Arizona - Apr 15 - Apr 19 2017

This was our first major trip in the United States. Most of our other trips were short ones in and around the Greater New York area and did not extend beyond a day. Therefore, this was something that the entire family was looking forward to. We also had my brother-in-law joining us from Michigan. I have captured below the itinerary for the trip. To a large extent we did stick to the itinerary. Will detail out the specifics below.

Original Itinerary

Apr 15 – 10.15 pm – Arrival at Phoenix, AZ Radisson Hotel, Phoenix Airport

Apr 16 - 9.30 am – Departure to Sedona / Grand Canyon National Park

11.45 am – Arrival at Red Rock State Park, Sedona – This is a state park featuring a red sandstone canyon outside the city of Sedona. (30 mins)

            12.15 pm – Depart from Red Rock State Park towards Cathedral Rock

12.50 pm – Arrival at Cathedral Rock.  Cathedral rock is a famous landmark on the Sedona, Arizona skyline and is one of the most photographed sights in Arizona. (30 mins)

            1.30 pm – Break for lunch at Sedona (30 mins)

            2.00 pm – Depart towards Oak Creek Canyon

2.30 pm – Arrival at Oak Creek Canyon. The canyon is described as the smaller cousin to the Grand Canyon. (30 mins)

            3.00 pm – Depart towards Grand Canyon National Park.

5.00 pm – Arrival at Grand Canyon National Park. The park’s central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado river. (2 hours). Desert view drive.

            7.00 pm – Depart from Grand Canyon National Park to Hotel.

            8.30 pm – Arrival at Hotel - Country Inns and Suites by Carlson, Flagstaff.

Apr 17 - 8.00 am – Depart from hotel towards Horseshoe Bend

            10.15 am – Arrive at Horseshoe bend. (1 hour)

            11.15 am – Depart from Horseshoe Bend to Ken’s tours (Lower Antelope canyon)

11.40 am – Arrive at Ken’s Tours for the Lower Antelope Canyon Tour. It is a slot canyon in the Navajo land, east of Page, Arizona.

2.00 pm – Break for lunch (30 mins)

2.30 pm – Depart to Grand Canyon National Park

4.30 pm – Arrive at Grand Canyon National Park

7.00 pm – Depart to Hotel

8.30 pm – Arrive at Hotel - Country Inns and Suites by Carlson, Flagstaff.

Apr 18 - 8.00 am – Depart from Hotel to Saguaro National Park

12.30 pm - Arrive at Saguaro National Park. The park was established to protect its namesake – the giant saguaro cactus. (2 hours)

             2.30 pm -  Break for lunch (30 mins)

             3.00 pm – Depart to Phoenix

             5.00 pm – Arrive at Phoenix. Sight seeing / shopping (2 hours).

             7.00 pm – Arrive at Hotel - Extended Stay, Phoenix.

Apr 19 -  8.00 am – Sightseeing / shopping at Phoenix

            10.30 am – Depart to airport

Actual Trip

Day 1 (Apr 16) After a hearty breakfast, we set out to our first destination - Red Rock State Park in Sedona. My BIL had got a rental car. It was a white Hyundai Accent. We covered the journey in around 2 hours. The countryside was interspersed with large cactus trees (called the Saguaro - 'g' is not pronounced). Arizona is a photographer's delight and my wife, an avid photographer, got into action with her Iphone. We spent a couple of hours in the park. We trekked around the scenic spots which involved climbing hillocks. This provided ample photo opportunities. My wife also happened to notice a rattlesnake. There was  a small stream that flowed through the park.I later got to know that the stream was called Oak Creek. We trekked around the park and got to all the scenic spots. After a couple of hours in the park, we stopped for lunch. After having lunch, we proceeded towards Cathedral Rock. Cathedral Rock was a hilly terrain and quite a stiff climb. My daughter was really excited to climb up the hill. The first portion of the terrain was relatively easy but the second half was quite steep. We climbed to the extent we felt comfortable before calling it quits. Since we were no where close to the original schedule, we decided that we will do Grand Canyon the following day. We had trouble locating the Oak Creek Canyon and therefore gave it a miss and proceeded towards Flagstaff to retire for the evening at Country Inns and Resorts by Carlson.

Day 2 (Apr 17) The day started similar to the previous day. After breakfast we set out towards Page. We decided to visit Horseshoe Bend first as our booking for Lower Antelope Canyon was at 12.40 pm. It took us about 2 hours to reach Horseshoe Bend. The actual spot is around 1/2 a mile trek from the parking place. The view from the cliff is gorgeous. You need to be careful though as there are no railings. We just couldn't have enough of it and took photographs from all possible vantage points.

Our next stop was Lower Antelope Canyon. It is around 15 minutes from Horse Shoe Bend. We had booked our tour through Ken's Tours. Since we had ample time, we fueled up and then proceeded towards LA Canyon. This was a guided tour and we had to wait for a considerable amount of time at the beginning of the tour as people from the earlier slots cleared out of the canyon. But once you enter the canyon, it is pure magic. The sun's rays finding its way through the tiny open spaces and ridges made for some spectacular views. Our guide was relatively new and therefore did not have a lot to tell us regarding the history of the place or the local folklore. 

After the tour, we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and made our way towards the Grand Canyon. We had to retreat back southwards for around 1.5 hours and then turn west. Once we reached the Grand Canyon, we did the desert drive and hit all the viewpoints. I may be sounding repetitive but again this was again a sight to behold. We reached around 5 pm and therefore it was windy and chilly but that did not dissuade us from taking pics.

After spending a couple of hours, we headed towards Flagstaff to retire for the night. It was around 9 pm when we reached Flagstaff. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant before calling it a day.

Day 3 (April 18) - We were in a dilemma to whether go back to Grand Canyon or head south to the Saguaro National Park. The toss eventually fell towards visiting the Saguaro national park and that's where we went. It was a long drive (at least around 4 hours). The Saguaro national Park is basically part of teh Sonoran desert and therefore the climate was very arid and hot. The visitor center directed us to visit the Desert Museum. While heading to the Desert Museum, we managed to click a few pics of the the famous 'Saguaro'.

The desert museum was a combination of the flora and fauna that you would typically find in the Sonoran region. We managed to see coyotes, mountain lion, blue jay, wolves, fox and humming birds. We couldn't complete the entire tour as we ran out of time. We headed back north to Phoenix for our last night at Arizona.  For supper, we planned to have Italian and decided to go to a place called Adela's Italian. It is an unassuming place but I can say that this was the best Italian I had ever had. I'm not a great fan of pasta but the pasta that they served was really incredible. if you are visiting Phoenix and are stationed close to the airport, you should try this place.