TRIP INFO FOR GRAND CANYON AZ AND SOUTHERN UTAH

In December 2021 we finally got to go on our trip that was postponed from April 2020. We planned this big special trip for spring break and my 50th bday and it was delayed by 1.5 years but it was worth it.

We flew in to Phoenix because we wanted to see Scottsdale and Sedona but a lot of people fly into Las Vegas to see the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon.

We like to drive and this trip involved a lot of driving but all of the driving was through GORGEOUS scenery and part of the experience.  There was a special and we upgraded our rental car to a BMW 330i, which we really enjoyed. We did hit some slippery snow but even though the car was rear wheel drive it handled it pretty well.

We packed a lot in 7 days. If you want to stay and do lots of hiking you'll have to extend your visit.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrived on a Sunday early afternoon and drove the few hours up to our hotel in the Grand Canyon. (if you have extra time it would be fun to stop in Flagstaff)

Day 2: AM: Took a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. Well worth this splurge! But you may have to be flexible when you do this, they cancel for high winds, or if it's cloudy/foggy. We got lucky and had perfect weather. We flew with Maverick Helicopters. It was 5 minutes from our hotel. In the afternoon we drove through Grand Canyon National Park and stopped at all of the lookout spots. One of my favorite stops was the Desert View Watchtower. It was cold but there wasn't big crowds. It was icy and scary to walk. We saw cool antelope. When we left the park we saw a bunch of people lined up to go into the park because they wanted to see the sunset. We missed the sunset. Probably would've been cool. But the line was very long. Also, when you go into the park buy the $80 annual national park pass because if you go to more than 2 parks it will be cheaper (otherwise it's $30/park).

Day 3: We drove from our hotel just outside of the Grand Canyon south rim entrance into the Grand Canyon and over past the Desert View Watchtower to the Cameron Trading Post for brunch. It was farther than we thought but we really liked the restaurant (recommended to us by someone at our hotel). Going through the park is the quickest way up north otherwise you have to drive south through Flagstaff adding on a few hours. It was cloudy and you couldn't see much of the Grand Canyon on this day. We stopped to see Horseshoe Bend which was really beautiful. You can just pull in, pay a small fee and walk over and see it. In the summer I've heard it is fun to go boating down in there. Then we continued on through Page to Zion. We stayed at the Zion Lodge at the bottom of the canyon. Coming in from this direction is quite an amazing and scary drive! You have to see it to believe it and it takes quite awhile going down all of the hairpin turns. You might feel like you are going to die. Either that or we are whimpy, but wow!! We arrived at our hotel and it was so quaint we couldn't stand it. But we also felt a little scared surrounded by massive rocky cliffs. We ate at the hotel restaurant which was good. You have to order your food at the entrance, before sitting down. Maybe this was temporary for covid.

Day 4: Snow had fallen and the hiking paths were slippery. We did the mini Emerald Pools hike. That was pretty and enough hiking for us on that chilly day. We drove to Bryce Canyon and saw the amazing Hoodoos. There were a couple of look out spots. It was scary and our fear of heights kicked in but the views were spectacular and I was a bit overcome with emotion. We drove back to Zion. There are two roads in and out to our hotel. The one we took most often- the big scary one with the tunnels and huge drop offs and then a short easy one to the other side of Springdale. The short easy drive has one main road that is full of cute restaurants, spas, shops, and hotels. Highly recommend! This would be a good spot to stay if you can't get in at the Zion Lodge. We had the best dinner here! Whiptail Grill.

Day 5: We left Zion Lodge early because there was lots of snow and we had to get to our Antelope X tour a few hours away. As we drove out there were lots of photographers with special equipment on the roofs of their vehicles for photography to get shots of the snow in the mountains. The antelope canyon tickets were tricky to get but glad we got them. Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon are more popular, Antelope X is a newer tour (5 years old) but we were very happy with it. Gorgeous!  https://www.antelopecanyon-x.com/ After touring Antelope X we ate at the Cameron Trading post restaurant again. Then we drove down to Sedona. This was probably our biggest driving day. The drive to Sedona was beautiful! We arrived, checked into our quaint hotel. Saw the sunset (great views from our hotel) and hiked up a nearby path to see the airport Mesa vortex. We walked from our hotel to Mesa Grill Sedona, another great restaurant we highly recommend. We had prickly pear cocktails.

