Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
Landed in Phoenix on Sunday. Rented a surprisingly awesome Buick Enclave – perfect for the nearly 1000 miles we ended up driving. Great ride and I’d consider buying one of those.
Drove to Sedona. To say that place is beautiful is like saying Lake Superior is big – a severe understatement. It was a bit rainy so we weren’t able to do a lot. But there are nice hills outside of town toucan drive through that have some nice views. Stayed at the affordable Sedona Real hotel https://www.sedonareal.com - a great location with decent enough rooms (has a fireplace – nice for a January visit). Ate at the overrated & overpriced Cowboy Club.
Day two started early with a hand made breakfast provided by the hotel. With real eggs. Nice touch. Then it was off to hike the Devil’s Bridge trail Thehttps://www.greatsedonahikes.com/devilsbr/devilsbr.htm The four mile round trip results in some amazing views. The bridge itself was a bit dicey because it was snow & ice covered. But it was awesome.
After a short lunch break for some jerky and trail mix, we went to the Chapel of the Holy Cross - https://www.gatewaytosedona.com/the-chapel-of-the-holy-cross-sedona-architectural-landmark Alhough I’m not Christian, it was worth seeing. From there we set off for a bit too long walk around Courthouse Rock. We should have opted for the shorter walk around Bell Rock but a fellow hiker said Courthouse was more scenic. It was great, but tired us out. We ate super at the really terrific, hole in the wall Tortas de Fuego https://www.tortasdefuegosedona.com Great food, great value!
Day three was Grand Canyon day. The drive up through Flagstaff was nice because we took the less traveled route north via Hwy 89A. We attempted to go through the loop of Sunset Crater/Wupatki Ruins but the road was closed https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/cant-make-it-to-the-moon-head-to-arizona-instead-180952821/ Gassed up and shopped in Cameron a bit, then headed for the GC. Short story – no pictures nor words can prepare you for the grandeur. I get that Christie Brinkley is the best, but Clark Griswold should have spent more time there. I wish we’d had time to stop at the Little Colorado River Gorge. Those sheer walls looked cool from the road!
We drove up to Tuba City and stayed at the Hopi tribe owned Moenkopi Legacy Inn https://www.experiencehopi.com It is a nice place to stay, but don’t let the pictures fool you – its surrounded by other businesses and not in the open like it’s shown. Still, it’s a modern hotel and was fine considering we just needed it as a place to overnight.
Day four – Monument Valley! https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/monument-valley/ Beautiful drive just getting there from Tuba City. You’ve seen the monuments in the movies, but seeing them in person is awesome. We took a two hour horseback tour with our Navajo guide, Harold, through places you can’t drive through. Really cool.
Took a beautiful drive from Kayenta to Chinle down Indian Route 59. After driving through the post – apocalyptic city that is Chinle (really, it’s sad) and wondering what kind of place we’d be staying at we arrived at the wonderfully quaint Thunderbird Lodge https://thunderbirdlodge.com Located right next to the Canyon de Chelly National Monument The rooms were small but nice, best described as rustic, but still nice and clean.
Day five the intention was to either horseback, hike, or both through the Canyon de Chelly https://www.nps.gov/cach/planyourvisit/index.htm but our kids tapped out. My wife and I both regret not going on our own and we’re not sure why we didn’t. The hike would have been cool https://www.nps.gov/cach/planyourvisit/things2do.htm Anyway, the drive at the top of the Canyon offered more great views.
Then we started the long drive back to Phoenix (actually to Scottsdale). There wasn’t much to see from Chinle to Winslow. The Petrified Forest park was closed but I’m not sure I cared – seems just like the Badlands of ND/SD to me. My wife and daughter thought it was cool standing on the corner in Winslow. My son said that we all get excited about the strangest things – as he set off to collect Winslow’s offerings for Pokémon Go.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was the WIDE open and straight road of highway 87 heading out from Winslow. A true driver’s delight with nobody pushing you from behind or slowing you down ahead.
Ended up in Fountain Hills for two days of doing not much but being outside in the near 70 degree weather. We did dune buggy for a couple hours. My daughter liked it but I thought it cost too much for what you got.
Came home Saturday.
What a great place is Arizona!
Our route (pick any of the PHX airport options to start Google Mapsl - http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=phx&daddr=Cameron to%3AGrand Canyon Village to%3AMonument Valley to%3AMany Farms to%3APetrified Forest National Park to%3AWinslow to%3APhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport&geocode=FVQ2_gEdlOVS-SmlcAMzXA4rhzFC7lbi1TX1gg%3D%3D%3BFfRrIwIdSPlb-SkZecGwcjcyhzFJjpildCK-BA%3D%3D%3BFawlJgIdsuBQ-Skl4_-VTxczhzGhniKadMLMuA%3D%3D%3BFYyLNAId5wdw-Sn9aKH_gzE3hzFuS6YEF5GfzQ%3D%3D%3BFQuzKgIdIl13-SkB7ofN8IAwhzGqVQgOKIOw8Q%3D%3D%3BFUsQFwId6Nt0-SmbLac7PpsvhzHNLoyMPfIm8A%3D%3D%3BFTttFgIdc-Rm-Sm3Q6RgC0IuhzHoJhf1r1HIwQ%3D%3D%3BFVQ2_gEdlOVS-SmlcAMzXA4rhzFC7lbi1TX1gg%3D%3D&dirflg=d
Drove to Sedona. To say that place is beautiful is like saying Lake Superior is big – a severe understatement. It was a bit rainy so we weren’t able to do a lot. But there are nice hills outside of town toucan drive through that have some nice views. Stayed at the affordable Sedona Real hotel https://www.sedonareal.com - a great location with decent enough rooms (has a fireplace – nice for a January visit). Ate at the overrated & overpriced Cowboy Club.
