Thurs. Oct. 11
Today’s trip didn’t immediately start out with hitting the road to Arizona. Since it was the morning of the special shapes rodeo at the International Balloon Fiesta, my mom, Hyla, and I headed out at around 6 am to view them. We usually watch from a dirt lot on Louisiana, but for some reason I forgot which street it was and we wound up on San Pedro, basically on the frontage to I-25. It was a great view, and we were even closer than usual with no obstructions save for a warehouse in front of us. We had a great time spotting all the shapes. Our favorites included Van Gogh, an incredibly detailed replica of his self-portrait, and Christ the Redeemer which had an impressive shape for a balloon. Sadly, Arabelle the Cow, one of my favorites, didn’t make it up. I always enjoy that one because its legs are lower than the basket – truly an incredible shape. Hyla the Frog did go up, however, so that’s always exciting. One of these days we have to go meet the pilot.
After about an hour or so, things seemed to have hit a lull, so we called it a day and headed home to drop off my mom and finish packing. We did see the balloon that inflated at Hyla’s school a few days prior setting up along Alameda (not at Balloon Fiesta Park). That was pretty exciting.
We finished packing and hit the road around 11am. We made it a point to stop at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Parks along the way, purchasing a National Parks Pass for the first time in several years. We figured we’d get our money’s worth on this trip alone. We made sure to get Griffin’s parks passport stamped at both places (Hyla already had hers) and then did an overlook or two at the Painted Desert. It was really too windy to appreciate at the time, so we headed down to the Petrified Forest. Luckily, the wind had died down a bit here. We did the short Puerco Pueblo hike and saw some petroglyphs. Then we headed out to do the Agate House and Long Logs trails. It was just perfect weather – rain in the distance, plenty of clouds, and a good temperature. The kids enjoyed it, too. They were really fascinated by the agate house, an approximately 700 year-old, 8-room pueblo, made with petrified wood.
Once we’d finished our hikes, the kids were pretty tired. Hyla fell asleep for much of the remainder of the drive. We finally made it to Flagstaff before TOO late, but it was already dark out. We wanted to try one of the new (to us) brewpubs for dinner. Beaver Street Brewpub is our usual go-to, but there is so much more to discover! We decided on The Historic Brewing Company. It took us a while to find parking, but we were able to get the kids up and make the several-block walk over to the restaurant. It was considerably colder up here than we’d been used to, and Hyla was still tired and grumpy, but she felt better once we got inside. She was excited to see some Halloween decorations, including one table that was almost completely engulfed in cobwebs and spiders. There was still enough room to seat someone, though. We found a nice table in a nook, and I went to order our food while Nate sat with the kids. Well, I was obviously tired too because I remembered to order food for Nate and Hyla, as well as our drinks, but completely forgot to order my own food. It worked out well, though, because Hyla, who was adamant about wanting PB and J, wouldn’t touch it once it arrived, so I just ate hers as she noshed on fries. I also ordered a beer flight and got to try a number of their unusual flavors like the Salt River Lager, made with salt and lime. I think there was a cider or two in there, too. Honestly, I was so tired, the restaurant experience was rather a blur. It wasn’t a bad experience, but a little awkward. Definitely worth another visit one day, though.
Exhausted, we made our way to our motel, the Super 8 on Rte. 66. We’d chosen it because it had a pool, but tonight that wasn’t going to happen. We all collapsed and hit the hay shortly thereafter. It was a good, but tiring day.
Fri. Oct. 12
The Grand Canyon!! We had a lovely drive up, enjoying the brilliant southwestern clouds and desert scenery. We started our visit at the Desert View Watchtower. Only the lower lookout was open, but the view from there was phenomenal. Low-lying clouds blanketed and engulfed the canyon, and while it obscured some of the formations, the effect was unusual, striking, and ever-changing. It was absolutely breathtaking.