Day 6: We were supposed to go on a pink jeep tour to see the Ancient Ruins and the Diamondback Gulch but because it rained overnight the trail wasn't in good shape and we couldn't go. Instead a guide took us into another park area and gave us a lot of personal stories and information. He was great and we enjoyed it a lot. I was a little disappointed to not see the Ancient Ruins though. Our guide has his own youtube channel of ancient ruins around Sedona:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtyYxKEusMbMHBURZaSY5Hg?app=desktop   After this we ate and shopped a little then drove to Scottsdale. It was New Year's Eve and we had dinner reservations at Zinc Bistro. We also wanted to watch Michigan play in the Orange Bowl. After dinner we went to the hotel lobby bar where lots of families were hanging out watching the bowl games. It was so fun and they had live music. I highly recommend the Westin Kierland! We met other Michigan fans and talked at length with a man, Ashish, that graduated the year after me. He was a local but had a "scotch locker" at the hotel. There was a special scotch event there that night. Who knew such things existed. He said this was the largest Scotch Library in the country. 

Day 7: We had a wonderful brunch at the Herb Box. We took a massive hike, the Freedom Trail at Squaw Peak. Ate sushi for dinner. Noah and John hung out at the lobby bar again listening to the live music.

Day 8: Anne and Cole went down to the lazy river at the hotel. This area was really nice. It was chilly for it but I wanted to experience that lazy river and I did! This would be a fun hotel to come for a girls weekend. There is also a big golf course. We ate lunch at NYPD Pizza and then went to the Desert Botanical Garden. The airport was close by and we caught our flight home. Old wonderful friends from our kids PreK class from Chicago were on our flight!! That was a great surprise.

Hotels:

The Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon- I think we overpaid here. The location was good but our rate was bad. It was an OK hotel, I wouldn't pay more than $200/night. Indoor pool and hot tub which was nice.

Zion Lodge- I was glad we were able to stay here! Next time I would try to stay in one of their cabins. Our room was a little noisy from the neighbors. Our rate was good. I recommend! (but they book up quick, our original trip I was unable to book here)

Sky Ranch Lodge Sedona- gorgeous views. Loved this old tyme but newly updated hotel. Nice outdoor pool and hot tub. We had a back porch with a great view.

Westin Kierland Scottsdale- expensive but really nice. We met lots of friendly interesting guests. The pool area is great. Lazy river, hot tub. Lots of different sunning areas. The only negatives- it's huge and you have to walk a long ways to get places. If you don't want to valet your car you have to park it across the street so that adds another 10 minutes of walking when you want to go out for dinner.

Restaurants:

Plaza Bonita, Grand Canyon- Mexican. This place was packed. The ambiance wasn't great but the food was pretty good. We had to wait a long time and while eating there were lots of people in close proximity (Covid concern).

Big E Steakhouse, Grand Canyon- this is a big touristy place with pretty decent food but not my favorite. They show a video of all the amazing sites in northern AZ.

Foodie Club, Grand Canyon- your lunch basics.

Cameron Trading Post- we went here twice- we really enjoyed the chili, the grilled cheese, and other comfort foods.

Whiptail Grill, Springdale, UT- the dinner was A+, not too expensive, just really good. I had a taco salad that was fresh and delish.

Sedona Pizza Company, Sedona- this pizza was fine but not our favorite

Mesa Grill, Sedona- this was really good and we enjoyed it a lot. Prickly Pear cocktails. John had an excellent ribeye steak. Special experience.

Zinc Bistro, Scottsdale- French food, good!

BEI Sushi, Scottsdale- local sushi place it was OK, service not great

NYPD Pizza, Scottsdale- Great pizza

The Herb Box in old town Scottsdale- we LOVED this place for brunch.

