When people mention escaping the cold of a northern winter, they often mean going somewhere like Florida or Georgia or South Carolina.  Basically, somewhere that has a beach and warm weather.  Don’t get me wrong, we have gone to those places and have loved them.  The difference between those places and Arizona, is Arizona has sneaked its way into our hearts.  

The dry, crisp air of an Arizona February, chilly and refreshing in the mornings, warm and clear in the afternoons makes the weather more pleasant than the muggy warmth of the South.  The rugged desert mountains and valleys and cacti provide constant opportunities for photography.  Depending on where you are in the state, there is good opportunity to see elk or mule deer or wild horses or Coués deer… all of which we actually did see on our last visit.  

In my mind, Arizona was a warm state, hot even, but that’s not entirely true.  Large portions of the state do fall into the warm category, but a 2.5 hour drive north from Phoenix, (average daily high of 72* in February), brings you to Flagstaff, (average daily high of 47* in February)!  In other words, you could spend Tuesday at the pool in Phoenix and Wednesday at the ski slopes in Flagstaff.  

Last year, we went to Phoenix for a week and loved it so much that this year we decided to double our time in Arizona.  We hope this blogpost can serve as your inspiration to spend a week or two of your own in the Grand Canyon State and point you in the direction of our favorite parts of Arizona so far.

We spent most of our time in Phoenix.  I’m not totally sure why we love the city of Phoenix so much. It probably has something to do with the desert mountains that are always visible in the distance, and whole area feels “alive”.  Here are few of our favorite places in Phoenix.

Park N’ Swap

Park N’ Swap.  This is a large open air marketplace (flea market) where you can find just about any cheap toy or blanket or tool or any other little trinket you can imagine.  As soon as you pay your $2 and walk through the gate into the vendor’s area, it feels as though you have walked into another country.  Generally, it’s not the best prices for quality products that you will ever find, but it is a fun experience.  Make sure to try out one of the churro stands while you are in there.

Our Favorite Restaurants

Taco Boys. Taco Boys is a small chain of taco restaurants… the service and quality of food that we got at both locations that we went to was unbelievable.  Just remembering it now makes me want to hop on the next flight to Arizona. 

Charleston’s- A nice steakhouse with excellent food and service to match.

Andy’s Frozen Custard- The best frozen custard I ever remember having.

Butterfields- The best breakfast place in all of Phoenix.  Do yourself a favor and get a glass their fresh squeezed orange juice.

Hole in the Rock

Hole in the Rock.  Hole in the Rock is exactly what the name implies.  It’s a fun little hike, and we had no problem getting the kids up there.  It’s not exactly “kid friendly” since they could fall down the rock if you aren’t keeping close tabs on them, but it’s a great break from the carseats.

Out of Africa Wildlife Park

PHOENIX sky harbor airport

The parking garage at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. PHX has a great open top parking garage that has runways on either side of if, making a great location to watch airplanes taking off and landing with the beautiful backdrop of the mountains and desert.

FLAGSTAFF

This year, we decided to spend a few days towards the middle of our trip in Flagstaff.  Flagstaff is 2.5 hours north of Phoenix, and those 2.5 hours of driving take you out of the desert and into the high country.  The official altitude of Phoenix is 1086’ and just north of Flagstaff, we saw signs that we were at 8000’ above sea level!  Our poor rental car was about worn out by the time we made to our AirBnB.  

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon. One of Flagstaff’s draws is it proximity to the Grand Canyon.  The Grand Canyon definitely makes the bucket list for “sights you have to see in America”.  The Canyon is absolutely breathtaking.  I did not have an appreciation for just how enormous it is until we saw it in real life.  Something about the sheer scale of the canyon plays tricks with your eyes, as if you are looking into VR goggles rather than the real world.  If your trip to the Grand Canyon is during the winter months, you definitely run the risk of running into a proper snow storm.  When we were at the Canyon it was pretty chilly, but the cold was manageable.  

Thanks to several observatories in the area, Flagstaff is also a “dark sky” city, meaning that all the outdoor lights are required to be under a certain level of brightness.  The yellowish dim lamp posts do make even the nicer areas seem “creepier” if you are used to normal good lighting, but I had to admire the commitment to not tainting the night sky.  

Our favorite things in the Flagstaff area were:

Bearizona

Bearizona.  Bearizona is a drive-through wildlife park forty minutes west of Flagstaff.  It’s pretty much what you would expect a drive-through wildlife park to be.  They had a pretty impressive display of animals; mule deer, brown bears, wolves, pronghorn, mountain goats, black bears, bison and elk, among others.  Pretty much, they had most of the classic American West wildlife.  After we had driven thought the park, we walked through their “normal” zoo area and were able to see some more animals there.  Overall, the experience was great, and the children thought it was pretty cool.

Sunset Crater National Monument

Sunset Crater National Monument.  We decided to make the 34 mile scenic loop drive off of Hwy 89 that meanders past the Sunset Crater Mountain and the Wupatki National Monument.  We made the drive toward last light, and the countryside was absolutely magical.

Sedona

Sedona.  Located forty-five minutes south of Flagstaff, the town of Sedona is nestled amongst towering red rock formations.  It looks as though God had a spare afternoon and He decided to spend extra time and attention creating this one valley.  The crisp air of a Sedona January combined with the red rock formations in every direction make Sedona sunsets absolutely magical.  The town is definitely set up to accommodate tourists, but it didn’t feel super “touristy” when we were there.  I can imagine that the true tourist season is a much more crowded experience than the one we had.  

Sedona boasts many great hiking trails and jeep rides but we didn’t schedule enough time there to get in on any of that this trip.  

Tlaquepaque

Tlaquepaque. (Pronounced T-lockey-pockey) Tlaquepaque is an arts/shopping/culture/dining “village” designed to reflect the sights and sounds of Old Mexico.  If you swing by Tlaquepaque be sure to stop at our current favorite spot in the village…The Chai Spot.  The Chai Spot primarily serves Pakistani chai along with a few delicious snack options.  I’m personally not a chai fanatic but I loved the experience and the actual chai was great as well.  Their outdoor balcony area is a great place to sit down for a while and appreciate the charm of the area and it’s experiences.

After Sedona, we made the trip back down to Phoenix to finish out our vacation.  Our last two recommendations are on our “must do” list for a trip to Phoenix.  It may have something to do with the fact the both Anita and I love photography, but if you are wanting to experience pure desert beauty, you won’t be let down.

Apache Trail/Canyon Lake Area

The Apache Trail/Canyon Lake area. The drive from Apache Junction to the Dolly Steamboat on Canyon Lake is mind boggling.  Here is Theodore Roosevelt’s  description of the area: "The Apache Trail combines the grandeur of the Alps, the glory of the Rockies, the magnificence of the Grand Canyon and then adds an indefinable something that none of the others have. To me, it is most awe-inspiring and most sublimely beautiful.” The scenery alone makes the drive back to Canyon Lake worth it in my opinion, but if you are going back to the lake, do yourself a favor and take a tour on the Dolley Steamboat.  We went on “normal” sightseeing steamboat tour last year, but we have it on our Arizona to-do list to go on their twilight tour.  We saw a good amount of wildlife on the normal tour, but I can only imagine that the twilight tour would be surreal.  If you want to get in on that tour, be sure to purchase tickets well in advance since those tickets are often sold out a few weeks ahead.

SALT RIVER WILD HORSES

Salt River Horses.  Hand’s down, going to see the wild horses in the Salt River region is our favorite Arizona thing to do.  Matter of Fact, we love it so much, we plan to dedicate the Salt River Horses their own blog post.  Stay tuned.