Arizona Fall Break - Grand Canyon

Our biggest "must do" on our trip was a visit to the Grand Canyon. We headed out from Flagstaff and stopped at the visitors center. From there, we got our first glimpse at the Canyon from Mather Point. We took the bus to Verkamp's Visitors Center and started a walk along the rim called "Trail of Time" where every step was one million years in time. The walk was about 1.5 miles and the kids did well not getting close to the edge but we needed lots of snacks to make it there. We ended at. Our family drove on to Grandview Point for another vista. We drove to the final stop along the South Rim called Desert Watch Tower. The drive back to Flagstaff along the remaining edge was very beautiful and scenic. 

Arizona Fall Break - Hoover Dam & Flagstaff

 From Vegas, we drove to Hemenway Park where we saw some big horn sheep just hanging out near the playground. Then we headed on to Hoover Dam where we took the power plant tour to see how it works. From there, we drove onto Flagstaff, Arizona where we were staying for our Grand Canyon day. We went out to eat at Bigfoot BBQ and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the respite from the hot temperatures. That night, we went to the Lowell Observatory. I don't have many photos because it was extremely dark (the telescopes need darkness to work, so there was barely any light). Lowell is where they originally discovered Pluto! We were able to look at the Andromeda galaxy through a telescope.

Hemenway Park

Hoover Dam power plant tour

Lowell Observatory

Jonas' little bed set up

Arizona Fall Break - Las Vegas

For fall break this year, we headed west. We flew into Las Vegas and made our way to Flagstaff/the Grand Canyon before heading our week in Scottsdale/Phoenix.

Our first stop on our Arizona trip was actually Las Vegas, Nevada. We met up with my brother's family who drove in from California. We started at the Luxor and walked up the strip checking out the hotels and sights. Once everyone was too hot (105 degrees), we went to Excalibur (where my brother's family was staying) to swim. The kids have been talking about Vegas and all the sights, so I'm glad we decided to start here!

We were the only kids on the flight to Vegas, so they let Levi check out the cockpit

Luxor

Excalibur

New York, New York

Bellagio fountain and Bellagio

Venetian