Sedona and Grand Canyon …Tentative Itineary

Posted on February 22, 2011February 22, 2011 by Dusty Roads

All right! Things are starting to come together. Here’s what I have so far. This is all subject to booking and my co-traveler’s approval.

DAY 1

Saturday is a travel day. we’ll fly out of Albany into Phoenix and pick up the rental car. The goal is a morning flight so we will have time to swing into Scottsdale for the trolley ride with “Boston Jim”. We can have our lunch there.

Then back on the road for the rest of the drive to Sedona & check-in. ETA between 4 & 6pm. Once checked in we’ll be off to the grocery store for a few food staples and any other essentials we might have forgotten or chose not to pack.

Finish the day watching the sunset at the Airport Mesa.

DAY 2

Recover from yesterday’s full travel day. Take our time getting out and about. Once out, head for Upper Sedona and take the double trolley tour.

Then get lunch in Tlaquepaque.

After lunch browse the shops in Upper Sedona and relax.

Spend the evening at the time share relaxing and grilling dinner. It needs to be an early night because we’ll be headed to Williams early the next morning.

DAY 3

Grand Canyon Railroad and Rim tour with Lunch at the canyon. This is a full day so nothing else is planned here.

Day 4

Back to the Grand Canyon. I’d like to do one of the tours here. Maybe the Bottom of the Grand Canyon? That one is quite unique. Depending on the time we may be able to get the IMAX show in as well. This is still being “fine tuned”.

Day 5

A little closer to “home” we’ll head south toward Cottonwood and check out Montezuma’s castle & Montezuma’s Well. My plan was to do this on our own but we can consider a tour. Then over to the Blazin’ M to see the Olde Towne they have set up. From there catch the Verde Canyon Rail Road trip and then return to the Blazin’ M for the Dinner Show.

Day 6

Slide Rock Park in the morning. Lunch back in Sedona at the Canyon Breeze and then the Trail ride and dinner at the M Diamond Ranch. there might be time for a spa treatment before lunch if we are so inclined LOL

Day 7

This is the last day and depending on how we did up to this point we can chose from a bunch of things.

Red rock Jeep Tour

The Ghost Town of Jerome

Grand Canyon of the Little Colorado

Painted Desert

Out of Africa Safari Park

“Spa Day”

Sunset Crater

Meteor Crater

So that is where the planning stands at this point. There’s enough left on the to-do list for another week!

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Native American Journey’s Tours

Posted on February 16, 2011February 16, 2011 by Dusty Roads

In looking for the best way to get the best value for our $$$ and squeeze in as much as possible, I ran across a web site

www.nativeamericanjouneys.com

Their tours are not inexpensive but they sound like they offer a unique perspective.

One of the tours they offer that fascinates me in the “Bottom of the Grand Canyon” . The price listed on the web site is $179.00 per person and although it gives a description of the tour, is doesn’t say how you will get to the bottom or more important, how you get back out! I would love to see the Canyon from the bottom but I can tell you right now, this old body could not make the climb up…Not sure about the climb down but definitely not back up! I think I will have to call for more information on this one.

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Grand Canyon National Park

Travel to the Canyon’s rim – a must see! Photo opportunities abound. Views of the Little Colorado Gorge and Painted Desert. Enjoy lunch on the Canyon’s rim. Visit the Grand Canyon Imax. Journey to the Navajo Reservation and the Historic Cameron Trading Post. Learn about the people who occupy the majestic Grand Canyon.

A tour called Sedona Spirit would take us to Montezuma Castle. The price on this one is more to my liking ($79.00 per person) but I had thought going to these locations would be a good way to fill in the morning before we took the Verde Canyon Rail Road so we may not want to do this as a tour.. Here’s the tour description anyway. We can always change our minds on the order of the things we are doing:

Sedona Spirit

Travel with your native guide to local ruins, including the famous Montezuma’s Castle cliff dwellings and Montezuma’s Well natural springs. As you journey through the Historic Verde Valley, you’ll learn about the area’s history and it’s inhabitants. You’ll also receive a blessing from your Native American guide at the healing springs of Montezuma’s Well.

I have one last tour to consider but the pros and cons are a little more involved so I think I will discuss that with you in a separate post.

As always, if you’ve been on one of the tours or have any suggestions or insights, please add a comment. All are appreciated!