Day two started early with a hand made breakfast provided by the hotel. With real eggs. Nice touch. Then it was off to hike the Devil’s Bridge trail Thehttps://www.greatsedonahikes.com/devilsbr/devilsbr.htm The four mile round trip results in some amazing views. The bridge itself was a bit dicey because it was snow & ice covered. But it was awesome.
After a short lunch break for some jerky and trail mix, we went to the Chapel of the Holy Cross - https://www.gatewaytosedona.com/the-chapel-of-the-holy-cross-sedona-architectural-landmark Alhough I’m not Christian, it was worth seeing. From there we set off for a bit too long walk around Courthouse Rock. We should have opted for the shorter walk around Bell Rock but a fellow hiker said Courthouse was more scenic. It was great, but tired us out. We ate super at the really terrific, hole in the wall Tortas de Fuego https://www.tortasdefuegosedona.com Great food, great value!
Day three was Grand Canyon day. The drive up through Flagstaff was nice because we took the less traveled route north via Hwy 89A. We attempted to go through the loop of Sunset Crater/Wupatki Ruins but the road was closed https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/cant-make-it-to-the-moon-head-to-arizona-instead-180952821/ Gassed up and shopped in Cameron a bit, then headed for the GC. Short story – no pictures nor words can prepare you for the grandeur. I get that Christie Brinkley is the best, but Clark Griswold should have spent more time there. I wish we’d had time to stop at the Little Colorado River Gorge. Those sheer walls looked cool from the road!
We drove up to Tuba City and stayed at the Hopi tribe owned Moenkopi Legacy Inn https://www.experiencehopi.com It is a nice place to stay, but don’t let the pictures fool you – its surrounded by other businesses and not in the open like it’s shown. Still, it’s a modern hotel and was fine considering we just needed it as a place to overnight.
Day four – Monument Valley! https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/monument-valley/ Beautiful drive just getting there from Tuba City. You’ve seen the monuments in the movies, but seeing them in person is awesome. We took a two hour horseback tour with our Navajo guide, Harold, through places you can’t drive through. Really cool.
Took a beautiful drive from Kayenta to Chinle down Indian Route 59. After driving through the post – apocalyptic city that is Chinle (really, it’s sad) and wondering what kind of place we’d be staying at we arrived at the wonderfully quaint Thunderbird Lodge https://thunderbirdlodge.com Located right next to the Canyon de Chelly National Monument The rooms were small but nice, best described as rustic, but still nice and clean.
Day five the intention was to either horseback, hike, or both through the Canyon de Chelly https://www.nps.gov/cach/planyourvisit/index.htm but our kids tapped out. My wife and I both regret not going on our own and we’re not sure why we didn’t. The hike would have been cool https://www.nps.gov/cach/planyourvisit/things2do.htm Anyway, the drive at the top of the Canyon offered more great views.
Then we started the long drive back to Phoenix (actually to Scottsdale). There wasn’t much to see from Chinle to Winslow. The Petrified Forest park was closed but I’m not sure I cared – seems just like the Badlands of ND/SD to me. My wife and daughter thought it was cool standing on the corner in Winslow. My son said that we all get excited about the strangest things – as he set off to collect Winslow’s offerings for Pokémon Go.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was the WIDE open and straight road of highway 87 heading out from Winslow. A true driver’s delight with nobody pushing you from behind or slowing you down ahead.
Ended up in Fountain Hills for two days of doing not much but being outside in the near 70 degree weather. We did dune buggy for a couple hours. My daughter liked it but I thought it cost too much for what you got.
Came home Saturday.
What a great place is Arizona!
Our route (pick any of the PHX airport options to start Google Mapsl - http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=phx&daddr=Cameron to%3AGrand Canyon Village to%3AMonument Valley to%3AMany Farms to%3APetrified Forest National Park to%3AWinslow to%3APhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport&geocode=FVQ2_gEdlOVS-SmlcAMzXA4rhzFC7lbi1TX1gg%3D%3D%3BFfRrIwIdSPlb-SkZecGwcjcyhzFJjpildCK-BA%3D%3D%3BFawlJgIdsuBQ-Skl4_-VTxczhzGhniKadMLMuA%3D%3D%3BFYyLNAId5wdw-Sn9aKH_gzE3hzFuS6YEF5GfzQ%3D%3D%3BFQuzKgIdIl13-SkB7ofN8IAwhzGqVQgOKIOw8Q%3D%3D%3BFUsQFwId6Nt0-SmbLac7PpsvhzHNLoyMPfIm8A%3D%3D%3BFTttFgIdc-Rm-Sm3Q6RgC0IuhzHoJhf1r1HIwQ%3D%3D%3BFVQ2_gEdlOVS-SmlcAMzXA4rhzFC7lbi1TX1gg%3D%3D&dirflg=d
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