TRIP TO ACADIA NATIONAL PARK in BAR HARBOR, MAINE

 In August 2021 all 15 of us in my extended family went to Bar Harbor, Maine for 7 days/nights. We stayed the entire time at Bar Harbor Inn (https://barharborinn.com/) which was beautiful and full of charm. I would recommend this hotel because 1) gorgeous views abound of the harbor! 2) we had a nice balcony to sit out and enjoy it 3) there is a walking path that goes by the front of the hotel to enjoy the views in a different way 4) there is a really good free breakfast 5) wonderful outdoor pool 6) the hotel is historical with beautiful flowers and walking paths 7) nice restaurants 8) Walking distance (5 mins) to town. There is not good parking in town, so walking is preferable. Our favorite restaurant was the Terrace Grille, which was outside, and had great views of the harbor. The problem was that everybody else likes the view at this restaurant too so the wait to get a table can be long. The hotel gives you a "cut in line" pass for the restaurant but it only worked against people not from the hotel and it didn't save us much time. Also, if the weather is bad they will close up quickly. The only con about this hotel was for our large group it was hard for us to find a place to hang out together to play cards and games. For this reason, I would consider renting an Air BnB house on the water. There were several beautiful ones but I'm sure they are booked up quickly! And one last thing to consider, we were able to rent out a big private dining area at the hotel for my parents 61st wedding anniversary with a lobster dinner. That was amazing. There was a balcony off the dining room overlooking the harbor (same one that's been there over 100 years) and we had a photographer come take family pictures since we are not all together too often. Another very nice hotel to consider in town is the Harborside Hotel. https://www.theharborsidehotel.com/

Getting to Bar Harbor: we drove from Chicago and stayed one night in Syracuse NY. Two days was plenty of time to get there. One the way back we took 3 days because we wanted to explore all the cute towns on the coast of Maine (Camden, Kennebunkport) and Newburyport MA. We enjoy driving and exploring and so this worked well for us. On the way back we stayed in Brattleboro, VT and then Jamestown, NY. We saw Lucille Ball's home and met up with Chicago friends at Chautauqua Lake. If you want to fly you'll probably have to go through Boston and take a tiny plane to the Bar Harbor airport (which is what my sister's family did and warning, it can be tricky to get an uber or taxi from this airport), or you could rent a car and drive up from Boston. Or fly in to Portland, Maine which is a bit of a drive from Bar Harbor (but less than Boston).

Some activities to do while in Bar Harbor:

Of course see Acadia National Park. There are many hikes, you can ride bikes, get up early to see the sunrise over Cadillac Mountain (get your reservation in advance- I think they are doing this a few months out due to covid). Do not try to ride your bike from Bar Harbor Inn to Acadia like we did. First, you'll get lost without navigation, it's up hill, it's farther then you think, you might get killed from the cars that are zooming up and down the hills. Just bring your bikes in on your car. We brought our bikes from Chicago and you can also rent them there but then you have to have a bike rack on your car.

Of course go whale watching! barharborwhales.com

Rock climbing! This was 100% worth it and amazing. I never thought I would do this but I loved it and they will tailor it to your abilities. Beautiful views! Adrenaline rush! Amazing! My niece had so much fun she wanted to go again a different day but they were all booked up. If your hips are not flexible you might struggle but it's still worth it for the views. I am afraid of heights but I was able to do this (I almost threw up looking at the pictures online but once I was there I was fine). https://www.climbacadia.com/

Sea Kayaking! www.acadiakayak.com This was a fun way to see birds, seals, and porpoises up close in the area away from the tourist crowd.

Fishing: we rented a boat just for our family (I think there was a limit of 6 people per boat). This was another scenic way to see the coast of Maine whether you like fishing or not. We stopped and talked to the lobster catchers (I am sure they have a more professional name) and it was fun to learn about lobster trapping.

At low tide there is a sand bar you can walk on over to a little island.

This really worked out well for a big family group trip to do these activities together. It is a special place where you might want to go every summer.

