Travel dates :: April 21 – 24, 2016
After leaving Grand Canyon National Park we headed south and east to Flagstaff, Arizona. After no electrical or water hook-ups for a few days we were ready for a full hook-up site. We found a great deal at the Flagstaff KOA for buy two nights, get one free – so that was our next stop.
I love having neighbors we know!
We pulled into Flagstaff and weren’t in town more than a couples hours when we got a text message from our friends @UpInTheAirstream who said they were headed our way! What a nice surprise. They pulled their shiny Airstream (bunk model, just like ours) into the spot right next to us. The kids were THRILLED because they adore the @UpInTheAirstream boys and we hadn’t seen them since San Antonio, Texas.
The kids played Minecraft, ran around on the playground, traded Pokemon cards and entertained each other while the adults got caught up! I’ve said it many times before, but meeting up with other full time traveling families has been such a highlight of traveling. We’ve met some really COOL people on the road and I know we’ll have lifelong friendships.
Our first day in Flagstaff we drove a bit out of town to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. It’s actually not far from the KOA at all, about a 16 minute drive. The kids all earned the Junior Ranger booklet at the Visitor’s Center. . . .
Then we drove into Sunset Crater and walked the 1-mile loop through the area. We had never seen anything like it. So beautiful!
This volcano erupted only 900 years ago, changing the landscape, plants and animals – covering the hills in black lava! It’s gorgeous.
There are a couple other national monuments in the area – Wupatki National Monument and Walnut Canyon National Monument. We had talked about visiting those as well – but we actually skipped both. After so many Junior Ranger badges in Cottonwood and Grand Canyon we were ready for a break and we see great value in our kids socializing with other kids and decided to hang out more at the campground for free play. And that’s okay – we don’t need to do it all – especially if we aren’t excited about it, right!?!
After Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument we drove into downtown Flagstaff for lunch at the Lumberyard Brewery. The food was amazing – we all loved what we ordered. After lunch we walked around a little downtown (great shops) and then ran some local errands.
Our second day in town we HAD to try Dehli Palace for lunch. The reviews on Yelp were incredible and we love, love good Indian food. Do NOT miss this place if you’re in Flagstaff and you love Indian Food. The buffet was ridiculously cheap and the food was incredible. We left so full that we were bordering on misery and glee.
That afternoon we met back up with @UpInTheAirstream for a Northern Arizona University spring football game. FREE to the public, it was basically a scrimmage, between players on the same team. But Jeremy being a football coach was excited to see the game. There was all sorts of hubbub and free stuff being handed out when we got there early and we ended up getting free t-shirts and university logo wear.
That pretty much sums up our time in Flagstaff. After being so busy at the Grand Canyon we enjoyed the slower pace, the time with friends and eating really delicious food. 🙂
Have you been to Flagstaff, Arizona? What are your favorite things to do in the area?
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