<p>We are going to Arizona in a couple of weeks for a family vacation. We’ve been before, Sister in law lives near Phoenix with her family. Our base will be in the Heber-Overgaard area in the White Mountain area of the state. Temp’s should be reasonable because of the elevation. We’ll be in an extended family group with people ages 9 - 75 and various vehicles. All have visited the Grand Canyon at least once and sister in law has hiked up and down. We will not be doing anything that strenuous.</p>
<p>So far our plans are simple but would love to hear any suggestions.</p>
<p>One day we’ve made reservations to stay overnight at the Grand Canyon so we can catch the sunset at night and the sunrise in the morning. Not sure if the teens will buy into the latter… The following day, our family at least, will do a college visit at Northern Arizona University but husband and 12 year old son and perhaps other family members will have a vehicle and free time in Flagstaff area. Might stay night in Flagstaff or Sedona and then spend next morning in Sedona area or just wander back to Heber-Overgaard.</p>
<p>The petrified forest looks interesting but how long we visit will depend on the temps.</p>
<p>Anything North of Phoenix, south of the Grand Canyon, east of Flagstaff we just shouldn’t miss?</p>
<p>If you’re in Sedona, I think a Pink Jeep tour is a must-do. We took our two kids a couple of years ago when son was 12 and all he wanted to do was either a) play golf or b) sit in the room watching TV. We made him go on the tour and he loved it.</p>
<p>Can I ask which Pink Jeep tour you did? I just checked the Pink Jeep tour website and they had several tours listed. H and S will be there in two weeks and it sounds like something they might like.</p>
<p>We were just there a few weeks ago, and did all of the above. Visited family in Scottsdale (walked through ASU almost by accident.) Drove up to Flagstaff (stayed at my cousin’s house there) , visited Grand Canyon for a short hike, took the Pink Jeep tour in Sedona - their most popular tour was sold out so we took what was available. The best part of the Pink Jeep tour was our driver who knew the names of all the wild flowers and shared with us. </p>
<p>So, as far as things NOT mentioned above - (“Any good hikes in the area?” LOL!!! thousands and thousands… There are several good books available)</p>
<p>Probably the most pleasant and wonderful surprise was Walnut Canyon. We were just looking for a “nice hike” when we went there, but the canyon itself is beautiful and scenic but there are Indian cliff dweller ruins in the canyon that are truly amazing! It is a national monument, so it’s not exactly a secret. </p>
<p>Sunset crater and the Wupatki pueblo were also great places to visit!! </p>
<p>Previously, we have visited Talisian West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home/school/studio in the Scottsdale area. Fascinating place if you have the time and interest.</p>
<p>I’ve lived in Arizona for about 8 years before I went to school…There are some really cool places to go and visit. In Sedona definitely make a stop at slide rock (it’s really fun). Also between Sedona and Phoenix there is a small town called Jerome. Jerome was an old mining town that is now considered one of the most touristy ghost towns in AZ. Also sunset crater near Flagstaff is a popular tourist attraction. In Flagstaff go to the Lowell Observatory (where pluto was first discovered). The petrified forest is pretty cool too. </p>
<p>I’d also recommend spending a few days relaxing in Scottsdale at a resort. You can go shopping (Scottsdale has really great, cheap shopping- I can usually find anything that i would find on the east coast at 1/3 of the price, ex: a brooks brothers suit I just got for 300 and i saw it for 900 at king of prussia), go golfing, visit Taliesin West (frank lloyd wright architecture, etc.), hike Camelback Mountain (amazing views of the valley), visit Old Town Scottsdale, maybe catch a Diamondbacks game…</p>
<p>If you’re all the way up by the Grand Canyon and you ahve the time, you could take a day in Page…at Lake Powell…it’s by the AZ-UT border. You can take a tour or rent a boat or jet skiis for the day and see Lake Powell- it is an amazing place.</p>
<p>Lots of good ideas - thanks! I’m a detail nut so have the aaa trip book about Arizona, a book entititled, Day Trips from Phoenix, Tuscon and Flagstaff and some misc. info that I got from the state. But I wanted to hear what real people like. NJres, you and TootiredMom have the ideas closest to what I’ve been considering. Walnut Creek and a Jeep tour might just be perfect!</p>
<p>Scottsdale and Lake Powell are just a little off the radar for this trip, but I think we’ll probably be back again!</p>
<p>OK- I know you drew the bottom boundary at Phoenix, but… if you are flexible, and willing to travel a bit further south to Tucson, there are a few things worth checking out. Sabino Canyon has a great walking trail (or you can take the tram up, and walk or ride back down). Beautiful scenery and views of Mt. Lemmon.</p>
<p>Also, in August , because it is so hot during the day, you can get really incredible deals at some of the 5 star resort spas. We stayed in the Loew’s Ventana Canyon Resort for like $75/day (though they charge extra for a lot of things). However, it was still a nice treat for what usually costs several hundred a night in peak season, and is a beautiful setting. They are also pet friendly, should you want to bring a dog!</p>
