Arizona National Parks Day 8

March 18, 2017



Today we got up, ate breakfast and drove from Phoenix back to Tucson, stopping by a few Spring training facilities along the way. Spring Training is definitely something we'd like to come back and do again. 


We turned in one very dirty minivan!!

 

This was a great trip but I'm ready to get back as is everyone else. 

Arizona National Parks Day 7

Day 7 – March 17, 2017

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.  We got up and left Sedona this morning and drove straight to Surprise, AZ where we met up with the Robbins and took in Rangers Spring Training.  It was quite the experience.  We arrived around 10am and got to watch them practicing.  The kids got a million autographs as the guys were just freely walking around. 

Matt Bush

"Special K"

There were over 200 players there – all of their AAA, AA & A players were there.  We sat and watched almost a full game of a bunch of A players and we all fell in love with a catcher whose last name was K---- so we called him Special K. 




Then we walked over to the game and our seats were perfect – section 108, row K.  We were in the shade the entire game which was amazing because it was 104 outside.  Katie Robbins told me that Phoenix was breaking heat records this week because it’s normally like 70/75 degrees.  But in the shade it didn’t bother us at all. 

We got some gear and some food and after the game, we decided to drive over to Scottsdale to watch the Giants play the Rockies.  The drive was about an hour in rush hour Phoenix traffic so we stopped for a quick dinner at Jason’s Deli then got there around 6:45 (game started at 6).  We parked and walked up to get tickets but the cheapest available seats were $75 each so we decided to just go to the hotel.  Also, there were a bunch of drunk, rowdy people out. 

We got to the Wyndham Gardens in Mid-Town Phoenix and checked in just as the Robbins were leaving for dinner.  After we all got in a big fight, the kids went down to the surprisingly fancy pool and swam for a bit while I walked on the treadmill.  They ate Dippin’ Dots then we all headed back up to the room.

It’s now 9:45 and we’re watching the USA lose to Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. 

 My battery’s about to die so I’ll wrap this up for the night!

Arizona National Parks Day 6

Day 6 – March 16, 2017

We left the Grand Canyon this morning and drove south to Flagstaff via Hwy 180 (and Mt Humphrey’s – the 12,300 foot snow peaked mountain in the middle of Flagstaff.  We arrived at Walnut Canyon National Monument at 9:45 and hiked from the Visitor Center down to a whole bunch of steps to the Island Trail.  It was a steep .9 mi hike through some amazing ruins.  Even the kids seemed engaged.

 

 

From there we drove to Sedona via 89A.  The entire road was under construction so it was slow, but beautiful, going.  In Flagstaff we were at about 8,000 feet and we descended rapidly into a canyon then landed in Sedona where the traffic was unexpectedly heavy!  We drove around for a bit until we found a public parking spot.  Then we hit the main road and ate at Open Range Grill and Tavern.  The food was delicious.

After a good lunch we walked along the main “strip” for a bit and did some souvenir shopping.  We stopped in this one store and as I was looking a book full of pictures of the rock formations all around us, as I was showing a rock formation “Snoopy” to Ryan, this man walked up and said, “Come look out this window”… and there was the Snoopy rock.  He named all of the other ones around us then we learned that he wrote the book I was holding.  So we bought it and he autographed it for us. 

The kids got ice cream then we got back in the car and drove more into the heart of town.  We checked into our hotel around 3 (The Best Western Plus) and we got a room with a million dollar view.  Incredible. 

We went to the outdoor pool & hot tub for a few hours then came back to the room, cleaned up and walked down to the Whole Foods for a dinner that we ate on our “back patio” as we watched the stars come out.  The weather here is magnificent.  This has been a really relaxing day.

Now it’s about 8:30 and we’re relaxing in the room but I think we’re going back outside shortly to check out the stars one more time.

We’re up early tomorrow for spring training!!

Arizona National Parks Day 5

Day 5 – March 15, 2017

After breakfast downstairs, we headed towards the Grand Canyon.  We arrived around 10/10:30 from the east side and went to the Watchtower.  I was trying to keep the kids from looking ahead because I wanted to see their faces when they saw the canyon for the very first time but I have to admit that it wasn’t quite what I remembered and neither of the kids were overwhelmed.  We climbed to the top of the watchtower and had fun experimenting with different camera filters, angles, etc. then moved on east. 

We stopped at a few other lookouts then went towards the main Visitor Center for magnets and hatpins but all 4 of the reasonably close parking lots were full.  So we ended up parking at a grocery store and eating grocery deli food outside at a picnic table.  It was kind of annoying because this old couple was talking at the top of their lungs on speaker phone to a person about their vet who was running a slight fever and had diarrhea.  Good grief. 

