see all the great locations (like Grand Rapids Michigan or Cedar Rapids Iowa) that you can fly from into this great State of Arizona!