Arizona Travel March 2022
Heading off to another adventure. O'Hare airport is always our starting place. My husband thinks the earlier the better the flight. No one in our family agrees with him. Today we are heading to Arizona. We are in much need for some warmer weather.
But before we started our fun we needed some wheels. Wow an hour later and an amazing cup of coffee from a well placed café we were able to get moving.
Longest line for a rental we have ever seen. It even turned to the left. We started at the white wall and we were in there for an hour.
They really had the best placement in the rental car area.
After we landed in Phoenix we headed to Mesa and on To Florence. It is amazing to come from the city to the amazing red colors of the area.
We love the sun and an adventure.
Family is always fun to see. We have not seen them for several years.
Cibola Vista Resort and Spa is a beautiful place to stay. It is on the outside of Peoria AZ where in the morning on the east side of town you can watch the hot air balloons rise to the skies.
They also have a small farm with horses, goats and other animals.
There are several roads and views as you drive around.
Our second day of fun was an early boat ride down Horseshoe Bend Page in Arizona. This is a highlight of our Trip. But in order to get there you have to go through a long tunnel and it is heavily guarded.
WE went through a wonderful company who were very organized and did not stuff the boats so full that you have to climb over others. They were fun and allowed for a relaxing day. The day was overcast but that did not stop us from smiling all day.
We had an amazing tour guide that took us from the Dam to a small Dock 4 hours down the river. There were plenty of restrooms and plenty of stories. We had time to sit and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. When you are done with this tour make sure to get tickets to Antelope Canyon.
(Tickets go fast) Make sure you get tickets as early as you can.
Don't forget to go see the Bend from the Top. It is Breathtaking.
The Petroglyphs are amazing and well protected. It is amazing to think they are so old and still there. WOW.
When the 4 hour tour of the canyon was over they bussed us back to the office and we made our way to the top ridge overlook. It is only about a mile down the road and a very easy walk from the parking area. This is definitely worth the walk. Bring some water if it is hot out and stay on the path. There are some had rails when you get there if you are afraid of heights and keep your dogs on a leash. Stop and sit on the small benches they have in and take in the grandeur of the area.
After the Horseshoe bend overlook we made our way to Upper Antelope canyon. It is only a mile or so down the road. But make sure you purchase your tickets ahead of time. They book up fast. We had a wonderful guided who was able to share some cultural history of the area as well as many stories of her people. She was also very knowledgeable about how and where to point the camera.
If this was a cloudy day I would love to come back on a sunny day. This was our second visit but the first was 10 years ago and it still is as beautiful as the first.
Remember to get your tickets several weeks in advance.
This has been a long day and not much time to eat so we ventures in to Page to find some food.
We found an amazing dinner in a cute restaurant for a well-deserved Dinner. Make sure to go to the Birdhouse. I had the Juiciest Chicken sandwich with their homemade pickles. I could have had a second sandwich. Sorry for the picture of the half eaten sandwich but we were starving. Wow. They also have a great view from their window seats. They greet you with a smile and you find yourself asking yourself if you should get a second sandwich. (We should have)
On our way home the skies opened up on in the East and we found ourselves pulling over to take in the double rainbow. Just a beautiful end to an amazing day. Remember I said a vacation is not for sleeping but the time to see and do all you can in a beautiful area.
When the storms are done we were given an amazing show that the sun and clouds created for us. I just do not think my pictures have done it justice.
Since we were so far north from Peoria Day three was planned to be in the Grand Canyon. So we stayed there for the night. As we made our way there the sun went down and we stopped to look up. We are so glad we did. This sky is not the same as at home. We live in a bigger city so the lights tend to brighten the nights sky but here by the Grand Canyon the sky is amazing. I wish I would have had my bigger camera available but this is the best I could do. WOW!
Don't forget to look up!
If it was not as wet and cold we could have stayed there for quite a while.
Day 3 (yep that was all day 2)
Yesterday was warm and it is Arizona so why wouldn't it stay warm?
NOT!
Did you realize it snows in Arizona? Being from the Midwest I did not really know this was a reality.
