disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Well, Im back again with yet another National Park trip report.
We have had so much fun visiting our wonderful National Parks over the last couple of years that we decided to keep going and planned a week long trip to the Grand Canyon North Rim, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, with a visit to Antelope Canyon too. DH had been to Bryce and Zion as a very young child, and doesnt remember it, and neither DD nor I had ever been. This year were not flying anywhere, were going on a road trip!
So that is a total of 4 canyons in 7 days.
Cast of Characters:
Me - Planner
DH - Payer
DD - Passenger
DDs last day of school was on a Thursday, so we decided to leave the following Saturday and take advantage of Memorial Day so DH only had to take 4 days off of work. We also decided to start our trip by driving to Flagstaff and spend the night to start getting acclimated to the altitude, since Flagstaff is about 7000 feet above sea level, and I dont do well in high altitudes. I planned on taking Friday to pack and get organized, however, I spent 5 hours going to the doctor, getting an x-ray, blood test, and picking up prescriptions. I was suffering from my annual respitory distress and got some steroids and antibiotics from the doctor. Why share this? Because it will come into play later in my report.
Day 1- Taking it easy.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
2 hours 28 minutes drive time planned
DH loaded the Pilot and we left home around 11:00 AM to climb up the hill to Flagstaff. As soon as we hit the I-17, there was a Road Condition message that it was closed at Sunset Point due to an accident. Well, we decided to pull over at McDonalds at Tramonto to eat lunch and wait for the road to reopen. Evidently we were not alone as several campers and boat trailers were also parked at McDonalds. There were also several people on their laptops inside evidently trying to find out about the road closure as well. By the time we finished lunch, the road had been reopened and the parking lot had cleared so we went on our way. Unfortunately, we caught up to the backed up traffic and it took about twice as long to get to Sunset Point as it usually does. But, we made it to the Residence Inn in good time. A front was moving through the state, so it was a very windy drive up and even windier at the hotel. It was about 70 degrees when we arrived, which was very nice considering it was 100 at home. The first thing DD wanted to do was go swimming. The pool was heated but the wind was cold. But, that didnt stop her. After her swim, we went to our favorite restaurant in Flagstaff, Beaver Street Brewery, for dinner and stopped at the Barnes & Nobel for a bit. We went back to the hotel and DD went swimming again before we called it a night.
Next: On the road again!
We have had so much fun visiting our wonderful National Parks over the last couple of years that we decided to keep going and planned a week long trip to the Grand Canyon North Rim, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, with a visit to Antelope Canyon too. DH had been to Bryce and Zion as a very young child, and doesnt remember it, and neither DD nor I had ever been. This year were not flying anywhere, were going on a road trip!
So that is a total of 4 canyons in 7 days.
Cast of Characters:
Me - Planner
DH - Payer
DD - Passenger
DDs last day of school was on a Thursday, so we decided to leave the following Saturday and take advantage of Memorial Day so DH only had to take 4 days off of work. We also decided to start our trip by driving to Flagstaff and spend the night to start getting acclimated to the altitude, since Flagstaff is about 7000 feet above sea level, and I dont do well in high altitudes. I planned on taking Friday to pack and get organized, however, I spent 5 hours going to the doctor, getting an x-ray, blood test, and picking up prescriptions. I was suffering from my annual respitory distress and got some steroids and antibiotics from the doctor. Why share this? Because it will come into play later in my report.
Day 1- Taking it easy.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
2 hours 28 minutes drive time planned
DH loaded the Pilot and we left home around 11:00 AM to climb up the hill to Flagstaff. As soon as we hit the I-17, there was a Road Condition message that it was closed at Sunset Point due to an accident. Well, we decided to pull over at McDonalds at Tramonto to eat lunch and wait for the road to reopen. Evidently we were not alone as several campers and boat trailers were also parked at McDonalds. There were also several people on their laptops inside evidently trying to find out about the road closure as well. By the time we finished lunch, the road had been reopened and the parking lot had cleared so we went on our way. Unfortunately, we caught up to the backed up traffic and it took about twice as long to get to Sunset Point as it usually does. But, we made it to the Residence Inn in good time. A front was moving through the state, so it was a very windy drive up and even windier at the hotel. It was about 70 degrees when we arrived, which was very nice considering it was 100 at home. The first thing DD wanted to do was go swimming. The pool was heated but the wind was cold. But, that didnt stop her. After her swim, we went to our favorite restaurant in Flagstaff, Beaver Street Brewery, for dinner and stopped at the Barnes & Nobel for a bit. We went back to the hotel and DD went swimming again before we called it a night.
Next: On the road again!