Christmas vacation in Northern Arizona and the Grand Canyon

This year we decided to visit the Grand Canyon in the winter, and put together a driving tour of beautiful places and natural wonders in Northern Arizona.

Sat, Dec 26 - Day 1: Boston to Flagstaff

Our flight arrived early in PHX but we couldn’t get on an earlier flight to Flagstaff. The car was a nice VW Routan, like a Caravan, but with a deeper cargo bay – nevertheless, it was an ordeal to pack in all 7 luggages, which left no visible rear window area at all!

Our first stop was the Museum of Northern Arizona north of Flagstaff. We liked the MNA which was built over an ancient lava bed, displaying the geology and ethnography of Northern Arizona. We learned about the Anasazi, Hopi, Navajo, Havasu-Pai, and Zuni tribes. The trappings of the American West exhibit had exquisite examples of handmade saddles and other cowboy paraphernalia. We visited Mom’s old high school friend Cathy DeGioia Eastwood, who is a professor of astronomy at Northern Arizona University, her husband John and daughter Erin (Megan was working at the Lowell Observatory that night). We all went out for a Thai dinner in the old town of Flagstaff (where a giant pine cone drops at the stroke of New Year!) for before retiring to the Radisson Woodlands hotel.

Sun, Dec 27 – Flagstaff to Chinle (211 miles)

Day 2: Meteor Crater, Winston, and the Hopi Reservation

We grabbed drinks and pastries at Starbucks for breakfast on our way out of Flagstaff on Route 40 (which overlaps with the fabled old Route 66). Driving times go fast when the speed limit is 75mph! Our first stop was Meteor Crater east of Flagstaff. The crater is MUCH bigger than it looks – the length of 20 football fields in an ampitheatre that could seat 2 million people. The impact was caused by a meteorite about 150ft wide about 50,000 years ago. A 2ft chunk of meteorite on display was an amazing 1600 lbs!

Next we stopped in Winslow, AZ, an old railroad town made famous by the Eagles song, “Take It Easy.” We had a fabulous lunch in the Turquoise Room of the lovingly restored unique La Posada Hotel, before turning north on Rte 87 to the Hopi Reservation.

We managed to find our way to 1^st and 2^nd Hopi Mesas. The steep drive up the mesas from the valley floor afforded great views, but there really wasn’t much to see at Walpi and the Hopi Cultural Center was closed. Fortunately we poked around and found Tsakurshovi, a tiny but well-stocked Hopi crafts shop run by Joe and Janice Day. They are famous for creating the “Don’t worry, be Hopi” logo T-shirts and on their shop walls are posted photos from all over the world picturing their fans wearing the shirt. Joe was a fountain of knowledge about Southwestern Indian culture and sites, and he pored over a map of the Four Corners states marking all the most interesting sites for this and future trips. We departed with smiles and some choice purchases (Hopi blankets, T-shirts, and caps). We took Joe’s advice and deviated from our planned route through Hubbell, instead taking a dirt road at Polacca to join Rte 4 heading east through picturesque buttes and Navajo country to Chinle, arriving at the Holiday Inn near the entrance of Canyon de Chelly.

Mon, Dec 28 – Chinle to Gouldings (105 miles)

Day 3: Canyon de Chelly and hiking down to the White House ruins

The girls got up really early and exercised in the hotel, before we grabbed breakfast-to-go from the hotel and went to the park Visitor Center just as it was opening. Once oriented, we decided to go to the North Rim first to take advantage of the morning light. It was COLD (<20c).>The overlook was spectacular as we clambered over red rock to views of the Navajo Fort and the distal canyon. Turning around to the South Rim Drive, we drove all the way to its terminus at the Spider Rock Overlook, which afforded a view of the converging Canyon de Chelly and the Canyon del Muerto, as well as the twin spires of Spider Rock. We then hiked down the White House Ruins Trail (2.5mi), which was a spectacular hike with many switchbacks along sandstone cliffs, followed by a stroll across the canyon floor to the breathtaking ruins of the White House, an Anasazi pueblo nestled in a gap underneath a sheer cliff. Penny and Sabrina bought some jewelry from the Navajo craftsmen who had tables set up in front of the ruins. We rushed back and ascended the trail in only 30 min, so that we could hit the road.

