SAFUN

 It’s been so busy and I haven’t had to chance to post about our wonderful get away weekend in Northern Arizona. Following my leadership conference in Scottsdale, Jason flew up to Phoenix on Thursday to meet up with me. He rented a car and drove to Scottsdale to pick me up.
Jason and I have always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon. I took many family road trips through Arizona and New Mexico growing up but never made it to the Grand Canyon.
I had free a Southwest Airlines ticket through Rapid Rewards and I was already going to be in Arizona so we decided to make it a Grand Canyon weekend. From Scottsdale, we drove straight up to Sedona. Initially, I was looking at places to stay at the Grand Canyon. They didn’t look too appealing so I looked for hotels in cities near the Grand Canyon. I then booked us a hotel in Flagstaff. Since we both had never been there, we really didn’t know what to expect. As I did some more research and asked others where they stayed, I heard Sedona was gorgeous and they wish they would have stayed there. Reading reviews, it did look amazing. So we booked at the Amara Resort and Spa located in uptown Sedona and I cancelled the Flagstaff reservation.

On our drive from Scottsdale to Sedona, the terrain changes from dessert to red rock country. Sedona is a small town. We drove down 89A and Amara is one of the last hotels on 89A before you leave towards Flagstaff. It was a nice hidden jewel on the Oak Creek canyon. We stayed in the first night. On Friday, we had a 2 hour Pink Jeep tour scheduled for 11am. It was called the “Broken Arrow” and it was suppose to be a real off road adventure. It definitely was! It was so much fun. We shared a jeep with a family from New Jersey. They had 3 kids and the purpose of their trip was to celebrate their eldest son’s last year of high school. It was cute because the dad had this huge case full of camera equipment.  He wanted to take videos and pictures of his family and his kids kept getting mad and embarrassed. It so reminded me of our old family vacation days! That was my dad alright.

The jeep tour was so cool! We went through a preserved national park in Sedona. It had a forest and red rock terrain. The sky was blue and clear. It was breathtaking. We went down and up some crazy rock hills. There was one downhill that we were literally looking straight downward.  I was so unsure how the tour guide was going to make it. Then I remembered he had done those more than a 100 times so we were really alright. He just kept us on edge.
We returned to the hotel and got into our car to drive down to the Chapel of the Holy Cross which is not far down the road. You take 89A South to 170 and it is to your left. This Chapel was built literally in between 2 rocks. The Cross looks like it is holding the 2 rocks beside it. The Chapel, built in the 1950’s, was started by a woman who had a vision for this Chapel. She got it funded and built. When you first drive to see it, you are looking up. It is so beautiful to see the Cross between the 2 red rocks against the blue sky. Then you drive up the hill to see the Chapel. You have to walk a little bit further up to meet the Chapel’s plaza and front doors. It is a very small Chapel. It is very peaceful inside. The sun lights shines through the front 2 windows where the Cross divides the light. It was very a perfect setting.

Following the Chapel, we did some window shopping at an outdoor shopping center. It was full of art galleries and jewelry shops. We saw absolutely beautiful artwork from wood carvings to blown glass to paintings and photography. I do have to say though, some things seemed very much overpriced. San Antonio offers similar artwork and jewelry selections and it is not nearly priced as high. I suppose it’s the location we were in. That evening, we went to eat at an authentic Oaxacan restaurant, Elote Cafe. So apparently, Elote Cafe used to be a fine dining restaurant in Scottsdale and it was relocated to Sedona. The food selections had been critiqued and recommended by the New York Times and others. Although fine dining selection, it is not fine dining attire. You can wear jeans and sweaters and fit right in. I had their special margarita which was made with Pomegranate tequila, organic apple cider and a splash of sweet n sour. Nice! I had the lamb and Jason had the red snapper. It was so awesome. We finished with lime creme brulee. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who goes to Sedona. It is located in an old 70’s looking hotel, I believe King’s hotel or something like that. Just ask for Elote Cafe and you will be pointed in the right direction.
The next day, we drove to the Grand Canyon, about 2 hours from Sedona. The drive from Sedona to Flagstaff is named one of the 10 most scenic drives in the US. It was gorgeous. The road was very curvy so you really had to pay good attention to the road. There were long stretches without the side lane for emergencies. Make sure you have gas!

On our way to the Grand Canyon, we stopped at Sunset Crater Volcanic National Park. At this national park, you will find ruins from a volcano eruption that occurred in 1040 and 1100. Following the eruption, Native American tribes settled here and built pueblos. The soil from the eruption was good for growing crops. The entire area looked as if the volcano erupted yesterday. The ground is still black and some trees had burnt limbs. As you drive through the park, the terrain changes from forestry to rock to dessert.  There is a lookout stop where you can see a beutiful view of the dessert which they call “The Painted Dessert.” On the way out of the park, we stopped at the Wupatki ruins. Here you will find old pueblos where the Native Americans lived. It was unbelievable to see these pueblos still standing here.

We arrived to the Grand Canyon North Rim about mid day. It is a $25 entrance fee per vehicle. We drove in on the Dessert View side. We stopped here here to get a few good photos. This is the only side that you can get a view of the Colorado river. There is also watch tower here that you can go to the top to get a better view. There were so many people! Tourists from all over the world.
We got back into our car and drove through the park towards the other side of North Rim where Grand Canyon village is located. On the drive, there are multiple stops where you can get good views of the Grand Canyon. We stopped at two before arriving at Grand Canyon village. Grand Canyon village is where all the lodges and restaurants are located. Our last stop was at the Bright Angel Lodge. We were so hungry so we  stopped at their cafe to eat. I don’t think that lodge had been updated since the 70’s and the food was so terrible! I guess they know they aren’t known for their food, just the view. The smell was also really bad. A combination of campers that hadn’t bathed a few days. I was just happy we decided NOT to stay at the Grand Canyon. We got a few more pics from this view and that was it! We spent about 2 hours the park. It’s a great national park for campers, hikers, bikers and other recreational activities but we just wanted to see the canyon, for now at least. We may return further down the road to do more while there.

We drove back and returned back in time to have dinner. Everything closes around 8pm so there is not much else to do but go star gazing.
The next day, we had to pack up and get ready to head back to Phoenix to catch the 8:55pm flight. I wanted to stop at the spa, which didn’t open until 11am, so we waited until then. I did do an 8 mile run down 89A which was hilly but a beautiful run!. The spa was not impressive. I guess I was spoiled from being at the Fairmont Hotel 5 star spa earlier that week. I got my steam room craving out of the way and we were ready to hit the road.
The concierge at Fairmont had recommend a town called Jerome to go shopping. It was a town located on the way back to Phoenix so we went on that way. Jerome is located on a hill. You drive up and don’t see anything until you get the top. We really had no idea what to expect. Once you get to the top, you drive into an old neighborhood road with old Victorian homes that looked liked they had been sitting there untouched since the early 1900’s. Very interesting. We got down and started walking up and down the roads stopping at each store. After walking through a few of the stores, I realized we had landed in a “hippie” town. Vintage stores, urban clothes, very unique artwork.  I, of course, purchased a few items. The town was very small. The police station had one car and it was shared with the fire station. Jerome was founded in the late 1800’s as a copper town. It once flourished with 15,000 residents. Then when all the money was spent, the town shrunk down to less than 100 residents. Hence why it is called “Ghost Town.” Very cool. I would recommend checking it out.

We drove back to Phoenix to find that our flight was 3 hours delayed and we were 2 hours early already. So 5 hours we spent at the airport. Yuck! We arrived in San Antonio at 2:30am.
Overall a great trip to Northern Arizona.