The “If there’s any Spare time” list

Posted on February 14, 2011February 14, 2011 by Dusty Roads

The “If there’s any Spare time” list is made up of things I enjoy or think I’d enjoy but also don’t mind skipping for something better. Sandy may feel differently and if so, we’ll just have to shift things around.

Here’s the list:

Out of Africa Wildlife Park

Zebras at the Out of Africa Wildlife Park

Jerome, Arizona
Palatki and Honanki Heritage Sites
Have lunch at a café in Tlaquepaque

On the list of things that I would do but Sandy probably won’t want to:

Helicopter Tour

Hot Air Balloon Ride

Hot Air Balloon

I’m sure I’ve left something out but these are the lists that come to mind as the first stage of planning begins.

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Bucket list Sedona ~ take 2

Posted on February 11, 2011February 11, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Ok Here’s the NON-NEGOTIABLE List:The trip to the Grand Canyon on the railroad with the rim tour will be a full day. The 2^nd trip will be for the IMAX film and some exploring of the canyon on our own.

Williams Station

Verde Canyon Railroad is an afternoon and is combined with the Blazin’ M dinner show.

Verde Canyon Tarin

The morning is open although we want to go to the Blazin’ M before the train ride too because there isn’t time to browse the Old Time town exhibit and shops after the train ride.

Blazin "M" Dinner Show

The Cowboy Cookout and trail ride is a mid afternoon and evening leaving the morning free.

Getting Ready for the Trail Ride

The Sedona trolley will be the first thing we do on Sunday.

Sedona Trolley

After all their motto is :The Best First Thing To Do in Sedona, Arizona. I think that first day is a great day to get familiar with our surroundings, do some shopping and browsing in Upper Sedona and in general stay close to the condo. Shake off any lingering travel weariness.

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http://www.thetrain.com/

http://verdecanyonrr.com/

http://www.sedonahorsebackrides.com/cowboy-cookouts/

http://www.sedonatrolley.com/

Grand Canyon Railroad and Rim Tour

2^nd day at Grand Canyon with IMAX Movie

Verde Canyon Railroad

Blazin’ M Ranch & Dinner Show

Trail ride: Sedona Cowboy Cookout…M Diamond Ranch

Sedona Trolley

　

Bucket List~ Sedona

Posted on February 9, 2011February 9, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Some things are just a given for this trip and others are up for discussion or negotiation. Plus you may provide some suggestions that will change our plans.

Here is where we are right now.

We are booked into the Sedona Summit. Check in is a Saturday and we will check out the following Saturday. The room type is a 2 bedroom “lock off” which is nice. If it’s anything like the “lock off” I had in Florida it will give both Sandy and me a lot of privacy.

We haven’t booked our flight yet but one of us will have to drive to meet up with the other. I will check fares from Providence to Phoenix, Bradley International to Phoenix and Albany to Phoenix and then run the results by Sandy. I expect we’ll fly out of Albany unless there’s a big saving from one of the other airports. Bradley would mean a hotel room where TF green (Providence) or Albany would just mean we stayed at one of our homes and then took 1 car to the Park & Fly which is quite a savings right there.

I flew Delta the last time I went to Phoenix but a friend of mine always flies Southwest and she said the fares are much less expensive plus “Bags fly free” on Southwest LOL. I did check their website and they have a web special that is always much cheaper than the other airlines. It will just depend on what kind of connections we can get.

When I went to Sedona in 2008 I had an early flight and arrived in Phoenix about 11 am their time. I was in and out of the airport in no time and in Sedona by 2:30. Check in time is 4pm and in 2008 that was strictly enforced . I was told to come back at 4.

My friend’s father drives a trolley in Scottsdale, AZ which is between Phoenix and Sedona so I was thinking that if we get a flight that gets us into Phoenix early, that we could take a side trip to Scottsdale, take the trolley ride with Julie’s father, I think she said he goes by “Boston Jim”, have lunch in Scottsdale and then drive the rest of the way to Sedona. Julie said the trolley trip takes you into “Old Town Scottsdale” and is well worth the detour.

Once we check in at the Sedona Summit we’ll head back out to the supermarket to stock up on whatever we want to have on hand for the week. We’ll certainly eat some meals out but it’s most cost effective to cook some at the condo.

If there’s anytime left over and we’re not too tired we might explore a little or maybe go up to the Airport Mesa to see the sunset. Usually we just kick back to “recover” from the travel.