We drove along Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona before stopping at the Navajo Bridge unit of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We were lucky to see a Condor flying overhead while we walked across the bridge. We then drove south to Flagstaff for dinner and saw the Southwest Lumber Mills Steam Engine #25. Finally, we drove west to Williams where we spent two nights at The Lodge on Route 66.
The next day, we took a 65-mile trip north on the Grand Canyon Railway from the historic Williams Depot (built in 1908 by the Santa Fe Railway) to the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park. On our way to the Grand Canyon, we rode in a 1948 California Zephyr Dome Car. The train was pulled by a fully restored former Burlington Steam Engine #4960 that was built in 1923. The Grand Canyon Depot is one of the only remaining log depots still in use in the country. Both stations also had static train displays of other engines and railroad cars.
Back in Williams, we walked along the historic Route 66 downtown area enjoying all the neon signs and Americana. We enjoyed a meal at Cruiser’s Route 66 Café and visited several gift shops. Before leaving town the next morning, we had breakfast at Pine Country Café, then toured Bearizona Wildlife Park where we saw mountain goats, reindeer, wolves, bears, bison, bighorn sheep, badgers, fox, bobcats, porcupines, jaguars, and more.
North of Flagstaff, we visited Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument where we hiked the Lava Flow Trail, Bonito Vista Trail, and the A’a Trail. South of Page we hiked to the Horseshoe Bend overlook in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
At the end of the month, we visited Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. We drove the scenic 15-mile valley road through the park to see the various rock formations including the Mitten Buttes, Elephant Butte, Camel Butte, John Ford's Point, Rain God Mesa, Thunderbird Mesa, Totem Pole Rocks, Spearhead Mesa, and more. We also toured the visitor center and a few of the overlooks on the rim, but it was getting very windy and blowing sand and dust so unfortunately, we weren't able to stay long.
At the end of the year, we met up with Benjamin’s father and sister and drove across the O'Callaghan-Tillman Bridge above the Hoover Dam to Grand Canyon West on the lands of the Hualapai Tribe. At the Grand Canyon, we visited both Eagle Point and Guano Point overlooks then walked across the Grand Canyon Skywalk (a glass horseshoe bridge suspended about 800 feet above the canyon which reaches 70 feet out over the rim and provides a view 4,000 feet down to the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon). We also hiked a short loop through part of Arizona’s Joshua Tree Forest and drove through part of Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
We drove to Jacob Lake where we all enjoyed a nice dinner before leaving Tiffany for the night while Benjamin and Elizabeth stayed nearby at the Cliff Dweller’s Lodge. The next morning Tiffany began her rim-to-rim hike through the Grand Canyon, starting out on the North Kaibab Trail at the north rim, hiking south for 14 miles down to the Colorado River at Phantom Ranch. After crossing the river, she hiked the Bright Angel Trail for 9.5 miles through rain, hail, and 100-degree temperatures back up to the south rim where she met Benjamin and Elizabeth to stay the night in one of the historic Bright Angel Cabins.
While Tiffany hiked through the canyon, Benjamin and Elizabeth drove around it, stopping briefly at the Navajo Bridge to see a pair of condors. After arriving at the south rim, they took a walk along the Rim Trail.
The next day we all drove through the eastern section of Grand Canyon National Park, taking the Desert View Scenic Drive to several viewpoints before stopping at the Desert View Watchtower. In the afternoon, we drove through Kaibab National Forest and north to Page.
Earlier in the month we also visited the Four Corners Monument so that Elizabeth could experience being in four states at the same time.
We traveled to southern Arizona over the Easter holiday. We visited Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along the Mexico border, where we drove the Ajo Mountain Scenic Loop and part of the Puerto Blanco Drive adjacent to the border wall. We also visited Sonoran Desert National Monument and drove by Kitt Peak National Observatory.
After spending a night in Sierra Vista, we visited Coronado National Memorial where we hiked to the Montezuma Pass Overlook to see sweeping views of Mexico and Arizona. We also visited the rock pinnacles of Chiricahua National Monument and hiked to Fort Bowie National Historic Site.
On Easter morning, we attended mass at Mission San Xavier Del Bac just outside Tucson, then drove south and toured Tumacacori National Historical Park. Later in the month, we made a quick visit to Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site in Ganado.
We flew to Phoenix and saw the Arizona State Capitol, then drove to Tonto National Monument where we took a challenging hike to some ruins. Next, we drove to Montezuma Castle National Monument near Camp Verde. We then drove to Cottonwood and toured the ruins at Tuzigoot National Monument.
In the Flagstaff area we drove the scenic road through Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and then stopped to view some more ruins at Wupatki National Monument. We enjoyed a great meal at Satchmo's BBQ in Flagstaff.
On our way back to Phoenix we stopped briefly at Agua Fria National Monument, but because there were no developed roads, we were not able to get far in our rental car.
We drove to the Page area where we took a guided hiked through Lower Antelope Canyon. Our Navajo guide showed us all the best viewpoints and we were able to take some incredible photos of this beautiful canyon. We also visited Glen Canyon National Recreation Area where we took an all-day scenic boat cruise on Lake Powell.
We visited Arizona on a cold January weekend. Starting at Monument Valley Tribal Park, we viewed the impressive rock formations from the overlook, then drove to Kayenta and visited Navajo National Monument. We hiked the Sandal Trail to an overlook of a cliff dwelling. Next, we drove to Chinle and visited Canyon de Chelley National Monument. We took the scenic drive through the southern end of the park to several overlooks and purchased some souvenirs from a local Navajo young artisan.
Over a three-day weekend we drove to Arizona and visited Pipe Spring National Monument on the Kaibab Indian Reservation, which is also a site on the Old Spanish National Historic Trail.
Next, we drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We had lunch at the Grand Canyon Lodge (before the fire alarms were set off and we had to evacuate) and we also drove to Cape Royal and Point Imperial for some short hiking to the viewpoints. After visiting the north rim, we drove to Vermillion Cliffs National Monument and spent the night at the scenic Cliff Dweller's Lodge at the base of the cliffs.
The following day we drove to Navajo Bridge on the Colorado River to see the California condors. We also hiked to the Horseshoe Bend overlook. Navajo Bridge and Horseshoe Bend are both part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Finally, we drove to Glen Canyon Dam where we toured the visitor center and viewed the Dam.
We flew to Phoenix, rented a car, and drove south to Tucson. Along the way, we stopped and toured Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, which is also a site on the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.
In Tucson, we toured both the east and west sections of Saguaro National Park as well as Ironwood Forest National Monument. Benjamin also toured a missile silo at the Titan Missile Museum while Tiffany toured the University of Tucson medical campus. We enjoyed some great food in Tucson including meals at Blanco and Guadalajara Grill.
We drove from the Four Corners Monument south towards Flagstaff, stopping at the Sunset Crater National Monument along the way. We stayed in Williams for two days while visiting Grand Canyon National Park. At the Grand Canyon, we biked along the rim to Hermits Rest, hiked part of the Bright Angel Trail, saw wildlife including Elk and Desert Bighorn Sheep, and experienced many breathtaking views.
We also hiked at Walnut Canyon National Monument, visited the Meteor Crater site, and toured Petrified Forest National Park. The temperature was so hot that we were not able to enjoy most of the sites beyond the Grand Canyon.