It was colder than anticipated, and we’d accidentally left Griffin’s jacket at the motel, so we struck out in search of something for him to wear. We wound up at the nearby Desert View Market and Deli where we grabbed a quick lunch and browsed for warmer clothes. We didn’t find anything, but luckily we were able to dress him in layers, and things were starting to warm up anyway. We continued on toward Grand Canyon Village and attempted to find parking. Who’d have guessed it would be so packed on a Friday in October! It took us a while, but we eventually found a spot at one of the overflow lots, A, I think, by the Shrine of Ages. We were a bit east of the main hike, but we had no problem meeting up with the rim trail anyway. We walked along with many other visitors, enjoying the touchable rock slices on display and viewing the Geology Timeline markers, not to mention the astounding views of the canyon. We decided to continue along the trail and see how far we could get before the kids (specifically Hyla, since Griffin was riding in the backpack) got tired. Luckily a shuttle bus runs for about 8 miles along the hike, letting people on and off at lookout points, so we could always bail at any point. We would have loved to have hiked the whole 8 miles, but we knew that was pushing it with the kids.
Much to our surprise, Hyla didn’t complain too much and walked for most of the way herself. She did ride on dad’s shoulders a few times, but it wasn’t excessive. We encountered two elk at close range, neither of which seemed at all disturbed by our presence, thankfully. And ravens abounded, always hoping to snatch food from an unsuspecting hiker. We pressed on, despite passing many shuttle stops. Luckily, they were usually a half mile or so apart, so we weren’t pushing to kids TOO hard. Eventually, about 4 miles in, we stopped and grabbed the shuttle at The Abyss. Overall, Hyla had hiked close to 5 miles at this point with almost no complaining! I was certainly impressed.
We rode one overcrowded shuttle before opting to get off and switch shuttles. It was just too uncomfortable standing with the kids. The second shuttle was still crowded but proved quite a bit better. Hyla and I sat at the very back of the bus, with Nate and Griffin one row ahead. We had a nice time talking to fellow riders. It’s amazing how cute kids can break the ice. I overheard one guy talking about Canyonlands National Park and how it blew him away, specifically because of one particular trail. I had to find out which trail, since, when we went, I wasn’t all that impressed. I figured it was because we were limited in our ability to explore with a low-clearance, 2-wheel drive car, but he said he had no problems with his car and made it to somewhere in The Needles, The Joint, I believe, and that it was just incredible. I guess we’ll have to go back and check it out!
Once we finally made it back to our car (after another transfer – it’s like an urban transportation system out there!), we headed back through Grand Canyon Village (or perhaps Tusayan) where we stopped to eat at the Big E Steakhouse, the most interesting-looking restaurant we saw. They seated us on the porch with all the windows wide open. It was pretty chilly, especially since we were all still sweaty from our big hike, but luckily, they eventually closed them up and things were more comfortable. We had a relaxing meal, though the service did tend to be slow, which was kind of hard with anxious kids. Nate took the kids to the car as I waited for the check because it was just taking way too long, and they were getting cranky and impatient. Then we drove back to Flagstaff in the dark. I would have loved to have seen the scenery, but that’s for another time. Once we got back, again the pool was out of the question. It was straight to bed for the entire exhausted crew.
Sat. Oct. 13
We grabbed a quick breakfast in the lobby before striking out to our next national park – Wupatki National Monument. We wanted to visit both Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments on this trip, but we opted for Wupatki first since we’d visited Sunset Crater years ago. Rather we start with the one new to us. We headed northeast out of Flagstaff on Rte. 89 and exited at Loop Rd. 395. We drove directly through Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, admiring the conifers and mountainous setting. We didn’t stop this time, continuing on about 20 more miles to the Wupatki visitor center, noting how the land transitioned rather abruptly to more of a desert landscape. Once at the visitor center we browsed the museum displays, stamped the passports, and meant to, but forgot to grab a patch, an error which would find us returning later. Then we went out back and walked around the impressive Wupatki Pueblo site. Hyla wanted to hurry ahead, so I went with her as Nate stayed behind with Griffin, helping him toddle along. It mostly went well until he did a pretty big faceplant on the trail that left him with a bump on his forehead that looked like something out of a Warner Bros. cartoon, poor guy. Luckily it didn’t last too long, and it didn’t really seem to upset him too much. That’s learning to walk for you.
