Arizona in December - Grand Canyon and Sedona
Jan 18th, 2023, 07:33 PM
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Arizona in December - Grand Canyon and Sedona
A short get away to Arizona!
Knowing that my job would have me swamped from January to June 2023, I decided to make a brief trip to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. I have a national park pass that was crying to be used so why not check off a place on my bucket list?
Dates: December 3- 7, 2022
Airline: SWA, $180 RT Nonstop
Car rental: Alamo, intermediate for $268
Hotels: Holiday Inn Express Tusayan, $135/night and Aiden by Best Western in Scottsdale, also $135/night.
Flight was smooth and on time. I was surprised and disappointed to arrive in the rain and have to drive for hours in it. I was expecting big blue desert skies. Oh well! I brought the Gulf Coast rain with me.
First stop was Montezuma Castle National Monument. Free with the park pass. This is a wonderful site featuring cliffside dwellings of people who lived in the area hundreds of years ago. You can’t go up to explore them but there’s a nice walking path at the base to view them and they also have a diorama to get an idea of what the inside is like. It was not busy at all here and it was a short visit.
Next stop was Flagstaff. What a great town! It was Christmas festival day, with tree lighting to happen later in the day. While I was there, a band was playing Christmas songs and there were free cookie decorating stations. Also, little smores were handed out. How fun!
Lunch was at Lumberjack Pizza. I thought it was very good and I was pleased to eat for under $10. I was trying to make this a cheap trip.
I had read about the Church of the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary online and it looked amazing but I didn’t get the impression it was open for service or visits due to serious structural decay issues. I decided to drive by on my way out of town and to my surprise and delight, it was open! There was sort of an open house going on, so I popped in. I love historic churches and I also appreciate the opportunity to give thanks for my safe travel and opportunity to see new places. The chapel is beautiful inside with lovely stained glass windows.
That surprise opportunity made my day. It was getting late in the afternoon though and I didn’t really want to be driving in the dark to Tusayan so I jumped back on the road and hightailed it as fast as I safely could to try to beat nightfall. Alas, I didn’t but luckily I didn’t encounter any wildlife on the roads.
Holiday Inn Express is my new favorite chain of late. I appreciate the clean rooms and solid breakfasts. The property was nicely decorated for the holidays. I enjoyed my three nights there.
Day 2 – Grand Canyon time! I awoke to dreary weather and headed to the Canyon. I was all by myself on the road. It was very quiet. I did see elk, so that was neat and I feel like I saw donkeys on the loose on the other side of the road but they weren’t there later in the day for me to verify what I saw.
The canyon itself was completely obscured by low clouds/fog. Ugh! All that way and no sign of the dramatic canyon. I facetimed a friend in Florida and gave a hilarious tour of the invisible canyon. I walked a bit of the rim trail and it was all nothingness.
I hopped back in the car and drove east towards Desert View tower. About 15 minutes later, parts of the canyon started to emerge. I stopped at all of the view points. The canyon really is amazing. The tower is closed for renovation so that was a bummer but there are great views just outside.
Somewhere along the way, I went down a bit of a trail but it was icy and steep. I turned around shortly into it.
I went back to the main visitor center area to check out the views with the clouds lifting and also visited with a nice park employee who gave me a tip on where to look for big horn sheep.
As I was in lazy leisure travel mode, I decided to go back to my hotel for an early afternoon nap. Enroute to the hotel, there were a whole bunch of female elk on the side of the road. I love these shaggy creatures!
After my nap, I headed back to the park and did some of the Bright Angel Trail. This is a really neat trail and I loved the “tunnels”. It’s a lot rougher walking back up. I can’t imagine doing it in the summer. There were people who had come from the bottom or at least lower levels and they were drenched in sweat from exertion and the fact it’s warmer the lower you go. They were going to be chilly at the top when the cold wind hit the sweaty skin, that’s for sure!
Sunset is really pretty at the canyon but it probably wasn’t nearly as dramatic as it would be if the skies weren’t overcast. Canyon colors are very muted with dark clouds overhead.
Dinner was at the Big E Steakhouse. It smelled like sewer gas. Why I stayed, I do not know. The meal was expensive and not good.
Day 3 – Pursuit of big horn sheep!
I drove to Verkamp Visitor Center and walked the south rim trail to the geology museum. Where are the sheep?? All of a sudden, I saw some bright white shapes in the shrubs. They were the backends of six sheep! Like bullseyes! They were a group of females and a youngster. I was so pleased!
