Day 1
Arrived in Phoenix, no problems w\ connecting Delta flight in GA. It only took us one hour from arrival to leaving the airport with our rented Jeep.
Stayed in Chandler at the Wild Horse Pass resort. Just enough energy to unpack and have a Margarita and walk around the resort. An OK Sheraton property, not really the sweet sleeper bed.
Day 2 Phoenix
Arrived early at the Botanical garden in Phoenix, nice way to start. Lots of birds and Indian exhibits. Cacti and flowers were beautiful.
Breakfast at the 5&Diner, a local chain and very good.
Then to Mesa for an Indian Pow wow, starting to get hot mid 90’s. Glad we went enjoyed the music, dances and vendors.
Ended the day at Rawhide the western town on the Wild Horse Pass property. I was skeptical but this place was a lot of fun. No admission charge, fun shops, shoot outs on the dusty street, kids riding burros. We rode a stagecoach for $4.00 and had our picture taken in jail for $5.00! The bar and restaurant looked like fun but we wanted to head to South Mtn Park off Central St to catch the sunset. The road to the top of the mountain was closed but we took an easy hike on the trail and enjoyed the sunset and beautiful views.
Dinner at Serranos in Chandler, good margarita and ok Mexi food. Busy and really good first day.
Day 3 Travel to Sedona
Took RT74 to 60 to 89 for our drive to Sedona. Wow, do not miss this ride! Make a pit stop before you get on 74. Totally different terrain, we took so many pictures on our trip. We had breakfast at the Country Kitchen, just before Wickenburg, not many places to stop along this route so far and this one is very good. When you get to Wickenburg stop at the Livery on N Tegner st and get some souvenir Rattlesnake eggs. Prescott is a must stop for a break and some shopping, there are a lot of little towns with lots of atmosphere and shops. Jerome is great, go to the Ghost town and pay the $5 to get in. Stop at the Grape in town and have one of their great Margaritas and buy a t-shirt in one of the local shops that documents the 158 turns you just made to arrive here. I wanted to stay longer but Sedona was waiting for us. This ride is impossible to describe, the views and mountains are incredible. I honestly think this was the highlight of a week where each day was spectacular.
We arrived in Sedona as the sun was getting ready to set. We stayed at the Hampton Inn, just under coffeepot rock. This was a very comfortable motel for us, our room was large, bed and linens comfortable. We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast and coffee each am. Dinner that night was at the Oak Creek Brewery on 179 in Tlaquepaque Village. Delicious meal we had the pork and chicken. Their rice pilaf is very special. We shared a beer sampler.
Day 4 Grand Canyon
Purchased a Red Rock pass at the supermarket.
Early start for the Grand Canyon. Took Oak Creek Canyon, another beautiful ride with amazing views. Stopped at the Flagstaff visitor center, did some shopping very reasonable prices at the visitor center. Staff was really helpful ,learned about the Dark Sky town and the amazing sky we could expect on the way back. Took Rt 64to GC, stopped at the Imax center but did not want to wait 30 minutes to watch the movie when the real thing was waiting for us. We purchased a Sr National park pass here for $10 and I enjoyed free admission as a guest of the pass.
We entered the south entrance and stayed left at the fork. Pulled over at all the stops and enjoyed the views. We reached a turn around at Tovar and headed back to the Desert View Rim and followed that out to the other end. There are many view points, do as many as you can. The best is at the end the Watchtower. I loved their gifts shop.
You will do more walking than you think, we purchased a cooler in Phoenix and kept it filled with water. The weather was perfect,80’s, started the day with a sweatshirt.
Would have liked to have spent more time on Rt 66 but we were pretty exhausted. We did make a few stops along the way back to Sedona to view the Milky Way and nite sky.
Day 5 Verde Canyon RR
Headed to Cottonwood, stopped at Tuzigoot ruins Walked around Cottonwood, then took the train ride on the Verde Canyon RR. We had first class tickets, very comfortable couch seating. The appetizer buffet was delicious. There were two guides one inside and another in the open car. This is a great trip and well worth the time and cost. It is 4 hours and I enjoyed every moment.
Day 6 Free day to explore Sedona
Sunrise at the Airport and watched the Red Rocks wake up. Then a ride out Rt179, pull over at Chapel road to see the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Then there are numerous pullovers for Bell Rock etc. Do them all, you do not want to miss anything. Don’t be put off by the construction, it moves along quickly, we were on this road several times, no big issue.
We then went out to Boynton canyon and saw the Petroglyphs. You need to call ahead to make reservations for the tour. We just happened upon it and they let us join in. We figured there was something good out here because we passed some Pink Jeep tours. We put our Jeep to the test and had some adventures out in Boynton canyon.
We headed back out to Oak Creek Canyon to check out Garlands, I wish we kept going and stopped at Page Springs Winery but we headed back to Downtown Sedona. I was not too excited about the shopping\restaurantsin town. We found a nice place to have a drink and watch out last red rock sunset. I think it was Heartlines. Dinner tonite was at Judi’s on 89A not far from out hotel. Set back and a little hard to spot, but oh so good. Friendly service and ribs that are delicious.
Day 6
Headed back to Phoenix on Rt 17 for our flight the next day.
Along the way stopped at Montezumas well and Castle. Two different sites and I recommend them both. Avoid Bylers Amish Kitchen in Black Canyon, mediocre food and not very clean.
Our last nite we stayed at the Marriott near the airport. Comfortable and nicely priced. We went into Scottsdale for our final afternoon\evening in Arizona. They have a free trolley, take the ride and see the city the easy way, our driver was a great guide. We walked and shopped in Old Towne, much better prices on jewelry then Sedona. The shops are very competitive, so shop around then buy! Shops close up early, most by 5 or 6PM. We had a nice dinner was at PF Changs.
Day 7 Airport
Northwest Airlines has curbside pickup, and the guys are great. They grabbed our luggage out of the car and got us checked in. We then returned our rental and caught the shuttle back to the terminal. We had no problems with the Phoenix airport, I know some have had bad experiences. We were either lucky or they have worked out the issues.
This was a great vacation. TX for everyone’s input. I took lots of advice as I planned out the itinerary. Our fav vacations usually have a Caribbean beach so this was different for us. Arizona is breathtakingly beautiful. Each day was filled with awesome sites and vistas. Expect to do lots of walking. You will want to start your days early and stay late, so rest before you leave home! Even if you are not doing serious hiking, I would recommend hiking shoes and a pair of sneakers. Late Oct gave us temps mostly in the 80’s but a sweatshirt is good for the early am and eve’s.
