Fun in (& around) Flagstaff

The first stop on my weekend of fun in Flagstaff was a stop at the Grand Canyon National Park. I’d never been, and it was overwhelming beautiful. The pictures don’t give you the sense of grandeur that you get on the Rim Trail. It was the most epic national park I’ve been to so far.

There was a bit of a winter storm the Friday before I left for Flagstaff, but they’re used to that sort of thing, so the roads were clear sailing, and the scenery was beautiful. In addition to the national parks, I also gotten to drive through many national forests, including the Coconino National Forest on the way to Flagstaff and then Kaibab. There was a bit of fog, too, which added to the mystic of the Saturday morning drive.

The parking lot at the Grand Canyon visitor’s center was covered with snow, so there was a lot of improvised parking. That turned out to be quite amusing when I left in the afternoon and the snow had melted. I think I ended up accidentally took up 3 parking spaces. Oops.

While I was in the park, I took one of the shuttles to the village area. I went to the restaurant in the Bright Angel hotel for lunch and had some pot roast, which was a delicious, warm treat on a cool day. They had a small museum with some history around the hotel, and I learned about Mary Colter who had designed many of the buildings still remaining in the Grand Canyon area and reminded me that I saw something she’d designed in Santa Fe as well.

After lunch, I wandered around the village area and saw the Lookout Studio, Kolb Studio, Hopi House, and stepped into the Verkam Visitors Center. I took the South Rim trail to the Yavapai Point, which had numerous great views of the canyon. It was also paved, which was a great surprise. I also learned that my hiking shoes were on their last leg – at least for my old feet. 🍫🍫 Toward the end of the day, it slowed me down.

After my time at the park, I drove back down to Flagstaff and checked into my hotel. I had a great room, and I laid down to relax. Honestly, I was not feeling the best, and I couldn’t put my finger on why. I did look up altitude sickness, and I did have some of those symptoms. It seemed to pass after I took my nap, so I headed out to find something to eat. I ended up at a brewery (Dark Sky), and the food was good; the beer was fine.

On Sunday, I grabbed breakfast at a great spot – The Station Cafe and Lounge – and drove around Flagstaff to check out the library (where there was a quilt display and used books for sale), the university, and to find a place to inflate my tires. I also noticed that someone had taken the caps from my tire valve stems on two of my tires, so I stopped a bought some of those. It was surprisingly difficult to find a place to inflate my tires where the actual device worked. 🍫🍫🍫

Unplanned Adventure

By midday, I was ready to do some more exploring, so I headed out to Winslow, AZ. On the way, I kept seeing signs for a giant meteor crater, so of course I stopped to see it. On my way out of that area, I did find a place to inflate my tires for free.

It was an amazingly large crater.

I had lunch at this beautiful hotel in Winslow, AZ. Where I had a lovely salad for lunch in the Turquoise Room and enjoyed a delicious glass of prickly pear lemonade, and they even gave me a to go cup for the road. Then, of course, I stood on the corner, and it was remarkable.