Restaurants: Eat lots of Lobster rolls! I really liked the ones with corn our first night at Geddy's. Other favorite restaurants: The aforementioned Terrace Grill overlooking the water, Thrive for lunch (casual, healthy!), Side Street Cafe for mac n cheese, Route 66 had good basics for the kids and no wait, Jeannie's Great Maine Breakfast and Jordan's Restaurant for breakfast, and Project Social for Tapas (the kids didn't like it though). Blaze had the best pizza. I really liked the Jordan Pond ice cream but Ben & Bill's was good too and also MDI ice cream is famous but very long lines and unusual flavors.

Anne's Jambalaya

This is the kind of dish you can leave sitting on your stove awhile, tending to it here and there. It is not a lot of work, but the goodness does take some time, 1-2 hrs depending on how long your caramelize your onions.

2 cups uncooked white rice

3/4 - 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks

½ lb. Andouille sausage, cooked and cut into ¼ inch slices (I used 3 Johnsonville New Orleans Brand Andouille Recipe Smoked Sausage)

1 medium onion, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 1/2 t ground cayenne or Creole Seasoning

2 t salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 T and 1 t butter

3-4 T Vegetable Oil

1.5 cups chicken broth

2 Bay leaves

1. Start cooking your rice. I used a rice cooker, with a dash of salt stirred in and a pat of butter on top. Feel free to cook it in a pan, however you normally cook your rice (it won’t be cooked in the pot like other Jambalayas).

2. In a medium sized Dutch Oven over medium low heat, melt a tablespoon of butter and start adding the chopped onion. After the onion cooks for 5 minutes, add in a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil. Add in the bell pepper, celery, and garlic cloves and slowly caramelize, stirring every few minutes. The longer the better (1 hour), but if you are in a hurry turn up the heat to medium and cook until your vegetables turn brownish (at least 20 mins), stirring often. Sprinkle with ground cayenne (more spicy) or Creole Seasoning (less spicey) to your spicy preference. I sprinkled with cayenne 2-3 times over one hour which resulted in a medium spicy Jambalaya. Add some dashes of salt and ground pepper. In the last 10-15 minutes add the sliced Andouille Sausage.

3. In a medium pan add 2 T vegetable oil and sauté the chicken over medium heat until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with ground cayenne or Creole Seasoning.

4. Use a slotted spoon to add the chicken in to the dutch oven, stir.

5. Add two bay leaves, the cooked rice, and the chicken broth, stir. Cover and cook on medium low for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serves 4-6

Tips on Visiting Wyoming

We had such a great time visiting the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming this past summer (2011) that my kids are still asking if we can go back *every summer.* Several friends asked me the scoop on planning a vacation there, so I detailed our experience below. My Mom researched our activities and lodging, so she gets all the credit. I am breaking it down into three categories: Transportation, Lodging, and Activities.

First, Transportation. You’ll need to decide if you want to fly or drive there. Definite pros and cons to both. It was a big family trip for us, with my parents and both of my sisters and their families, and we all opted to drive (from northern CA, Chicago, and Michigan). The reason we chose to drive is that my husband LOVES road trips, and there are lots of great sights to see along the way. Also, air fare to Jackson Hole is very pricey to their tiny airport. I was told it averages $600 a ticket. We left on a Wednesday after work from Chicago, drove 6-7 hours and made it to Fairmont, MN where we stopped for our first night. Thursday was another 7ish hours of driving. We made it to the Badlands (in South Dakota) by mid afternoon. We took a 1 hour drive through this scenic wonder, stopping at a few spots along the way. It was very hot there in July and we could not stand to be out of the air conditioned car for very long but you can enjoy a lot of the beauty from the car. The famous Wall Drug is near the Badlands, so we checked that out, met up with our family for dinner, and then went to see Mount Rushmore. We stayed near Mount Rushmore at a nice “rustic” place in the mountains (there is a cheesy touristy area near here you’ll probably want to avoid), the K Bar S Lodge (in Keystone). Friday was a long 9 hours of driving but I will tell you that it was breathtaking and amazing, truly a highlight in my life, never to be forgotten. Driving through billion year old rock formations inspired my soul. We saw snow, waterfalls, and lots of mountains. We arrived at Jackson Lake Lodge in the Grand Teton National Park around 7 that night. It was very exciting to see the “Watch out for Bear and her Cubs” signs along the road. Between the three days of driving to get there, we clocked in about 23 hours of driving.