We all eventually got to explore all this site had to offer, including viewing the striking pueblo ruins, checking out the ballcourt, an arena-type area where it is believed neighboring peoples would gather for sporting matches, and testing out the blowhole, an opening in the earth that blows air out on warm days and sucks air in on cool days. All very interesting and worth checking out.
Once we’d seen it all, we continued up the road to see the Citadel and Nalakihu Pueblo sites, taking a curving trail up to the top of the Citadel, and observing a craterous limestone sinkhole along the way. Beautiful views awaited us at the top. Hyla was a bit grouchy about the hike up (less than a quarter mile), but my observation that the trail reminded me of the spiraling climb up to the top of the mountain in the Bob-Omb Battlefield stage of Mario 64 increased her enthusiasm for it at least somewhat.
From here, we continued a little further to the Lomaki Pueblo site. At this point, Hyla was just too grouchy for words and kept grumbling about having to walk ALL that way. Nathan finally gave in and let her ride on his shoulders a bit. Luckily, this was another short trail, maybe a half mile. We viewed the ruins but headed back to the car before too long because she was getting overtired.
At this point, it made sense to give the kids a rest, so we motored back to the visitor center where I bought my patch, and then we headed over to Wukoki Pueblo, the last main site in the park. Nate and I agreed to take turns touring it so the kids could take a break. Griffin fell asleep on the way, in fact. I went first and was treated to amazing views and a fun place to explore. It was an extremely short hike, and when I returned, I told Hyla she really didn’t want to miss it. I was able to convince her to go up with Nate, and the two of them really enjoyed it as well. I’m glad she agreed to check it out.
Once we were done, we could see the clouds ramping up in the distance, toward Sunset Crater. We were thinking about trying to hit both parks in one day, so we held our breath and headed toward the other national monument, fingers crossed. Well, by the time we got there, the rain was torrential and we had a hard time even seeing out our window. The forecast said it would probably last all day, so we decided to just come back tomorrow. Back to Flagstaff for us!
It was a bit past lunchtime, so we decided to check out another new-to-us brewpub. This time we opted for Trail Crest Brewing Co., located in a strip mall on Milton Road. It had a nice atmosphere and friendly waitstaff. After browsing our menus for a bit, I wound up ordering the superfood salad, Nate had a veggie wrap and tomato bisque soup, and Hyla surprised our waitress by opting for the hummus plate instead of any of the items in the kids’ menu. Vegetarian all around! The food was delicious!! We were all happy. I absolutely loved mine – it consisted of quinoa, spinach, avocado, tomatoes, and black beans with a vinaigrette dressing. Out of this world. I also did a beer flight, which was good, too. I would definitely go back again.
We took the rest of the day easy, at least by our standards. We headed over to the Flagstaff Mall and wandered around. We needed something to do to keep out of the rain for a bit. The mall was exactly as expected – pretty small, and kind of sad in that about half of the stores were closed up. Despite that, it didn’t feel depressing, at least. It occurred to us we needed to find green Converse shoes for Hyla’s Halloween costume (she was going to be Oona, the scientist from Odd Squad), so that was our goal. We actually found a pair of aqua-to-teal ones in her size, so that worked out brilliantly. Then we headed over to the dreaded kids’ play area (germs galore!!) and let Hyla play for a bit. It took some doing to eventually extract her, but I think she did get her fill of fun.
It was starting to get dark at this point, and everyone was tired, so we quickly stopped for gas, ran into a grocery store for a book of stamps, and headed back to our room. We were all wet and chilled from the cold rains, but this was going to be our last night out here, and Hyla needed to check out that swimming pool. So Nate and Griffin stayed behind, and Hyla and I donned our suits and made the mad dash across the wintry-mixing parking lot to the detached indoor pool. We didn’t bother to bring towels, expecting to grab some there, but there weren’t any, so I spent a bit of time worrying about our upcoming very wet and cold dash back to the room. Luckily, someone told the front desk at one point, and an employee came to restock before that ever came up.