After we ate a very average lunch, we walking about 2.5 miles on the Rim Trail, back to the main Visitor Center.  The hike was nice and the views were perfect. 

After much bemoaning from the kids, we arrived at the Visitor Center, got our hatpins and magnets, then waiting in line for the shuttle to take us back to the grocery store parking lot.  The kids grabbed ice cream inside the grocery store then we drove south on 64 and checked into the Holiday Inn Express in “Grand Canyon, AZ” around 2:30pm. 

The kids swam and sat in the hot tub then we got ready and headed back out for an early pizza dinner at We Cook Pizza & Pasta. 

Then, around 6, we went back into the park through the southern entrance and parked at Yavapai Point and watched the sunset.  That was the highlight of the day.  The kids both really enjoyed taking pictures of the sunset. 

We’re now back in the hotel and it’s only 7:40.  I think we’ll all head to bed soon.  I think we’re all getting pretty good and sick of each other at this point in the trip. 

Arizona National Parks Day 4

Day 4 – March 14, 2017

Today was one for the ages.  We ate breakfast, stopped off at Walmart to buy a few things then headed back into Utah.  After driving a while on Hwy 89, we turned south on House Rock Valley Road, a dirt and bumpy road that’s technically in Kanab, UT.  After about 30 minutes, we pulled into the parking lot of the Wire Pass Trailhead, paid our $24 fee and started hiking.  I think we were technically in the Vermilion Cliffs National Recreational Area but it’s hard to know.  All I do know was the hike was epic.  After a big of an uneventful, gradual decline on a sandy & graveling path, surrounded by truly the bluest sky I’ve ever seen, we entered a slot canyon and it got chilly and exciting but we came to a point, after only being in the canyon a few minutes, were there was a really steep drop-off – 10 feet? – too steep to jump down and even if we could have, we wouldn’t have been able to get back up.
 

So reluctantly we turned around and were disappointed to be cutting our hike so short.  As we left the canyon, we noticed footprints and cairns on either side of the trail so we ended up hiking up and over the impassable portion and dropped back into the canyon on the other side.  It was treacherous and exciting. 

Then we entered a longer slot canyon that opened up into a big open canyon.  That’s about where our trail intersected the Buckskin Gulch Trail so we headed southwest, a little deeper in the canyon. 

 As we entered this third canyon, we noticed animal poop EVERYWHERE.  Ryan called that portion of the hike Poopitopia.  Ryan said it was a cow and I said, “of course it’s a horse.”  We trekked just a little further and came to some water that would have been up past the kids’ knees so we turned around after hiking 1.5 hours and 2.75 miles. 

It really started to get cold so we put our jackets back on.  The temperature differential between the outside and inside of the canyon was extreme!  After we left the Poopitopia canyon, we sat in an open area (just before we got back on the Wire Pass Trail).  We sat and ate peanut butter and honey sandwiches and apples.  And sure enough, a lone black cow comes walking through the canyon and mooed at us! 

It was the strangest thing.  But he passed us by, likely walked into the canyon and got some water, then he came back out right as we were wrapping up our lunch.

We hiked back to the car and I think we all decided that it was probably the coolest hike we’ve ever done! 

Around 1:45 we got back in the car and drove back through Page, to the Lower Antelope Canyon for a tour – an expensive tour.  Including the $32 Navajo fee, the tour was $117.  We had a few minutes to kill before it started so we grabbed a snack then headed down the VERY, VERY slow and VERY, VERY crowded tour.  It was little bit annoying considering we’d just come from another slot canyon where we were basically the only people out there but it ended up being worth it.  The pictures we took and some that our tour guide took for us were spectacular.

 

Around 4, we headed back into Page to buy some souvenirs then we ran by a Subway to grab and early dinner that we took back to the motel. 

Now it’s 6:15 and we’re back at the pool and this time we’re the only ones here and my kids are in hog heaven again and my fit bit shows 17,139 steps.  It was a great day.  I think the rest of the evening will be here at the hotel.  The kids have been troopers this whole trip so they deserve the break because first thing tomorrow morning, we’re heading down to the Grand Canyon!!

Arizona National Parks Day 3

Day 3 – March 13, 2017

We got up this morning, ate breakfast and hit the road.  Our first planned stop was Meteor Crater, outside of Flagstaff but as we were taking the 6 mi road south off of I-40, I read a review that said it’s a total rip off – it’s privately owned at $18pp for adults and $16pp for kids.  So after passing some cute calves and cows, we turned around in the parking lot and headed back to the main road.

We turned north towards Page, AZ and stopped off at Sunset Crater National Monument.  It was a great surprise.  We took the Lava Flow Trail (about 1 mi). 