After observing them for quite a while, I continued to the geology museum. I enjoyed the exhibit and then decided to head back. On the way back, my new furry friends were now on the trail! With me coming from one direction and some other folks coming from the opposite direction, they moved off trail and rooted around for vegetation to snack on. Eventually some dogs on leashes came by and that freaked out the sheep and they moved out on the rocks and close to the edge of the cliff. It was a beautiful sight seeing these creatures with the canyon in the background. I spent a long time just watching them. They don’t seem to care about people but dogs definitely concern them. Please know that my photos are taken using a zoom. I was not in petting distance although it certainly seemed they were not worried if a person approached that close. I heard one person asking a sheep if she could scratch her behind but thankfully she didn’t try.
I drove to Hermit’s Rest and made stops along the way. All very beautiful.
Day 4 – Goodbye Grand Canyon. I took the more scenic 180 out. I loved the drive through the San Francisco peaks. I drove to Flagstaff to fill up the gas tank and then I proceeded to Sedona via Oak Creek Canyon scenic drive. The weather was crummy with intermittent rain but it was a beautiful drive nonetheless.
The red rocks of the Sedona area are gorgeous. I visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross which has a glorious setting. There’s a huge mansion close by. What must it be like to live in such a home and in such a gorgeous location!
Sedona is a very touristy town packed with little shops. I wandered around a bit but wasn’t really interested in shopping. I drove around and stopped where I could to take pictures of the landscapes.
My final night was in Scottsdale. I felt like I was in Boca Raton.
Dinner was at Chompie’s. I enjoyed my meal. As you can probably tell, I’m not much of a foodie and am good with basics.
The trip was very low key and just what I needed. I have had plenty of whirlwind trips which are fun, but I was in need of something very relaxed, and this was it.
photos in the next post.
Knowing that my job would have me swamped from January to June 2023, I decided to make a brief trip to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. I have a national park pass that was crying to be used so why not check off a place on my bucket list?
Dates: December 3- 7, 2022
Airline: SWA, $180 RT Nonstop
Car rental: Alamo, intermediate for $268
Hotels: Holiday Inn Express Tusayan, $135/night and Aiden by Best Western in Scottsdale, also $135/night.
Flight was smooth and on time. I was surprised and disappointed to arrive in the rain and have to drive for hours in it. I was expecting big blue desert skies. Oh well! I brought the Gulf Coast rain with me.
First stop was Montezuma Castle National Monument. Free with the park pass. This is a wonderful site featuring cliffside dwellings of people who lived in the area hundreds of years ago. You can’t go up to explore them but there’s a nice walking path at the base to view them and they also have a diorama to get an idea of what the inside is like. It was not busy at all here and it was a short visit.
Next stop was Flagstaff. What a great town! It was Christmas festival day, with tree lighting to happen later in the day. While I was there, a band was playing Christmas songs and there were free cookie decorating stations. Also, little smores were handed out. How fun!
Lunch was at Lumberjack Pizza. I thought it was very good and I was pleased to eat for under $10. I was trying to make this a cheap trip.
I had read about the Church of the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary online and it looked amazing but I didn’t get the impression it was open for service or visits due to serious structural decay issues. I decided to drive by on my way out of town and to my surprise and delight, it was open! There was sort of an open house going on, so I popped in. I love historic churches and I also appreciate the opportunity to give thanks for my safe travel and opportunity to see new places. The chapel is beautiful inside with lovely stained glass windows.
That surprise opportunity made my day. It was getting late in the afternoon though and I didn’t really want to be driving in the dark to Tusayan so I jumped back on the road and hightailed it as fast as I safely could to try to beat nightfall. Alas, I didn’t but luckily I didn’t encounter any wildlife on the roads.
Holiday Inn Express is my new favorite chain of late. I appreciate the clean rooms and solid breakfasts. The property was nicely decorated for the holidays. I enjoyed my three nights there.
Day 2 – Grand Canyon time! I awoke to dreary weather and headed to the Canyon. I was all by myself on the road. It was very quiet. I did see elk, so that was neat and I feel like I saw donkeys on the loose on the other side of the road but they weren’t there later in the day for me to verify what I saw.
The canyon itself was completely obscured by low clouds/fog. Ugh! All that way and no sign of the dramatic canyon. I facetimed a friend in Florida and gave a hilarious tour of the invisible canyon. I walked a bit of the rim trail and it was all nothingness.