A quick lunch at Subway was followed by a long drive northwards Rte 191 all the way up into Utah. Here we took Joe Day’s advice and detoured from our planned route by taking in the “Valley of the Gods” drive through a “mini-Monument Valley” landscape of sandstone formations. Owen pointed out a bobcat at the beginning of the route, and Mom drove expertly on 17 miles of snow-covered winding dirt road through the “Valley.” We were stuck behind a large plow at the last mile or so, and Damian and Dad briefly got out and walked alongside. Finally we hit Rte 163 and drove past the aptly-named Mexican Hat rock formation to arrive at Goulding’s just at dusk. Gouldings is an old Navajo trading post transformed into a unique hotel following Hollywood’s (that is, John Ford’s) adoption of Monument Valley as a favorite site for filming Western movies. We had dinner before settling down in their theatre to watch the John Ford/John Wayne classic “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” which was filmed right where we were staying.

Tue, Dec 29 – Monument Valley to CameronTrading Post (200 miles)

Day 4: Taking in the Monument Valley

What a spectacular and eventful day! It was snowing when we woke, and after some discussion at breakfast we decided to join the Gouldings half-day guided tour of the Valley. We piled into the back of a heated trailer. Our guide Mr. P is a local Navajo, like all the workers in the Navajo reservation, whose grandfather was in John Ford’s movies. It was still cloudy and snowing lightly when we began the tour, but turned clear and sunny when we emerged from female and male hogans at our first stop. Our next stops took in the Left and Right Mittens, Three Nuns, Elephant Butte, and other formations. After John Ford’s Point we then went into restricted areas with many fantastic formations not marked on the map, including the Eye of the Sun, the Ear of the Wind, and the Big Hogan. We thought that this would be a great place to ride horses, like in the movies!

We had lunch at Burger King in Kayenta, mainly to check out its Navajo Code Talker exhibit, and then drove to the Grand Canyon East entrance, pausing at Cameron Trading Post to shop. By now it was snowing, and the ranger at the park entrance told us there were a few accidents up ahead, but nothing serious. We stopped at Lipan lookout but couldn’t see more than about 20 feet ahead of us because of the driving snow showers, so although we were standing at the canyon edge, we could not see into it! After Lipan point we continued driving, passing by some cars that were stopped or stuck on the side of the road, but we weren’t having any problems. After Moran point, we passed by a line of 4 or 5 cars stopped, before we realized that all traffic was at a standstill ahead of us. In trying to turn around and get back into line, Dad slid very slowly into another car parked by the side. At this point, people started yelling at us. An anxious Asian man spent ten minutes inspecting his car looking for any semblance of a scratch, and took our license plate number. Of course, he was unsuccessful. After getting back in line, we took several scouting trips ahead on foot to inspect the situation. We determined that cars were stuck trying to get up a hill ahead and many cars were turning around. Finally, a police trooper came around and told us to sit tight while they figured out the situation. So we settled down in the car. Several of us took turns peeing outside. Dad chose to trek into the woods, while Rhianon decided to just squat by the car. Then a police car and two ambulances passed us going in the opposite direction. We put down all the seats in the back of the car and squeezed into the back to watch Lord of the Rings on our tiny DVD player. Of course there was no room! We turned off the car to save energy and tried to conserve our energy with snack mix and fudge from the trading post. After waiting more than an hour in total, a policeman came back and told us the road ahead was closed for good because of accidents ahead and that everyone had to turn around. This was after he was temporarily blinded by the headlamp that mom was wearing to read her book!

This made it impossible for us to get to Grand Canyon Village, because to get to our reserved hotel south and then northwest via Flagstaff would have been another 160 miles. So instead we returned right back to Cameron trading post and stayed the night in their motel, after sprinting to the entrance when mom dropped us off so we could get to the restaurant before they closed dinner for the night.

Wed, Dec 30 – Cameron to Grand Canyon via Flagstaff

Day 5: Finally, we get to the Grand Canyon!

After the adventures of last night, we slept soundly despite our minimally heated rooms. After a large breakfast, we all stuffed ourselves into our minivan (a packing feat that we are learning to master) and headed off with aspirations to finally hike the Grand Canyon! Heading into the trading post one final time to buy some sandwiches for the trail, we saw a sign that said “Highway 64 closed due to snow.” Foiled again! After much grumbling, we decided to alter our plans and take the long way around, heading back through Flagstaff to enter the park from the southeast.

Around noon, we stopped to see the Wapatki ruins, an impressive set of pueblo ruins that included multiple rooms, a circular ball court, and a mysterious “blow hole” that blasted hot air from underground to the frigid surface. After that brief stop, we spent about 3 hours in the car, encountering even more snow and slippery roads as we made our way through Flagstaff.

We finally pulled into the parking lot at Thunderbird Lodge around 4:30 pm. With about 5 yards to go between us and our parking space, our trusty van’s wheels started spinning. We all tumbled out of the car and started pushing, working together to finally reach the seventh wonder of the world!