On our way home we drove the quicker route through Nebraska and Iowa. We made it in two days, 10 hours per day of *boring* driving. The most interesting part was driving though Wyoming (different road than the way there), driving hours without seeing any houses, buildings, or signs of life anywhere. There were two times as we traveled along the two lane highway, where one lane was shut down and we had to wait about 20 minutes while the oncoming traffic used our lane. This is when I started saying “This would never fly in Chicago!” We also saw a beautiful lightning storm (no rain) at night in Nebraska.

On to Lodging. We stayed at the Jackson Lake Lodge, which is the largest hotel in the Grand Teton National Park. It is closed in the winter and you really have to plan ahead to get reservations here during July - August. My mom said there was a pre wait list that she got on in the fall, 1.5 years in advance. Then she had to call again a few months later to get on the real waitlist (she had to reserve many rooms for our large group). We stayed in the lodge with the Mountain View, full view of the Grand Tetons and wildlife frolicking about. My sister stayed in a cabin. Although this would sound preferable, the Cabin was the same size as a hotel room and the view was of a parking lot. There may be cabins with a mountain view though (just avoid the parking lot view!). This hotel is in the center of the park, perfect for hiking, and also has a pool and $5 pony rides. There was a diner in the hotel that we ate at frequently. You are really getting “away from it all” as there is no TV and no A/C. There is more traditional lodging in the touristy town of Jackson Hole 45 minutes away (and fancy places like Four Seasons or Rustic Lodge Inn). Jackson Lake Lodge is just 1 hour to Yellowstone. Jackson Hole is 45 minutes in the other direction, so from Jackson Hole to Yellowstone it takes about 1 hr 45 mins. Our favorite restaurant close by was Leek’s Pizzeria at Leek’s Marina. I have no input about camping or renting a home there other than that it would be nice to have a kitchen. And I hear the campgrounds book up quickly far in advance too. When deciding where to stay it’s really a question if you want to be surrounded by wildlife and hiking trails, then stay in the park. If you want restaurants and shops, stay in Jackson Hole.

The hotels and contact info of where we stayed:

Hampton Inn, Fairmont, MN 507-235-2626

K Bar S Lodge, Keystone, SD 605-666-4545

Jackson Lake Lodge, Moran, WY 307-543-2811 http://www.gtlc.com/lodging/jackson-lake-lodge-overview.aspx

Days Inn, ?, NE (we tried several places that were booked up, we learned that even in NE you need to make reservations in advance during the busy summer travel season)

And finally, the most fun topic, Activities. We stayed for one week and did the following: horseback riding, white water rafting, Yellowstone, gondola ride, calm dinner river float, hiking, fishing, shopping, and a Covered Wagon Dinner show.

1. Horseback Riding- For many of my family members this was their first time riding and a highlight of their trip (including my husband). My kids could not go, as children had to be at least 6 years old. (they enjoyed the pony rides back at the hotel.) The horseback riding was booked through Yellowstone Outfitters.

2. White Water Rafting- The Snake River was especially high in the summer of 2011 due to lots of snow the prior winter. This made our trip wild and we actually flipped our boat. It was very scary and I was glad our kids weren’t there. Different companies have different regulations based on the intensity of the river. Our trip was through Barker-Ewing, a very safe and highly respected company, and I believe they only let teenagers and older on their white water boats the week we were there. Another family we met booked their rafting trip through Lewis & Clark, and they were allowed to bring their 7 year old daughter on the trip. Our boat trip included stopping for breakfast along the river bank. The pancakes were delish.

3. Yellowstone- We left early in the day to avoid the crowds getting into the park. It was just one hour from Jackson Lake Lodge, so we had a full day to enjoy at the park. The geysers were beautiful and lots of fun. There are many spread out, so you drive, park, walk to the geyser, walk back to your car, then drive to the next site, park, walk a ways to the next point of interest, then walk back to your car. So if your kids are very young they may get tired of the walking (under 6). We ran into this problem. I recommend seeing Old Faithful and the surrounding geysers first while they have their energy. I also recommend getting your kids their National Park Stamp books if they don’t already have them. We got many stamps on this trip! One note about bears- a man was killed at Yellowstone by a bear the day after we were there. He got between the mom and her cubs. You can buy bear deterrent. It was $70 at our hotel but we saw it at Kmart for $50.

