Final Word: For a ‘Western’ town, Scottsdale isn’t very Western

Oh boy. It’s on.

The mayors of Scottsdale and Cave Creek have drawn their pens and vowed to fight to the death (well, maybe not the death) over the right to call their respective cities the “West’s Most Western Town.”

It’s long been the motto, or saying, for the city of Scottsdale. It’s even carved in stone on some street corner that I pass on my way to the Starbucks next the nightclub all the kids go to (Yes, that was sarcasm in the last line).

True, Scottsdale does have a lot of streets in Old Town that are lined with shops selling turquoise, kachina dolls and cowboy boots. And there are hitching posts here and there, although the only thing that is tied up there anymore is the occasional underage drinker waiting to be given a breathalyzer.

Most of Scottsdale is pretty decidedly “un-Western,” and truth be told, Cave Creek is a lot more like a town out of the Old West. With places like the Buffalo Chip Saloon and Buffalo Bill’s Trading Post, you might actually feel like you’re in the Western movie on a night out on the town. Boots actually feel like the right thing to wear.

In Scottsdale, it’s more about clubbing and your Prada handbag. There’s nothing wrong with that mind you, but nothing Western about it either.

But the Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane wants to hang onto the label. He effectively wrote a cease and desist letter to Cave Creek that says “You can’t use that label. It’s ours.”

Maybe it will be a shootout at noon at the corner of Scottsdale and Camelback roads. You know, right between Barney’s and P.F. Chang’s, across from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute.

Bring your black American Express card to buy the best seats!