While a series of trips to see family renewed my love of Arizona, this two-week vacation with great friends stirred the pot. After some encouragement from one of those friends (you know who you are!) and a three-week hiatus on my own, this blog (and also a book) were born! This post provides an outline of where we went, what we saw, and links to posts associated with each stop.

Our itinerary:

Day 1: MKE to PHX to Sedona
Sedona, AZ (7 nights) The Ridge on Sedona Golf Resort. We flew into Phoenix, but started our vacation in Sedona for seven nights, then to the Grand Canyon for two, and back in Phoenix for five, close to our flights back home.

Tuzigoot, choo choo
Our stay in Sedona continues with two great stops pretty close to Sedona to make this a relatively short day. We visited Tuzigoot National Monument and took a ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad.

A Castle and a Ghost Town
Our stay in Sedona continues with two more short trips. Montezuma Castle has lots of history and the loop trail was easy to walk, lined with Sycamore trees, and Kodak moments at every turn. Next stop was Jerome – once known as the wickedest town in the west.

Route 66 – West of Flagstaff
Our stay in Sedona continues. We traveled along Route 66 as much as possible to Williams, Seligman, Peach Springs, and Oatman, with an overnight in Lake Havasu City.

Route 66 – East of Flagstaff
Our stay in Sedona continues. Today we traveled along Route 66 as much as we could to Walnut Canyon, Meteor Crater, Winslow, Holbrook, the Painted Desert, and the Petrified Forest. Yes, that was a LOT! And did we see much of Sedona while we were here? Not really. But we’ll make it up to them later in Return to the Red Rocks 2024.

Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, AZ (2 nights) El Tovar Lodge. As the name implies, our stop at the Grand Canyon was grand, with a capital GRAND! We visited nearly every stop on the south rim and our hotel was right on the canyon rim. It was fabulous waking up to such an awesome view both mornings.

Desert View Watchtower
Our stay at the Grand Canyon continues. On the far eastern end of the south rim of Grand Canyon, the Watchtower offers great views of the Painted Desert, the Canyon and the Colorado River. Climb the tower for even better views from the highest point on the South Rim. Stunning artwork adorns the inside.

By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Peoria, AZ (5 nights) Cibola Vista Resort and Spa. By the time we got to Phoenix, we were exhausted! We were ready for the relaxation we had all signed up for. We had lots of things on our itinerary, but we said no more road trips!

Taliesin West
Our stay in Peoria continues. OK, we did do one excursion, and it was a marvelous one!

My first series of blogs are officially in the books. I hope you continue on our journeys, because as long as we’re able, we’ll be traveling! Use all of your vacation days my friends! Every last one!

Happy trails,
Barb