Arizona - Part 4

On Sunday morning, we drove a little over three hours 3 hours to Flagstaff.

Our goal was to explore Sedona this leg of the trip, but staying in Flagstaff was much more affordable. We made a last minute decision to spend Sunday in Flagstaff and Monday in Sedona (instead of both in Sedona).

Thankfully, with a lack of preparation, we still found some cool hikes. 

Our first was Buffalo Park. Logan said this was his favorite hike ever! Mostly due to the fitness stations scattered along the trail.

Our second hike was at Snowbowl! Fun to be at the ski area before snow.









Such a beautiful day to spend outside together. 

Arizona - Part 3

The last day of our Havasu visit deserves its own post.

After lunch on our last day, we drove out to a place called the Desert Bar.

It was an hour from Sue and Roger’s, about half of that on sketchy dirt roads. The roads are not maintained and there is no cell reception or power once you leave the pavement in Parker.

Not realizing what was ahead of us, we followed Sue and Roger in our sedan...they suggested we carpool, but with us trying to get Brecken a nap, we said we were fine to take two cars.

I love these types of roads in our Jeep, but driving them in a rental sedan was a completely different experience.

There were a couple steep uphills, downhills, washed out sections of road and big gravel rocks the entire way. It was so bumpy!! 

I wasn’t calm enough to even take many photos. And I take a lot of photos. In the five mile, 20 minute drive, we saw two trucks fixing flat tires. Thankfully I trust Shawn, so I just kept quiet and crossed my fingers! 

Once again, Brecken slept the whole way through all the bumps. 

When we finally made it to the bar, it was so cool to see what they could do off the power grid.

The roofs were lined with solar panels, the bathroom was covered, but open air. And they had a band! Pumping loud music!

 Due to the road conditions, the restaurant closes at 6 (before sunset). These are the typical cars that make the trip (below) - ha. Tons of Jeeps and side by sides in the lot.

We couldn’t stay too long because we weren’t about to make that drive after a couple drinks and because we had dinner reservations at Sho Guns.

I told the kids multiple times that they had to be on their best behavior for dinner because it was a very nice adult restaurant. Eating out can still be a little tough for them to sit still and quietly for long.

But, as it turns out, this was the perfect place to bring them (aside from the cost, of course - not your typical $6 kids meal). 

Our teppanyaki chef was amazing. He had Logan help him with his ‘presentation’ a number of times. He juggled fire, lit up onions with lasers, and cooked everything to perfection.

The kids loved the miso soup, salad, scallions and medium rare steak. Big hit for all.

That capped off the Havasu potion of our trip. With the last two days of vacation, we made a quick stop in Sedona.

Arizona - Part 2

For the middle part of our trip, the kids spent a lot of time jumping in and out of the pool at their grandparents house. 

We also spent a little time down by the waterfront area.

With the temps anywhere from 98 to 104, ice cream was pretty much a daily occurrence. One of my favorite spots to grab a treat is near the London Bridge (below). There’s a nice boardwalk with shops along the water.

The boys love checking out the skatepark at Rotary Park. Even though we didn’t have room to bring their scooters on the plane, they still wanted to go a couple times to check it out and watch for some of their favorite YouTubers :)

And I love hammock hanging in that same park. Especially reading to my littles curled up in our cocoon.

Shawn flying his drone.

We did lunch at Turtle Bar Bar - one of our favorites. We love to sit in the sand and the boat traffic is entertaining for the kids.

We also made our regular stop at Hanger 24. Good beer and the kids get to see some airplanes and helicopters.

One of the days, we sought out the Split Rock lighthouse! We have seen many of these model replicas during our visits to Havasu, but never our local lighthouse. It was a beautiful 1/3 scale structure.

Located on a scenic overlook.

Brecken slept through whole visit - even through the bumpy off-road access trail.

And of course, we all enjoyed Grandma Sue’s famous cooking! It’s also a treat to be able to dine on their outdoor patio each meal. A routine I think we should do more of at home...during those nice three months we have...

Arizona - Part 1

We had planned this trip for early April, but as the world was shutting down at that time, we hadn’t been comfortable traveling. 

We are at a point where things are cautiously opening up with new safety practices in place. And we know family is essential for us.

So we packed our masks and hand sanitizer along with our sunscreen and swimsuits and rode the airbus down to Phoenix to visit Shawn’s parents.

After an easy flight, we rented a car and drove to Lake Havasu City. It’s a 3 hour drive, so we met Sue and Roger in Parker for dinner at Fox’s Dock Bar.

Family, music, water, boats...perfect way to slip into vacation mode...

We caught an amazing sunset on the last leg of the drive...