1

The southern half of the state is rather pretty, and will be about as warm as anywhere. With two weeks, you could spend a while in Sedona and around GC before heading back south to thaw out... If you enjoy hiking at any level, wildlife, and pretty scenery, the broad area area south and southeast of Phoenix (a good place to fly into, but you'll want to flee ASAP!) is superb.

Check the last half of this thread
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2260956

and most of
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2261162

2

I much prefer Tucson to Phoenix.

3

Another vote for xTucson.

4

Does it have to be Arizona? Depending on ticket pricing ,you could also fly/drive into Las Vegas and go on to visit Zion National Park (Springdale, Utah) daily average temperature range 30 - 53 and/or Death Valley National Park (Furnace Creek, California) daily average temperature range 38 - 65.
Five hour drive from Sedona to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Sedona would best be done as a 4-day or more side-trip from Las Vegas.

5

There is no guarantee of highs in the 70's anywhere in the SW.
Tombstone's elevation is around 4000 feet, making it a decent 'average' for the area's climate. http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliFTrec.pl?az8619
As you can see, anything from teens to to 80+ is possible, with highs in the upper 50 to low 60's likely. Add a few degrees for lower terrain like Saguaro NP and Organ Pipe. Subtract a few if visiting Chiricahua, etc.

6

I'll second the Las Vegas portal...Drive a Ntl. Parks Hail Mary to the East before a stop in Sedona...Then driving past Phoenix Use Tucson as a base to enjoy Soputhern AZ. Highway 93 would be a scenic & the most direct drive for a Vegas return...carracar

7

I live in Scottsdale for part of the year and it can get chilly in December.
Camelback and Apache Canyon offer some nice hikes and aren't far from PHX.
Even a drive thru Fountain Hills southbound can get nice.
Tucson has some great options as well. I can recommend Mt. Lemon (go to the observatory), or Pima Airforce base, or Suguaro Nat. Park.
Tucson is consistently warmer than PHX, but regardless of where you are it will get cold at night.
Tombstone is very tacky and touristy so unless you are into full scale kitsch give it a miss.

8

Yea, Tombstone was perhaps a poor choice of reference. Apart from the Old Courthouse, there's little to recommend. If you find yourself in the area, flee the Tourons! Take Middlemarch Rd. NE to the Cochise Mountains, and hike the Sheepshead area. Very pretty!
http://goo.gl/maps/E0Uhw

9

@homerj - Tucson is consistently a little cooler than PHX, especially at night. This is true based on climate stats, matches my personal experience, and general expectation given that Tucson is about 1500 feet higher in elevation.

Anyway...

You don't have time for southern Arizona, AND Sedona/Grand Canyon AND the national parks of southern Utah. Although I'd certainly not dispute the scenic glories of the Utah parks, they are not someplace you'd go for a "warm" winter vacation. Even the lower elevation areas like Zion can be subject to wild temperature and weather shifts - spring-like one day, unquestionably wintry the next.

Southern AZ combined with a quick trip up to Sedona and Grand Canyon will offer plenty of scenic beauty, and much more reliably warm-ish weather. You could do a nice loop south to Organ Pipe Cactus national monument, east to the Tucson area, back north via the scenic secondary highways to Flagstaff for quick visits to Grand Canyon and Sedona (this is the only part of the trip where you'd likely encounter winter conditions).

Alternatively, you could skip Organ Pipe Cactus and head directly east from PHX to the Superstition Wilderness, which is just as scenic and requires less driving. In any event plan a couple days around Tucson, where you'll have more than your fill of sunny days to explore the surrounding desert mountains, which are really quite impressive.

10

I will bow to Flagstuffs weather stats as I have never been in Tuscon earlier than Feb/Mar and its always a bit warmer than scottsdale then.
Superstition area is great and one of my fave places to go. You can do the drive through Apache Canyon in that area which is a very nice afternoon out (dont be afraid of the dirt road or the fact that in some places the road is really only wide enuf for one car).
Also since its pre Christmas if you golf you can get some excellent deals on some beautiful desert courses.

11

Thanks to all for the great suggestions! I have always depended on the forum kindness of strangers :)