Running in excitement to the edge of the canyon, we saw…….lots of fog. The mighty canyon was all but invisible through the swirling snow.

After settling into our rooms, we took a walk

along the rim, and saw some hikers much more hardcore than us

climbing up from the canyon floor on the Bright Angel trail

in full snow regalia. For our part, we headed back to the hotel after about h

alf a mile to rest before dinner, which was an elegant

affair in the El Tovar Hotel. It was an ordeal to get here, but the area is truly

beautiful in the newly fallen snow. Hopefully tomor

row we’ll be able to see the canyon itself!

Thu, Dec 31 – Grand Canyon to Sedona (140 miles)

Day 6: Hiking the Grand Canyon and New Year’s Eve in Sedona

The day broke sunny and clear, providing perfect conditions for hiking the Canyon. After a hearty breakfast at the Bright Angel Lodge (seemingly staffed entirely by cheerful young Southeast Asians), we parked at the Canyonview Visitor Center and got on the shuttle bus to the South Kaibab trailhead, strapping our Stable-Icers and crampons onto our boots en route. The South Kaibab trail is marked by a very steep initial descent, and indeed we started off by descending 12 straight switchback trails. The trail itself was covered with packed down snow, which actually made for smoother footing and trekking. Each turn provided new views of the near canyon walls, the lower plateaus and the distant North Rim, lit at angles by the morning sun. Our first significant stop was at Ooh-Ah Point, composed simply of 3 slabs of rock at a switchback, which we reached in only 30 minutes. We then continued down to Cedar Ridge and below Mule Butte before turning around. Mom managed to make it up by hiking up for 2 minutes and resting 1 minute at a time.

Since we finished earlier than expected (1:30pm instead of 3pm), we stopped at the Information Center, where we found out that the Desert View Road along the South Rim was finally open! So we drove out along the drive, stopping at Grandview Point and Lipan Point to take in great westward views of the Canyon including the Colorado River along the canyon floor, and grabbing a quick lunch at the Desertview station.

We then drove fast on Rte 64 (for the FOURTH time on this trip) to Cameron and south on Rte 89 to Flagstaff, turning onto the winding picturesque Oak Creek Canyon Rd (Rte 89A) to reach Sedona. En route, Rhianon made reservations for New Year’s Eve activities in Sedona. Once we arrived, we checked into a fantastic condo suite at the Hyatt Pinon Point, which is on a high bluff right in the middle of Sedona with great views in all directions. We washed up quickly and dashed off to a 7pm first day showing of “Sherlock Holmes” at the movie theatres, which was really entertaining. We then bought some groceries before heading south to Oak Creek for a New Year’s Eve dinner at Cucina Rustica, where we had a wonderful Italian dinner amidst live music and a festive crowd that lasted past the stroke of midnight. Mom, Dad, and Rhianon had martinis, Rhianon consuming two pomeganate martinis, and we all got New Year’s crowns (David too) and beads to ring in the New Year!

Fri, Jan 1 - Day 7: Exploring Sedona on New Year’s Day

We all slept in and had a leisurely home-cooked breakfast of French toast, bacon, and bagels. After some discussion, we decided to go up the Schnebly Creek Road, which leads up out of the center of town. After the first mile, the pavement ended, and our trusty minivan made it up the remaining 4 miles of muddy or snow-covered dirt road full of ruts and pot holes on which only SUV’s and tourist jeeps were otherwise traveling. At one point, the road fell away over a one foot rut, and we all got out to help Mom navigate past this obstruction. We reached the top and clambered over sandstone boulders to get a great view of Sedona and the Verde Valley to the west.

Then we drove southwest on 89A to Cottonwood and a late afternoon horseback ride with Trailhorse Adventures in the Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Five of the family saddled up as follows: David on little Arrow, Sabrina on Lightning, Owen on Hawaii, Rhianon on Al Capone, and Mom on Budweiser (a Clydesdale draft horse). Dad and Damian instead drove on to Jerome, an old mining town nestled against a 30° mountainside, with great views over the entire VerdeValley, with the red rock formations of Sedona and the San Francisco peaks north of Flagstaff visible in the distance. Jerome is a picturesque ghost town with one main road on several steep switchbacks, full of old brick and wooden buildings, so unique that the entire town is a designated National Historic Landmark. According to the records, enough copper was extracted from the Jerome mine to provide every person on Earth with 13 pounds of copper! After a quick bite, Dad and Damian spent their time in Jerome looking through the fascinating collection of kaleidoscopes at Nellie Bly’s store, before driving back to pick up the riders at dusk. Back at the condo, the family settled in for a home cooked dinner of spaghetti and vegetables, sitting in the hot tub, and watching “The Two Towers” on DVD.