The pool was pretty quiet, but we were never alone. Eventually a man and a daughter about a year younger than Hyla showed up. Turns out they were from Minnesota, visiting a grandparent who had moved to the state. The girls immediately took to each other and wanted to play. The other girl brought a small beach ball, and Hyla had her unicorn innertube, and they both were good about sharing with each other.
The temperature in the pool was warm enough, despite my constant shivering indicating otherwise, but the hot tub was calling my name. Hyla has never been a fan of hot tubs, but the other girl convinced her to try it. Luckily it wasn’t excessively hot, and we were finally able to warm up and get the shivers out of our system. We all did return to the pool briefly before everyone decided the hot tub was better, and Hyla, forgetting where the steps were, assumed that they were where they weren’t and awkwardly fell into the hot tub before I could stop her. Luckily she had her innertube on, but it was scary for all of us. Shortly thereafter, due to tiredness and upsetness, it was finally time to return to our rooms.
It didn’t take long once we returned to have everyone ready for bed and asleep. What a busy, tiring day it had been!
Sun. Oct. 14
Got up early again, thanks to our trusty alarm clock Hyla. Grabbed a quick lobby breakfast again, packed the car, and checked out of the hotel before heading back up to Sunset Crater Volcano N.M. again. We stopped at the gift shop where I debated about getting a patch, not remembering if I’d gotten one last time (which was at least 10 years ago, probably longer). I gave in and got one, and once home discovered that I didn’t get one last time, so yay! Then we headed over to the hikes and started with the trail to Lenox Crater. I vividly remember doing this back before I was in shape and still suffering from altitude sensitivity. I remember just being exhausted by this, so I had empathy for Hyla who was complaining about how tiring this uphill climb was. This time I conquered it with no problem, as it really isn’t THAT long of a hike or all that steep. We were greeted by some incredible views of the snow-capped volcanic mountains surrounding us. Absolutely astounding.
On the hike down, Hyla kept wanting to be carried and found many reasons to stop along the way. I kept hearing gunshots in the not-so-distant distance, so I just wanted to get down off the volcanoside before much longer. Once down, we did the one-mile Lava Flow Loop trail which was mostly level and had some great basalt formations and scenic features. Hyla was a trooper, but she had about enough once we were done with that. On top of it, the forecast was about the same as the day before, and the drizzle had started right around the time we got back to the car, so our timing was excellent. We headed back into town to try another restaurant before heading back for home.
We headed to the Sawmill, a newish development with a smattering of restaurants and other shops, and hemmed and hawed about where to go. We ultimately decided on a place called Whisk and Whiskey, named such because they make their food from scratch (whisk) and feature a number of whiskeys. Nate had a beer and I decided to try their New Fashioned, a bourbon and orange liqueur concoction they had on draft. It was pretty nice! The food, well, Nate liked his burger, Hyla liked her pretzel bites, and then there was the bruschetta. You can’t go wrong with bruschetta, right? Well, I understand bruschetta has onions, and I can usually deal, but when we’re talking like 90% weird, cloyingly sweet, pickled onion things that have a flavor that invades my nightmares, well, I somehow got it down, as I don’t like to waste food, but talk about ick. Never again. I mean, onion wasn’t even listed on the menu as part of it…just tomato conserva, whatever that is…maybe that means that they’re conserving tomatoes by substituting onions? I didn’t notice much in the way of tomato…Ugh, anyway, unless you love that, plus some weird bacon jam (maybe that’s what made the onions taste pickled, man, I don’t know anymore), I’d recommend trying something else. Ick.
Anyway, from here we hit the road for home. We’d considered stopping at Meteor Crater or Red Rock State Park on the way home, but being fall it would already be dark by the time we got home. We didn’t want to push it. So back we drove, stopping at the Dairy Queen in Holbrook in an attempt to banish the awful onion and bacon jam taste from my mouth (OMG, it’s been weeks and I still want to hurl thinking about it). We made it home a bit before 8, none the worse for wear. It had been another great trip, and we’re already champing at the bit for the next one!
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