Day 6
After a very peaceful
night’s sleep, Pete and I woke up early to once again, pack up, grab breakfast
and drive off to our next destination; today it was the Grand Canyon. One perk
about Holiday Inn Express (or just about every hotel nowadays), breakfast is
included in your hotel price. We grabbed a quick breakfast, checked out, packed
and began our travels to the Grand Canyon, about an hour’s drive north from
Flagstaff.
I've only seen pictures of
the Grand Canyon, so I had a slight idea of what I would be seeing, but
actually being at the Grand Canyon and being there in the moment is something
out of this world. We paid the $25 cash only admission and headed into Grand
Canyon Nation Park (had we gone a week earlier, all we would be able to see is
a locked up park). Once again we lucked out timing wise, since it was past peak
vacation season, we had no trouble with traffic or finding a place to park. Weather
wise, it was a cool, little overcast day, perfect for exploring.
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Top: Pete learning more about the Grand Canyon Bottom: Grand Canyon Park Museum Entrance |
We stared driving on the
25 mile scenic route first wondering exactly where it was, there were so many
trees and campers and… oh! There it is!
NOTE: Once again, my
pictures do not do justice of what we saw up close and personal, it’s something
you will need to experience yourself.
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Grand Canyon! |
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Doesn't even look real! Amazing! |
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Watch your step!1 |
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Me & Pete living on the edge! |
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Oops! We didn't watch our step!! |
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Spectacular! |
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Colorado River!! |
The two hours went by
quick and next thing we knew, we stopped at the other exit/entrance, grabbed a
quick bite or lunch, took another look around the souvenir shop and said
‘good-bye’ to the incredible beauty that is the Grand Canyon.
Back on the road again to
Phoenix, we were on Route 64 traveling towards Route 89 when I started to
notice signs for “Little Colorado Scenic Overlook”. I stared to coax Pete into
stopping to see what it was all about. We turned the left to a picturesque
scene of what appeared to be more of the Grand Canyon. We spoke to the lady at
the front booth who explained to us that that this was part of Navajo Nation and
Colorado Scenic Overview was part of the ‘7 Wonders of the Navajo Nation’ and
that we can pay any amount that we preferred. We gave her $10 and she handed us
a brochure explaining about the 7 Wonders of Navajo Nation.
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Pete exploring Little Colorado! |
The area was also great if
you had a packed lunch and had time to relax and enjoy the view… too bad we didn't,
so it was another quick look at more of the arts & crafts and back in the
Ford Edge we went to Phoenix.
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Views from the Navigator's Seat!! Not too bad! |
Since we had such a great experience
the first time, we tried a Holiday Inn Express right in the heart of Phoenix,
figuring it was a Thursday night, there must be plenty of rooms available. They
were completely booked. We then tried calling three other hotels in the area…all
booked….seriously? Déjà vu all over again?! Pete started to give me that look
again when I told him about getting a hotel back in Farmington. Luckily for me
this time, 4th time was a charm, and I was able to snag the last
room at SpringHill Suites by Marriott just a few minutes down from the Holiday
Inn Express.
By this point, Pete and I just
wanted to grab a room and relax. That’s exactly what we did and thanks to the
front desk concierge, we were told we could order delivery and have it sent
right up to our door. 25 minutes later we had pizza, we had the 7th
inning of Game 2 of the World Series (I keep forgetting time changes!), and
probably one of the comfiest beds I've ever slept on in my life, (seriously,
they feel like sleeping on clouds!). This was probably the best perk of the
hotel, especially for me since tomorrow was going to be the start of an interesting
day.
Vacations can be more good if you can watch your special tv channels in a hotel you are staying. Don't you think!!
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ReplyDeletemaxifoot nice so far
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