Welcome back! I’m so excited you decided to continue reading about my 7 days in Arizona! If you’re new here, don’t worry you’re not too late! Check out my previous blogs covering the days prior to this when I was exploring Phoenix. [link below]

Just a reminder! I divided my itinerary up to avoid overwhelming you with my stories and all of the information I have to share.

Part 1: Phoenix (click here to read!)
Part 2: Phoenix > Flagstaff > Grand Canyon National Park (this post)
Part 3: Flagstaff > Sedona > Phoenix (click here to read the next part)

Refresher course: okay, let’s get back in that Arizona mindset. In my last post I explained that I wanted to travel to Arizona since it was getting a bit colder in New York and COVID travel restrictions for New Yorkers had finally started to lighten up.

I took you on my 3-day journey through Phoenix, explained how I was taking advantage of working remotely, drank some yummy margaritas while eating the best enchiladas ever, and then I had the nerve I cut you off right before a REALLY exciting adventure. So, let’s get back to it!!

 

Part II: Flagstaff/Grand Canyon National Park

 

Day 4: Phoenix to Flagstaff

Finally it was my first day in Arizona where I didn’t have to work. About damn time. Let the vacation begin! I checked out of my Airbnb decently early to get on the road and head up to Flagstaff. On my way up north, I had plans to go on a guided ATV desert tour, which is something I will forever recommend to everyone going to Arizona, especially the Phoenix Area.

I had booked my excursion with Arizona Outdoor Fun, which was in New River, about 40 minutes north of Downtown Phoenix.

When I checked in to my guided tour, the guide mentioned that the guided tour route was a bit more intense than the other trails and recommended that I switch from an ATV to a UTV unless I wanted to take the ATV on the trails and guide myself. No thanks; I’ll switch to the UTV – no biggie! BUT then he hit me with the fact that I had to pay for 2 people then because I had to pay for both seats of the UTV. *gigantic eye roll*  I didn’t want to risk hurting myself or crashing the ATV on the more difficult trails, so I just bit the bullet and paid for the upcharge for the UTV. After the tour started and we went up our first mountain I was THRILLED that I was in an UTV rather than an ATV. That would have been pretty scary for me to be driving I can’t even deny it, so the extra money spent that morning was worth it.

The tour was about two hours in total and such a blast. Something about getting covered in sand and dust while off-roading in the desert just felt badass. Our guide, Jake, was really relaxed and created a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere for the entire tour. There was one other family on this tour, and at one point, the dad made a really inappropriate, unnecessary political comment, and I just froze in my tracks and had no idea how to even react to this man. I was really thankful of how Jake handled it: he pretended to not hear it and just started to walk away and told us about our next stop on the trail. An awkward, messy argument with crazy, Florida man successfully avoided.  Thanks Jake! We finished up the tour and parked our UTVs safely back at the check in area. I wiped the dust off of myself as best as I could, and got in my car to drive to Flagstaff, which was about another 2 hours north.

After about an hour, I was starting to get restless, and luckily around that time, I noticed a sign that said “Montezuma Castle next exit”. Montezuma like THE Montezuma? I absolutely had to check this out!

It turns out Montezuma Castle is a National Park. Sweeeeet. I got on line, and as I waited to pay my entry fee, I started reading about the area. One of the first things I read (that was posted by the NP itself) said something along the lines of: “Montezuma Castle is a misnomer on both accounts”. So, it turns out Montezuma was never here, this was not his castle, nor was this a castle at all. Talk about disappointed. I decided to still check it out, honestly because I just wasn’t ready to get back in the car and drive another hour yet, and I am glad I did. Montezuma’s Castle was actually pretty rad. It didn’t seem like much, but when you start walking down the pathway and look up, there is a giant house type structure built into the side of the mountain. It was a safe place for the native inhabitants to live to be away from any potential dangers. Go read all about it, because I definitely won’t describe it right and will make it sound super boring. It is a national park for a reason, so don’t discount it like I did at first!

I got back in the car, finished my drive up to Flagstaff, and checked into my next Airbnb. I hit the jackpot here. I stayed in the CUTEST place in all of Flagstaff I am convinced. (I’m going to post a video about it on my Instagram so head over there to see this place!) It was called the Hippie Hideaway, and was perfect. The host, Heather, was really communicative, really sweet, and so thoughtful in every single aspect of the Airbnb. She had calming music playing in the background when I walked in, a salt lamp radiating in the corner, a selection of different coffees and hot chocolates to choose from, a tray of snacks, board games, video games, and even little notes all throughout the place explaining things or just saying something nice! She is a superhost of superhosts. 10/10 would stay there again. I have told everyone to go stay there even if they aren’t planning on going to Flagstaff or Arizona anytime soon LOL.