After Page AZ we made our way to the Grand Canyon and stayed in a nice hotel for the night. Holiday Inn Express is always a great choice. They were very full so we are glad we made reservations early. They had a full breakfast and several areas to accommodate the large crowd. We came in late so when we woke up we looked out the window and were very surprised to see SNOW!
Yep you read that right snow. WOW. It did create for a beautiful scene.
We had to take that first picture at the front of the park. This is a must for every park we go to. Make sure you buy your pass early or there will be a long line to sit in. We bought ours last year and have used it many places that we had no idea were connected to the National parks. Make sure you keep it in your wallet and ask before you pay to get into any park area.
As we drove in we say many deer playing along to road way. They were jumping around in the snow and playing. It was too cold to open my window though.
We did stop at several over looks. The snow does make it beautiful and less crowded. It was early and very foggy but we were able to get to every outlook we wanted.
We kept driving around and enjoying the peace.
After a while it started to melt and become even foggier. I am sure we could have seen for miles if it was clear skies.
Flagstaff had the cutest Starbucks. We do try to find more local coffee places but we needed some fuel as we are constantly moving.
Jr is such a good driver and an amazing planner of our many trips. He hates it when a take a picture of him driving but at this point it is a tradition.
Day 4
Sedona
Look up! More Hot air balloons!
Today was much better weather than yesterday!
On Our way to Sedona we drove through The Red Rock Scenic By-way and it is a beautiful drive. A wonderful bridge with interesting rock formations and a tree that just intrigued me. The whole drive was just beautiful.
Today we have the most exciting adventure yet. We are renting a jeep and driving up the mountain sides. Yep it did rain all night long but he has never let the stop him before. He loves danger and he loves pushing me to my limit. Did I mention I am afraid of heights? I have gotten better over the years of pushing myself to do baby steps but this almost put me over the edge. He found the best company. The owner was so organized and thought of everything.
I highly recommend the. They have beautiful brand new jeeps that are well maintained. He has his maps programmed for all the trails and sat there with us describing them to us. He told us which ones to start with and which ones to maybe stay away from. Several of them were closed due to the weather but did text us when they became open. He went through all of the options on the Jeep as well as had a cooler of water and ice to put our lunch in. Yes we bring our lunch so we could eat on the trail overlooking the beautiful views.
Please let me introduce you to Hugh. This did help my argument for my future purchase of a jeep.
Yep I had to get another picture of him driving. He had so much fun driving on the trails. The scarier the better.
We did figure out the trails were better a little wet because it held down the dust and the mud was fun to drive through. I am glad I wore black shoes as they did not get stained with the red dirt as bad as my white shoes would have.
We stopped for lunch in the best spot and since it had just rained the trails were not very full. Again we are glad we came. They originally wanted to cancel on us the day before due to the rain but we decided to show up and decide then. We have learned many times to always take a chance and if the weather is too bad that is when you decide. This was a great choice.
I did get an amazing picture from up there though.
We had to take a selfie with Hugh (Our jeep)
Don't forget to look up. Have I said this before?
This is one of the views.
This is another one. It is pretty though.
So we started at 9 am because, yes if we get there early we can start early and we paid for all day so we got the most out of the rental. We had it until 9:00 pm. We had to get dinner because we were starving. We found a cute place to eat downtown with a beautiful view. We did not have reservations but since it was 5:00 we were able to get in.
Jr got the Pot Pie and it was huge. He did finish it. I ordered a hamburger and was only able to eat half. It was so much food. So worth it.
This was the view and the bathrooms were adorable with mustache wallpaper. So cute.
After dinner we made our way up to Schnebly Hill for a beautiful sunset. We ran into a few photographers one for a weeding and one for a pregnancy shoot. We knew we were in the right spot. Here we watched our short vacation come to an end. What a way to finish.
Do we look tired? We were EXHAUSTED!
How do you bring a little part of vacation home?
You take thousands of pictures!
Good Night. Until Next Time!
Did I mention this was the only time I was allowed to drive? Yep. Oh well we have to come back.
The next day we were bummed that the coffee place was closed because it was so early but we had to make our way back to the airport to go back home. Usually we travel to the end of my breaks. I am a teacher and we have to fly during my time off but this time I was able to get a few days of rest before I returned to school. Until next time!
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