The trail was cool and the weather was perfect.  We kept driving east and followed the road up to the Wupatki Ruins National Monument.  Behind the visitor center were some amazing ruins and I was surprised at how much the kids seemed to enjoy them. 

These monuments were well worth the detour but they did get us into Page later than we’d planned which meant we were all starving and grumpy.  We stopped for lunch at the River’s End Café but the food was too fru fru for Ryan and it was connected to an outdoors store so Nick spent some time buying a hat.  We then drove to the Dam Bar & Grill and had a good but slow lunch.  Ahhhh…much better with food in my belly.

From there we headed North on 89 and stopped to see the Glen Canyon Dam and Bridge.  There’s a cool visitor center there with great info and great views of the Damn and Lake Powell.

We drove a bit north from there and crossed into Utah just so that the kids could say they’d been in Utah.  That’s their 20^th state!

From there we headed back south, stopping at and hiking back to Horseshoe Bend.  Magnificent

.




It’s one of the picture on your U-verse TV when your TV’s on but not on.  This was the best part of the trip for me by a mile.  

Ry and I hiked an extra little ways to get even higher up and it was just cool. 

We counted 20 different states on the license plates of the cars in the parking lot.  The kids only have 18 more states to go and we haven’t even gone to the Grand Canyon yet!

Around 5pm we checked into our very nice Comfort Inn & Suites and lucky for us we’re one of the Suites in the Inn & Suites – nice one-bedroom room with a balcony.  The kids are in heaven because we’re…wait for it… staying here for 2 nights!!  They’ve found the indoor pool and the vending machine so life is perfect right now in the eyes of my 9 and 11-year-olds. J

After a short swim and sit in the hot tub, we went to dinner at Strombolli’s – long wait but pretty good!  Between Ryan and Grant, they knocked over a water and that ended the night on a low note as everyone got mad at everyone so we went home and were all in bed by 9:30.

Arizona National Parks Day 2

Day 2 – March 12, 2017

 Up early and ready to drive… a lot!  We had breakfast at the hotel then drove about 270 miles to Holbrook, AR.  But we made a fun and unplanned stop at the Salt River Canyon Rest Area on the way.  It was really beautiful.  The rest stop was next to the bridge at the bottom of the canyon that crosses the river. 

We walked down the steps to get closer to the river then got back in the car and drove to Holbrook. 

In Holbrook we ate at Dairy Queen, gassed up then drove to Petrified Forest National Park.  We entered from the south side of the park and the guy at the entrance station advised us to buy the annual pass after doing some math for us.  The kids declared that he was “the greatest park ranger ever”.  We stopped at the Visitor Center to get our goodies but they didn’t have the kind of magnets that we’ve gotten at the other 21 parks so after a slight internal panic, the ranger told me they had a bigger selection at the gift shop next door so we ended up with everything we needed.   The gift shop was interesting because they sold all kinds of jewelry and trinkets made from petrified wood.  And the kids got to pick up and hold an actual pay phone.  I'm not sure they'd seen one before!

We drove through the park (fairly quickly because there was still a lot to do) but we stopped at the Jasper Forest and Newspaper Rock overlooks.  The kids thought Newspaper Rock was cool because we could look through binoculars to see petroglyphs all over the side of a rock (“Newspaper Rock”).

From there we exited out of the north side of the park and drove east on I-40 then drove north on 191 to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de Shay).  It’s 100 miles NE of the Petrified Forest so we didn’t pull in until around 4:15.  It’s a national monument but the visitor’s center was closed so no magnets…

We took the south rim road down to the White House Ruins overlook, parked, and hiked straight down to the bottom of the canyon (about 1.25 miles one way).  It’s the only self-guided hike in the entire canyon and it was beautiful.  I’m not sure it’s as beautiful as my guide book said it was or that it was worth the very long drive but the hike itself was great – challenging on the way back up but very beautiful. 

The Indian ruins at the bottom of and in the side of the canyon were impressive and there were horses just roaming free and drinking out of the river. 

We hiked back up and had about a 2-hour drive back to Holbrook which was a little confusing because when we flew to AZ, we entered mountain time but then Saturday night was Daylight Savings Time but then Arizona doesn’t recognize Daylight Savings Time but then apparently the small section of it that we were in in Canyon de Chelly does so we literally didn’t know what time it was. 

However, the drive back was spectacular.  We were driving mostly west so we took in a spectacular sunset followed by a true super moon.

We pulled into the Travelodge with some trepidation because it looks nasty despite having the most stars on Travelocity.  The guy at the front desk didn’t have our reservation and was completely booked.  So I confidently pulled up my email reservation, confirming that we had a reservation exactly one month to the day, the month before…sigh….sound of money being flushed down the toilet.   