As a female and as a solo traveler, it can be a bit sketchy to be staying alone in an Airbnb if you don’t do enough research. But ladies, LISTEN UP, if you are solo traveling in Flagstaff, other than the fact that Heather is the best host, I recommend you stay here. The space is the bottom level of her house, so her and her kids are right upstairs. Something about having a female host, and her kids playing and running around close by made me feel extra safe being there alone. It also gave it such a home feeling rather than a hotel type feeling.

After gushing over the Airbnb for like an hour, I hopped in the shower to get the rest of the dust off of myself and got ready for dinner. I went to Salsa Brava in Flagstaff, and as I opened the menu I was shocked (and happy) to see a section called “What Guy Ate!” because apparently Guy Fieri had a meal here on his show “Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives”. Now that I knew he ate here, I knew I would be ordering what he ate: Sopapillas. I’ll let you judge it for yourself. Check out Guy at Salsa Brava for yourself: click me!  (It’s only a 3 minute video and you HAVE to see what I ate!)

The manager walked over to my table to check in on my meal and insisted that I have to get dessert. Ya’ll know I’m the dessert queen, so it didn’t take much convincing. I indulged in a super creamy and super delicious cheesecake before heading back to my hippie hideaway to get some sleep. Big day planned for tomorrow!

Day 5: Grand Canyon National Park & Winslow, Arizona

My alarm was set for 5:00AM, but my body was too excited and I was wide-awake at around 4:45AM. I honestly think my body was still on NY time, so this would have been 6:45AM for me, which again, is normal time for me to be up anyway. I wanted to see the sunrise at Grand Canyon National Park, which was approximately 1.5 hours north. (PS the more north I was going the colder it was getting. Flagstaff at 5AM was like 30 degrees Fahrenheit, so pack and dress appropriately if you’re going in the colder months of the year. Just because it’s Arizona doesn’t mean it is all warm!)

I got ready and was out the door around 5:15AM. I made sure to plug in “South Rim entrance” to my GPS since I knew the North Rim entrance was closed and hit the road. I was really excited because my GPS gave me an ETA of around 6:45AM and the sunrise for that morning was happening at 7:10AM. Around 6:15AM I started getting close and seeing more signs for the Grand Canyon, and then I saw one that made my stomach drop: “South Rim Scenic Route CLOSED”. I was hoping that was another route along the way and continued to drive. Then I realized NO ONE ELSE WAS DRIVING TOWARDS THE CANYON. I couldn’t be the only one getting there for sunrise, right?

My gut told me it was time to turn around, especially because I had no service and couldn’t even check my route again. I drove back towards the gas station I had passed about 10 minutes earlier, and finally got some service. Turns out there are two routes to get to the South Rim entrance; the route I was driving along passes through Navajo land, which is all closed due to COVID. Apparently, Google Maps didn’t know that… (See, Google isn’t all knowing) I was now about two hours out of my way and my dream of seeing that sunrise over the Grand Canyon died along with my perky spirit for the morning. I parked along a scenic road and enjoyed the sunrise from there before getting back on the road and driving alllll the way to the other South Rim entrance.

I arrived at the South Rim Entrance a little after 9AM and decided I couldn’t be angry or grumpy. I had to just laugh at myself for the situation because at least now I have a funny story. Since I was there on the earlier side of the day, the National Park was decently empty, and I got a great parking spot. I did the South Rim walk and got some really fun pictures using my tripod. I was really happy in that moment that I was in such a gorgeous place where I could still enjoy adventuring and traveling, while in a safe, distant setting. It was just what I needed: fresh air and gorgeous scenery.

I spent a few more hours walking around, taking photos and taking in the sites. I decided it was time to head back towards Flagstaff. I had been up since before 5AM and didn’t want to catch myself getting sleepy while driving back.

On my way back to Flagstaff, I had one place I HAD to stop in even just to send a picture to my mom: Winslow, Arizona. Sound familiar?

“Well, I was standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl, my lord, in a flat-bed Ford, slowin’ down to take a look at me”.

A classic hit called “Take It Easy” by The Eagles. They are singing about a stop along the historic Route 66 in Winslow, Arizona. The town was really quaint, and really took advantage of their claim to fame from the song. There was a statue of Don Henley (I assume) standing on the corner, which a mural painted behind him of what the town would have looked like in the 1970s. There were also two gift shops on the opposite corners from the statue. On the other corner, there was an adorable, old-fashioned looking diner. I stopped in there had a good old-fashioned fountain Coke and ham & swiss sandwich. De-LISH.

This little pit stop made me add something to my travel bucket list too: drive along the historic Route 66 from start to finish. I have to see the other towns along the route that The Eagles didn’t sing about!

After sending the pictures to my mom, and enjoying my sandwich, I went back to my car and finished my journey back to my Airbnb. I was exhausted at this point, so I just took a relaxing shower and heated up my leftovers from Salsa Brava for dinner. If you thought I finished that whole Sopapillas the night before you’re insane. After finishing up the rest of my Sopapillas I tucked myself into bed and got a much needed sleep.

 

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