Last Pre-COVID Trip: Arizona, USA
- LoAroundTheGlobo
- May 24, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: May 3
December 2019
During the 2019 holiday season, as was somewhat customary while Timmy and I were in school, we traveled during the Christmas break, and this time, adventured around Arizona as our family vacation. We stayed in the Phoenix area for a couple of days, headed north where we spent about 4 days in Sedona, then looped through Holbrook on our way back to Phoenix. For anyone outdoorsy like my family, this part of the country is so awesome to explore.
While in Phoenix, we visited Camelback Mountain and Papago Park, both of which offer panoramic views of the downtown area. In between the hiking, we ventured around Old Town Scottsdale, played golf at a beautiful desert course, and drove around to different lookouts in Mesa, Tempe, and Glendale. We were set to have a couple more days to explore Phoenix towards the end of the trip, so we headed up to Sedona. On our way to Sedona, we stopped at Montezuma Castle National Monument, a place protecting the ancient dwellings of the Sinagua people, an indigenous group that built their civilization into the side of a cliff.
After that, we stopped off at a "ghost town" near Prescott. It was an old mining town that now offers tours of the abandoned grounds/buildings including an old schoolhouse, a dentist, and an outhouse. The family that ran it kept chickens and pigs and goats, so we had a great time admiring all the antique machines and cars that they roamed all over.
We'd driven through Sedona on a previous road trip, but this was the first time I'd spent time here. Sedona has a reputation for healing, self-care, and reconnecting with one's self - both physically and spiritually. With that being said, we were stoked to take part in some of the activities that Sedona has to offer. We went on a rainy, off-roading Jeep tour, which was way too much fun! My family and I were the only passengers, and our guide had a plethora of knowledge - he knew all about the rock formations, the plants, the wildlife, the climate. You name it, he knew about it, and was so happy to share with us throughout the trek. Even Grandma loved it, and she was a great sport about bouncing around in the back of this safari jeep thing.
After the tour, we drove over to another lookout, where we hiked down to a beautiful platform over a ravine. We explored the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which is a church built into the world-famous red rocks, and we also explored a couple of other famous panoramic views. Although we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day there, we found a really cool spot that did energy balancing, salt room therapy, and psychic readings with crystals, which are just some of the holistic experiences that Sedona is famous for. After the salt room therapy, Timmy and I felt noticeably better - clearer sinuses, relaxed muscles, and balanced mindsets. For Christmas Dinner, we'd made reservations at Mariposa Latin Inspired Grille. This restaurant was amazing. It offers beautiful views, great service, absolutely stellar cuisine, and great atmosphere. We dined for nearly four hours, which made our Christmas so special to just relax and enjoy each other's company.
After leaving Sedona through snow-capped mountains and trees, we visited the Meteor Crater Natural Landmark. This place is so... random, yet jaw-dropping. We learned all about it as we walked through the museum, then we walked out to the platforms that offer unbelievable vantage points over this 50k-year-old crater. My brother and I are super into learning about natural phenomena like this, so it was really cool to experience this massive hole in the Earth that'd been left by a meteor.
After this pit stop, we chugged along to Holbrook, where you can enter Petrified Forest National Park. This park is massive, so we drove all around in our rental, and hopped out whenever the view was insane, which was often. From the Rainbow Forest, where wood has literally turned to stone, hence the park's name, to the sprawling views of Newspaper Rock, we thoroughly enjoyed this national park. The only downside is that you basically have to make a point of visiting, whereas other national parks in this area of the country are slightly more geographically convenient. But nonetheless, it's worth it!
We ventured back south to the Phoenix area, where we enjoyed a couple more nights of our vacation. One evening, we did a drive-through lights show, which was so sweet and perfectly timed with my fave Christmas carols. Another night, we randomly hawked tickets to the Clemson/OSU college football playoff game. As a South Carolina alumna, I fervently cheered on the Buckeyes, but to no avail. It was still a super fun outing, but our trip was coming to a close. We celebrated Timmy's birthday on our final day by driving around South Mountain Park & Preserve, which was a perfect ending - gorgeous mountains, bright blue lake, and fascinating rock formations.
My family and I had a great time, and enjoyed a good mixture of all our favorite things: outdoors/wellness activities, sports, eating gooood, and being together. 'Twas a very good Christmas indeed.
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To Do or Not To Do?
Absolutely! I love this part of the country, and Arizona has a variety of things that would make any traveller happy. For example, if you like hiking or biking or Mexican food or yoga or museums or natural landmarks or golf or just beautiful vistas, this could definitely be a place to add to your list. We rented a car, which I'd recommend, and we'd reserved our accommodations, but we otherwise winged it. This provided the right amount of flexibility to fuel our curiosity and it kept our itinerary spontaneous throughout our travels!
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