Luckily we got a room at the Days Inn which was definitely a step up from the Travelodge.  I’m not sure of what collusion Travelodge and Travelocity have going on but it’s evident!

From there (now 8pm) we went to Mesa Italiana, a restaurant that was written up in my travel book.  And for Holbrook, AZ, it was delicious.  The restaurant was full so we sat in the bar area and I finally relaxed!  We had a good meal of mozzarella sticks and pasta and it was nice to finally not feel rushed.  

See the giant moon in the background?

For the most part the kids got along really, really well.  Back to the room then to bed by 10.  All-in-all, a great day and to think, none of this has even been remotely the “good parts” of the trip.  That all begins tomorrow when we head to PAGE, AZ!!!!!   Good night!

Arizona National Parks Day 1

Day 1 – Saturday, March 11, 2017

 

We got up and intended to leave the house at 7:30 to catch our 9:15 flight but our Uber driver was running late because of a wreck so he was 15 minutes late which normally isn’t a big deal but…

we arrived at the airport without incident but when we went to check our bags there was a huge backlog of luggage because the airport’s conveyor belt wasn’t working.  Nick and I looked at each other and said, “There’s no way our bags are making it onto this flight.”  Then we got in the security line and Grant, who was wearing a knee brace, didn’t clear the metal detector the first time, nor the 2ne time.  Once he took the brace off, he finally got through but then his bag was pulled over and checked.  Apparently he misunderstood my instructions to get a water bottle and put it in his backpack.  He took that to mean that he was supposed to fill up his water bottle.  So TSA had to dump his bottle out.



We got to the gate with plenty of time then had an uneventful flight to Tucson– the kids sat in the row in front of us and no one got into a fight.  We landed at 10:45am and the bags took forever to show up.  That is everyone’s bags but ours.  We were told that they might make it onto the next flight out of Dallas and that they could be there as early as 12:30pm.  So we went to the rental car section and got a Chrysler Pacifica mini-van from Enterprise after waiting behind a man who took forever because he didn’t have a reservation, couldn’t remember his cell phone and got mad at the lady behind the counter. 

 
As soon as we got into the and were heading to grab a quick lunch, Ryan “lost” her iPod touch for a bit so we had to pull over, search the car, search her body, go back to the rental car desk, then it finally showed up (in the car).  By then it was 12:15 so we just decided to wait for the next flight to arrive with our bags

So we dropped Nick off and parked illegally while we waited another 30-45 minutes.  I finally was told to pull into the cell phone waiting lot (aptly named) then Nick texted that he was out front.  We pulled up and he was out front with only one of the two bags – mine…sigh.

 By now it was 1:00 (so really 2:00) and we’re starving and crabby.  We ate lunch at a Wendy’s then drove to Saguaro National Park.  It was exciting to see the sign and get the pictures but that was definitely the highlight of the park.
 

 We bought the magnets and hatpins, got the map and got the passbooks stamped.  Then we drove the 10-12 mile loop around the park (we went to the Eastern side of the park).  We saw the Saguaros and that was that. 

We’d planned to take a 5.6 mi hike but it was 100 degrees outside (literally 100 degrees) and Nick didn’t have a hat or shorts. 

 So we were there all of 45 minutes at most.  But we’ve officially hit park #21! 

 

We drove to the Hampton Inn and here’s a bit of luck – this is the first time on one of these crazy trips where we’ve actually stayed at a hotel right next to the airport we flew into.  We’re ¼ of a mile from the airport but still no bag.  However the room is nice – it’s big – triangle sized, with two king beds.  Apparently this is what I requested – who knew. 

I exercised in the workout room and then showered and we drove up to a restaurant, Guadalajara.  The sign said the lot was full but just then a car was pulling out and we got rock star parking.  Then we were told that the wait would be 30-40 minutes and it was under 40 seconds when our pager went off.  We honestly think they made a mistake but we didn’t say a word.  We got a great table outside and ate a very average meal but served with very above-average tableside made salsa and very above average mariachi singers.  They even played a song Nick requested. 

After dinner (it was now 7pm but feeling like midnight) we drove to Target to get some basics for the boys (all of Grant’s stuff was packed in Nick’s bag) like socks, toothbrushes, long johns and a bathing suit for Grant.  We grabbed some food for lunches then headed back to the hotel.

We’d been here about 10-15 minutes when the kids decided they were going to the pool.  I said I was staying behind to type of the day’s adventures and as soon as they left, their bag showed up.

All’s right with the world.  I think we got all our gremlins out today (although I’m knocking on the hotel nightstand as I type this).  The only additional bad news was that the USA baseball team lost 7-5 to the Dominican Republic team in the Baseball World Classic and we couldn’t see the game anywhere.

The rest of this trip is going to be spectacular.