4. Gondola Ride- We went to Teton Village in Jackson Hole (where all the skiing is) and took a Gondola up to the top of the mountain for spectacular views. In the summer there is Mountain Biking on the skiing hills.

5. Calm Dinner River Float- This is similar to white water rafting but without all the white water. The whole family (including young kids) was able to go on this scenic relaxing tour down the Snake River. This was again booked through Barker-Ewing and included a tasty riverside dinner.

6. Hiking- there are many hikes at all skill levels in the Grand Teton park. I went on a hike around Jenny Lake with my parents and sister. This was a highlight for me. Our kids were not old enough to handle this type of hiking but hiking is the reason I would love to go back. My other sister and brother-in-law went up the steep intense hiking trails. We also saw mountain climbers. I was hiking ahead by myself for a while and very nervous about running into moose or bear.

7. Fishing- the men in the group went fishing at Coulter Bay. You need to buy a license and you can rent a boat there. They did not have much luck.

8. Shopping- the ladies and kids went shopping in Jackson Hole while the men went fishing. Lots of great boutiques and cute lunch spots. I bought a cowboy hat and my sister got cowboy boots.

9. Covered Wagon Dinner Show- We went to the Bar T-5 Covered Wagon Cookout and Show in Jackson Hole. Everyone had a great time with the cowboys and Indians riding around the wagons on horseback. My husband even got picked to be in the dinner show! Bart5.com

My only other notes are to bring lots of suntan lotion (due to the high altitude even my lips got sun burnt), and lots of layers of clothing. It’s warm to hot during the day and very cool at night. A few of us got nose bleeds from the high altitude and I did have shortness of breath (you have to be careful when hiking). Email me or comment with any Qs!

Presentation Day

This month the take home project at Cole’s preschool was to “make a map of a small section of your community, such as your house or the block that you live on.” Trying to get Cole to sit down and draw something, especially something specific, can be quite laborious. Yet all of the other kids in his class were raring to go. The day after the assignment was passed out, half of Cole’s classmates had their maps ready and were very excited to present them to the class. This was quite a change from last year, when the teacher was lucky if anyone remembered to do the monthly project at all. Noah has the same teacher, in a class that meets earlier in the day, and he was supposed to make a map too. He was very excited to make some railroad tracks and scribbles, taping several pieces of paper together to make it extra large. When Cole saw this he picked up on that railway theme and went nuts, drawing green train tracks over many pieces of paper. I looked at their artwork and compared it to what I had seen the other kids draw- their streets, their houses, the zoo, things like that. I thought to myself, “These will just be rough drafts to their very accurate and detailed maps yet to come.” I started drawing our road, trying to get Cole in the spirit. No such luck. He held by his original piece. I decided that Noah’s would be OK, he’s just three. Over the course of a week Cole kept telling me “I already made a map!” So I asked his teacher if it mattered if the map actually resembled much of anything. She said as long as the child did it themselves it was fine. Done. Cole asked me to come in to class with him on the day of his presentation (most of the parents do accompany their child for the presentations). Cole sat on a chair in front of his class and I sat next to him. Cole proudly held up his map and started talking about the train tracks in a cute shy voice that I had never heard before. He pointed out the tracks vs. the roads and the “coupler” on the train. I reminded him quietly in his ear that he had called it “The Green Line.” When he stated this, his teacher gushed “The Green Line is my favorite!” Then she asked the class if they had questions or comments for Cole. Everyone shot their hand in the air excitedly. Cole called on Liam. Liam said with a smile, “I like trains. I have a green train at home.” Someone else said “I like how the tracks have lines on them.” Everyone loved it! I couldn’t believe I almost wrote this version off as trash. I vowed to appreciate all of Cole’s artwork more from now on. Perfectionism has no place in motherhood.