I hopped back in the car and drove east towards Desert View tower. About 15 minutes later, parts of the canyon started to emerge. I stopped at all of the view points. The canyon really is amazing. The tower is closed for renovation so that was a bummer but there are great views just outside.
Somewhere along the way, I went down a bit of a trail but it was icy and steep. I turned around shortly into it.
I went back to the main visitor center area to check out the views with the clouds lifting and also visited with a nice park employee who gave me a tip on where to look for big horn sheep.
As I was in lazy leisure travel mode, I decided to go back to my hotel for an early afternoon nap. Enroute to the hotel, there were a whole bunch of female elk on the side of the road. I love these shaggy creatures!
After my nap, I headed back to the park and did some of the Bright Angel Trail. This is a really neat trail and I loved the “tunnels”. It’s a lot rougher walking back up. I can’t imagine doing it in the summer. There were people who had come from the bottom or at least lower levels and they were drenched in sweat from exertion and the fact it’s warmer the lower you go. They were going to be chilly at the top when the cold wind hit the sweaty skin, that’s for sure!
Sunset is really pretty at the canyon but it probably wasn’t nearly as dramatic as it would be if the skies weren’t overcast. Canyon colors are very muted with dark clouds overhead.
Dinner was at the Big E Steakhouse. It smelled like sewer gas. Why I stayed, I do not know. The meal was expensive and not good.
Day 3 – Pursuit of big horn sheep!
I drove to Verkamp Visitor Center and walked the south rim trail to the geology museum. Where are the sheep?? All of a sudden, I saw some bright white shapes in the shrubs. They were the backends of six sheep! Like bullseyes! They were a group of females and a youngster. I was so pleased!
After observing them for quite a while, I continued to the geology museum. I enjoyed the exhibit and then decided to head back. On the way back, my new furry friends were now on the trail! With me coming from one direction and some other folks coming from the opposite direction, they moved off trail and rooted around for vegetation to snack on. Eventually some dogs on leashes came by and that freaked out the sheep and they moved out on the rocks and close to the edge of the cliff. It was a beautiful sight seeing these creatures with the canyon in the background. I spent a long time just watching them. They don’t seem to care about people but dogs definitely concern them. Please know that my photos are taken using a zoom. I was not in petting distance although it certainly seemed they were not worried if a person approached that close. I heard one person asking a sheep if she could scratch her behind but thankfully she didn’t try.
I drove to Hermit’s Rest and made stops along the way. All very beautiful.
Day 4 – Goodbye Grand Canyon. I took the more scenic 180 out. I loved the drive through the San Francisco peaks. I drove to Flagstaff to fill up the gas tank and then I proceeded to Sedona via Oak Creek Canyon scenic drive. The weather was crummy with intermittent rain but it was a beautiful drive nonetheless.
The red rocks of the Sedona area are gorgeous. I visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross which has a glorious setting. There’s a huge mansion close by. What must it be like to live in such a home and in such a gorgeous location!
Sedona is a very touristy town packed with little shops. I wandered around a bit but wasn’t really interested in shopping. I drove around and stopped where I could to take pictures of the landscapes.
My final night was in Scottsdale. I felt like I was in Boca Raton.
Dinner was at Chompie’s. I enjoyed my meal. As you can probably tell, I’m not much of a foodie and am good with basics.
The trip was very low key and just what I needed. I have had plenty of whirlwind trips which are fun, but I was in need of something very relaxed, and this was it.
photos in the next post.
Last edited by aggiegirl; Jan 18th, 2023 at 07:43 PM. Reason: Short addition
Jan 19th, 2023, 03:37 AM
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This sounds like a great trip. We went to GC the year before and there was snow on the trails then too. We did see mule deer and elk but no sheep at the canyon. Love the pictures
Thanks for the report.
Thanks for the report.
Jan 20th, 2023, 11:23 AM
#5
What a nice trip you had regardless of the weather. Your pictures came out great.
I was there this past July. The GC surprisingly was cooler and not crowded than I thought it would be. I didn’t get to see as much wildlife as you but found out the elks are out and about at sunrise. I knew they had to be at the rim, I just didn’t know when. The baby elk would cry at their mothers so something I didn’t expect to see. All and all a good memory.
I was there this past July. The GC surprisingly was cooler and not crowded than I thought it would be. I didn’t get to see as much wildlife as you but found out the elks are out and about at sunrise. I knew they had to be at the rim, I just didn’t know when. The baby elk would cry at their mothers so something I didn’t expect to see. All and all a good memory.
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