Buzzing To & Fro: A Revival: Grand Arizona~ Day 2

Summer 2011 Road Trip - Arizona & Las Vegas, Nevada

Dates: June 16-20, 2011

[Post 2 of 4]

Last Summer, we road tripped it out to Arizona and Nevada...well, for the most part. We took a quick plane ride from San Diego to Phoenix (just to maximize the time we had out here). I have never been to the Grand Canyon, but I've always wanted to go. So, we (me, my sister Charlene, Enrique & my cousin Alee) decided to go. Our road trip itinerary? It's a doozy, but we drove from Phoenix --> Jerome --> Flagstaff --> Campe Verde --> Sedona -->Williams to see the Grand Canyon --> Flagstaff --> Las Vegas by way of old Route 66!

We designated Flagstaff as our home base in Arizona, since it's right in the middle of all the places we wanted to see. I took SO many photos...so this is going to be a pretty long post! With that being said, I'm going to break up this post into 4 different parts- highlighting what we did for each day of our road trip/vacation. Here we go with Day 2!

{Location: Camp Verde, AZ}
Our first stop of the day was at Montezuma Castle National Monument. It a small point of interest location south of Flagstaff. So we back tracked it a bit.

{Tidbit Fact}
The Montezuma Castle is one of the best preserved prehistoric cliff dwellings in North America. People used to be able to access the structure by climbing up ladders, but because of potential damages to the structure, public access was stopped in 1951...but it would have been SO cool if we could have gone inside!

We arrived there around 11am. No crowds...yet. The entrance fee was only $5 per adult. Children 15 years of age and under are free.

{Location: Somewhere along the 179 highway into Sedona}

We were driving toward Sedona and off to our left side we saw some very colorful dome shaped buildings. Curiosity got the best of us (and plus Alee was driving so of course she HAD to see what it was)! We met the family living here...they were free-spirited, one love kind of folks, you know what I mean? :)

{Love}

The Xanadu Egg House. This house was so WOW... first of all, the family living here were super nice enough to let us walk through and take a tour (they were sitting out on their porch area and saw us taking pictures in front). First thing we all noticed as we went through the house? NO DOORS whatsoever! How is that even possible? I was left speechless.

{Tidbit Fact}

The Xanadu Egg House was featured in Offbeat America on HGTV.

{Location: Sedona, AZ}
During our plane ride to Arizona, the stewardess recommended for us to go to Sedona and revel in the Red Rocks scenery...so we did! Thank goodness we did, because we totally would have missed out on such beautiful views!

{Love}

The red rocks of Sedona. They were ginormous and oh so wonderful to look at...they looked so perfect that they almost looked fake...does that even make sense?

{Love}

This photo I took of the red rocks in the distance...totally supports what I said earlier. This view looks so perfectly perfect...that it doesn't look real...

[Tlaquepaque Village]

This little shopping/dining village was a bit further into Sedona. It's a nice area, but I think the boutiques were mostly targeted to the older, upper class. For us...not so much. The surroundings were really pretty though.

{Love} The welcoming party into the village. These bears look so comfy :)

Tlaquepaque Village was beautiful...so much foliage, water fountains and art sculptures scattered throughout the buildings and courtyards.

We spent a good chuck of our day here, gazing upon the red rocks and exploring every corner of the village. Time very well spent, I say :)

Now off to the GRAND CANYON!!!

{Location: Williams, AZ at the Grand Canyon}

This place is incredible! I was in total awe (with mouth open and everything). It was just a vast beauty that stretched on and on...and on. I felt this serene, tranquil state sort of just take over me... it was truly a wonderful thing to experience. So peaceful. So calm. I felt so light in my heart :)