Days 81-87 Flagstaff, AZ

About a month or so into our trip Adam let us know that he would be in the states visiting Park City, Utah along with Gal, on their way to a wedding in Los Angelas. Since we would be nearby we decided to join them for a few days. Although it was not expected we ended up heading north and had the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon. Since we had such a fun experience in Sedona we decided to take a Pink Jeep tour of the Grand Canyon. During our tour we made several stops along the Desert View Drive , a 23 mile ride much of the south rim, including a climb to the top of the Watchtower which provided some spectacular views of the Canyon. Following our tour we set out on our own to Hermit Road and took a short hike on the rim trail. Unfortunately the north rim remained closed until mid May, but there was still plenty to see. We returned a second day to enjoy a sunset at Lipan Point.

As we were in the Flagstaff area for over a week we explored some of the lesser known parks in the area. On our way to watch the sunset at the Grand Canyon we stopped at Little Colorado River, part of the Navajo Nation. This was a deep, narrow, gorge that was, although smaller in scale, just as beautiful as the Grand Canyon.

Since we were so close we took the drive one day to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. We were happy that we ignored the reviews of this park as several noted that it was one to skip. Although there were not many hikes the park was simply stunning with a variety of scenery from the Blue Mesa (one of our favorites and our hike and lunch spot today), the pinks of the Painted Desert, fossils, the petroglyphs of Newspaper Rock, and of course, the petrified wood! This park had something for every interest.

Our trip on day 81. Thankfully a short one!!