<p>Lastly, about a 1/2 hour south of Tucson, towards Nogales, is an old western town called Tubac that has been converted into a little artists colony. You can get some interesting stuff there. There is also a very pretty big, white old Spanish Mission on the righthand side as you are heading down to Tubac (I forget the name) that is open to the public. There’s also a casino on an indian reservation. Skip that.</p>
<p>The desert museum is also worth a visit if you are in the area, and do stop at the scenic overlooks on the road toward the museum and climb up the bluffs and around the sejuerro cacti (the tall, prickly ones with “arms”). I STRONGLY recommend doing it at sundown. Spectatular views. Don’t waste your time going to Old Tucson unless you are into kitschy tourist-y junk. They filmed some old westerns there, but it is way too tourist-y unless you are travelling with small kids. It also burnt down a few years back and they rebuilt it-- of course to still look like the old wild west. </p>
<p>Lastly, you can always stop in at U of Arizona while you are there. And, if you are into sushi, by FAR the best sushi restaurant I have ever eaten at is in Tucson. HUGE pieces of sushi and sashimi. If you order a bowl of chirashi (we call it a bucket o’ bait) you will be hard pressed to finish it.</p>
<p>The Painted Desert, east of Flagstaff, is breathtaking. Driving from there towards Phoenix I detoured off the Interstate and cut through Winslow, Arizona and sure enough, I saw a flatbed Ford right away…driver wasn’t my type, though and it’s just as well as both TheMom and D might have been scandalized.</p>
<p>Also, Montezuma’s Castle–which is neither built by Montezuma nor a castle–was worth taking an hour plus for, you can probably find it in a AAA guide, which is where I think I found it…it’s between Flagstaff and Phoenix. (All this is from when we picked D up from ballet camp and drove home to the LA area on what TheMom called the “rocks and ruins tour.”) I’d take Meteor Crater over the Petrified Forest if I had to make a choice but both have a “golly gee golly” factor to them…I liked the crater a lot more than TheMom did.</p>
<p>I’ll mention the Painted Desert again…“breathtaking” is almost insufficient. And you can see how Indians and outlaws evaded the Federales with such ease…it seems like you can see clearly for 40 miles from the ridge line…put it this way, ain’t gonna be nothing sneaking up on you by day. Some interesting buzzards, too…reminds you of just what kind of cojones the people who settled & explored the area had to have had.</p>
<p>Oh, the Percival Lowell Museum (astronomical) in Flagstaff is definitely worth a couple of hours…some very neat stuff if you’re at all interested in science and entertaining enough if you aren’t. However, I’ll note that Flagstaff was the pits for motels…we stayed at an allegedly 3-diamond place that cost almost as much as the Ritz-Carleton in Phoenix. Now, we traveled in July and you can get the Ritz-Carleton in Phoenix for around $100/night because ordinarily nobody in their right mind is staying in Phoenix then unless their parole officer is requiring them to.</p>
<p>I’ve marked up my book and highlighted the places that sounded good to me. The Painted desert is right on the way back from Flagstaff to Heber-Overgaard so that will be good, Thedad. Now, I just need to find the time to see everything! thanks.</p>
<p>Go to Meteor Creater. Find the point precisely 1,920 meters from the center of the crater on a bearing of 317 degrees (magnetic). Dig to a depth of approximately 45 meters to find the chronosfambulator that aliens from Space left there approximately 13,000 years ago. Use it to give yourself 30-hour days.</p>
<p>Someone already looted the device that always lets you find a parking spot whenever you need one, so better hurry.</p>
<p>Jym, well, yes…which is why I wouldn’t have bothered with it myself.
Put it this way…I regularly park in Westwood (near UCLA) or in the Santa Monica business areas without much problem. However, I’ve got good eyesight, good reflexes, and can maneuver a not-nimble car like an Avalon into U-turns better than many can do with their Beemers. As with comedy the secret is in–</p>
<p>Ok, how about some good moderate to moderately strenuous hikes in Arizona or Utah? My family went out to the canyonlands of Utah last summer and I loved it…now I’m counting the days until I can make another trip out that way. In the meantime, I guess I’ll just have to live with planning out where I want to go :-)</p>
<p>If you are anywhere near the Boyce Thompson Arboretum check it out. Absolutely lovely. Wonderful scenery, great (fairly short) trails. It is not fancy or ornamental like a regular arboretum. It is mostly natural - just a fabulous, scenic place. Bring binoculars as the birds are great. Here is the web site: <a href=“http://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu</a></p>
<p>I agree with njers above - Walnut Canyon is great.</p>
<p>Jym, no, though tonight I scored a free street parking space on Hollywood Blvd. just a block from both the El Capitan theater where there was an LA media premiere of “Howl’s Moving Castle” (thumbnail review if anyone would like) and, across the street from that, some tribute at the Kodak Theater to George Lucas that had all the westbound lanes closed, many limos at the waiting, and literally hundreds of camera folk/reporters/curious all milling around like vultures. Now <em>that</em> was exceptional parking, even for moi. Btw, I haven’t seen FGT.</p>