Arizona Travels

Beautiful sunsets!

We recently returned from a two-week trip to Phoenix, Arizona and surrounding areas with our friends and traveling companions, Vicki and Fred. I considered it a trial run to see if we would like to spend time in Arizona in the winter. In March we head to Florida, but we would love to be in a warmer climate in January or February too. Minnesota has been cold! 

Selfie at the Grand Canyon!

Florida and Arizona in the winter have their advantages and disadvantages: 

Florida has the ocean (and the Gulf of Mexico) and a variety of beautiful beaches which we love. It is green and has lovely parks, as well as sea life and seafood. However, it does have bugs and humidity. I became acquainted with sand mites last year resulting in annoying red itchy spots on my ankles. 

Arizona has mountains with great national and state parks and recreation areas. It is mostly a desert so a lot of brown in the landscape, but the many types of cactus and desert plants add variety. It has javelinas (pig-looking animals that are related to the hippopotamus) and snakes (which we didn’t see) but not many bugs! And it’s dry which is good and bad. It dries out your skin, but you don’t have to deal with humidity. 

Next year we may consider going to Arizona a couple weeks in January or February to add variety to our winter travels. After all, we are in the go-go years! 

Friends at breakfast at Butters Pancake & Cafe

We spent five days in Scottsdale in a time share condo which was a good location to see the sites in the Phoenix area. On our travels we enjoyed meeting up with friends and family in the area. Steve and I had lunch with my cousin Terry and his wife Kaye, while Vicki and Fred lunched with a cousin Vicki hadn’t seen in 43 years! Close friends from Iowa, Paul and Leslie, were also in Phoenix and we were able to get together with them and their friends. 

Hiking in Lost Dutchman State Park

A Prickly Pear Margarita at Tortilla Flats

Our first desert hike was in Lost Dutchman State Park by Superstition Mountain. We had lunch at Tortilla Flats, a rustic row of buildings with a couple general stores and a fun restaurant. On the way back we strolled through Goldfield, a ghost town with old mining buildings, shops and a church. Later in the week we hiked Tom’s Thumb Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve. We stopped at Camelback Mountain and did a very short hike, no scrambling up rocks to the top. 

Vicki, Leslie and me in Old Town Scottsdale

Old Town Scottsdale is a fun area of town with many funky stores, restaurants and bars. We had drinks at Porters Western Saloon recommended by Vicki’s sister and as a result met a fellow Iowan who lives there in the winter. We went back a couple days later for shopping and lunch with Leslie when she opted to NOT go on a razor ride in the desert with her husband Paul and friend Steve. 

We visited the Heard Museum with Native American art and exhibits. We also enjoyed the Celebration of Fine Arts which is held for three months in a huge white tent that displays a variety of art including paintings, sculpture and jewelry. 

The cliff dwelling at Montezuma Castle National Monument

Travel schedules meshed, and Leslie and Paul joined us for a couple days in Sedona and the Grand Canyon. The Ford Expedition we rented had plenty of room for six adults and our luggage. We headed north from Phoenix and stopped at Montezuma Castle National Monument for a short hike to see the five-story cliff dwelling that was occupied between 1100 and 1300. Next, we headed to Jerome, a mining town that became a ghost town when the mines closed in 1953. It is now home to many artists, shops, and tourists. It is built on a mountain (Cleopatra Hill) with steep and narrow streets. We visited the historic haunted Grand Hotel and had delicious drinks and lunch at the Haunted Hamburger. Our waitress was from Ohio and very entertaining! 

The beautiful red rocks of Sedona

Our traveling group by the Cornville house

We stayed at an adobe-style VRBO house in Cornville in the country, about 20 miles southwest of Sedona. The caretaker and his large black lab, Athena, lived next door. It was peaceful with a small stream running through the property, chickens and an animal sanctuary with horses down the road. We hiked at Bell Rock and the Airport Mesa and visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross which is built into the red rock south of Sedona. After finally finding parking, we had lunch in Sedona at the Open Range Restaurant and did some shopping. One night we ate at the Colt Grill in Cottonwood which was a town near the house. We enjoyed drinks and great BBQ on the patio. And we had to have doughnuts at Sedonuts on the way out of town as we headed to the Grand Canyon. 

One of the pueblos at Wupatki National Monument

We enjoyed the scenic, winding mountain drive along Hwy 89A from Sedona to Flagstaff - at least most of us enjoyed the drive! We stopped at Wupatki National Monument which featured the remains of five multi-level, pueblos which were occupied in the early 1100’s. A few miles away is the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. The volcano last erupted around 1085, and you can walk on trails by lava flows and tubes. 

Inside at the top of the Desert View Watchtower

The amazing Grand Canyon in the morning light.

Vicki and I walking back up the Bright Angel trail

It was my first time at the Grand Canyon, and it is magnificent! We entered at the East entrance, climbed up the Desert View Watchtower, and drove to Grand Canyon Village along the canyon’s rim road. We stayed at the Kachina Lodge, right along the rim. It was a great location, allowing us to walk to the restaurants and shops in the village. Winter is the time to visit, with fewer visitors. Daytime temps were in the 50’s with a warm sun, and down into the teens at night. We drove the rim road both directions stopping at overlooks to enjoy the beautiful views of the canyon. We walked along the rim and did a short hike down the Bright Angel trail to get a feel for being in the canyon. We ate many of our meals at the Harvey House Café located in the Bright Angel Lodge. 

Vicki, Karen, Jan and me at the Desert Museum

The saguaro catus on the left is crested with an interesting growth pattern.

Saguaro National Park scenery

Two nights at the Grand Canyon, then we headed south to Marana, which is north of Tucson. There we spent time with friends from Minnesota. The guys golfed while the ladies went to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. It is a really interesting outdoor museum with desert plants and animals in a desert setting. The next day we went to Sabino Canyon Recreational Area. No private vehicles can drive through the park, so we took an hour shuttle tour up the canyon and back. We then headed to Saguaro National Park East and drove the loop road around the park, as well as hiking the Freeman Homestead Nature Trail. 

Our Arizona trip was a good mix of outings with friends and family, as well as hiking and seeing other sites. There was so much more to see. Maybe a visit to Arizona next winter? It was a fun trip with friends in the warmer Arizona weather!