Category: Travel

Arizona Family Adventure Part 1: Exploring the Grand Canyon, Southern Rim

We just got back from a week-long Arizona adventure and spoiler alert… it was AWESOME. Like how-is-this-real-and-not-a-movie-set kinda awesome. Since I basically maxed out my iphone with photos, I decided to break it up into a three-part series. This week, I’ll be sharing all the details on our stops at the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Prescott – what we did, what we ate, what was totally worth it, and some of my favorite tips if you’re planning a similar trip!

To keep it all straight, here the schedule we ended with for our week:

  • Day 0: Travel day to Arizona
  • Day 1: Grand Canyon
  • Day 2: Prescott
  • Day 3: Sedona
  • Day 4: Prescott (Easter)
  • Day 5: Sedona
  • Day 6: Scottsdale and travel back home

In order to keep it condensed and most helpful for blog posts, I combined the days for each location-based blog post. That way, if you are using the posts for travel inspiration you’ll have everything easily organized. Here are the links to all three posts, so feel free to bookmark this page if you’d like:

Day 0: Travel day to Arizona

For our Arizona adventure, we flew into Phoenix. Once we arrived at the airport, we picked up our rental car (we love TURO for rentals), grabbed a quick bite at a drive-thru, and hit the road for Prescott. The drive took a little under 2 hours, so by time we arrived at our home base for the week, we were tired from a day of work + a 5 hour plane ride + a 2 hour drive… so we pretty much went right to bed.

Day 1: Grand Canyon

Our original plan was to spend our first day exploring Prescott, but I moved around our plans based on the weather at each of our destinations. It was calling for rain/fog a little later in the week, so to be safe we decided to visit the Grand Canyon on our first day, since the weather was supposed to be sunny and beautiful.

We didn’t rush it though. Instead we woke up early (Maryland has a 3-hour time difference from Prescott, AZ, so 9am for them is 6am for our brains), hit a local donut shop for breakfast (more on that in our Prescott post) and also did a shopping trip at a local Trader Joe’s for snacks.

The drive from our house in Prescott to the Grand Canyon Southern Rim, Desert View entrance took about 2 hours and 45 minutes. It would have been quicker to have driven to the Grand Canyon Southern Rim main entrance, so if time is a priority you can go that route.

I chose the Desert View entrance for a few reasons:

  1. My research said that it was less crowded and had the best views on the Southern Rim.
  2. The Desert View entrance has a big parking lot (less likely to be full), a visitor center with bathrooms and information, AND the watchtower.
  3. Visitors are able to wait in a special line for watchtower passes and 35 people are allowed to go up at a time. The passes are totally free, it’s just their way of making sure you get a less crowded and more pleasant experience.
  4. By driving past all the viewing points, we were able to get our first view of the Grand Canyon at the Desert View Watchtower, and then pull off to the right at all the viewing spots on our way back, which kept us from crossing traffic time and time again to get over to the left hand side of the road.

We already owned an America the Beautiful Annual Pass from our November vacation, but if you don’t have one you will need to purchase a pass or pay to enter the Grand Canyon area. The cost for admission to Grand Canyon National park for 7 days is $20 – $35 depending on your vehicle.

So, as planned, our first stop was the Desert View overlook, followed by a trip up to the Desert View Watchtower. From there, we stopped for ice cream at the visitor center, then hopped back in the car to stop at each overlook on our ride back: Navajo Point, Lipan Point, Moran Point and Grandview Point.

The parking areas for each point are pretty close to the overlooks, so if you have a kid who is sick of staring at a 277-mile-long natural wonder, you can leave them in the car to play with their video games. For the grown-ups though, you’ll want to jump out at every stop because it is mind blowing, flabbergasting, and absolutely incredible to see.

Seeing the Grand Canyon was a ‘bucket list’ item for my husband and he thought it was 1000% worth it. For me, I was less passionate about the idea of staring at a big hole in the ground but I was truly in AWE of it. Jack thought it was cool, but also thought we were very dorky to be so excited about seeing it. So yeah, typical 13-year-old. He let me take a bunch of photos of him though, so I’ll consider that a win.

Family Travel Tips for the Grand Canyon:

  • Pack car chargers for your phones and any games your kids may want to play. However, there are lots of dead spots, so make sure to grab a map at the entrance. With that in mind, it’s pretty hard to get lost, as the road just goes out and back.
  • Pack snacks or even a whole picnic lunch. We stopped in the little town before the Southern Rim to grab some lunch and it was just fine (and overpriced). Avoid that if possible.
  • Ask a random tourist to take your family’s photo so you can all be in the picture. Then, be sure to ask if they’d like a family picture too.

According to the timestamps on my photos, we entered the Southern Rim at 1:00pm and left at almost 6:00pm. The 5 hours was a good amount of time to enjoy the Desert Watchtower, visitors center, and all the overlook points. We did not do any hikes on this visit, as it was getting quite windy and there was even some graupel coming down toward the end of our day. So, if you’d like to do hikes be sure to allot some extra time.

We decided to drive directly back to Prescott, bypassing Flagstaff, and ate at a local restaurant called Red White Brew. Their food was excellent and the servings were so huge we all had lunch for the next day. More on food in the Prescott post!

Here are all our amazing Grand Canyon photos. Stop back tomorrow for Arizona Family Adventure Part 2: Sedona’s Best Views, Shops and Quick Hikes!

My Arizona Spring Break Thrift Haul

We just got back from an amazing spring break trip to Arizona, and I’m working on putting together a series of blog posts to share all our adventures. But while I’m organizing my thoughts, I couldn’t wait to show you something fun…

Let’s talk travel thrifting!

One of my favorite things to do on vacation (besides eating all the delicious food and seeing the sights, of course) is checking out local thrift stores. It’s the best way to score unique souvenirs that actually mean something. They’re usually way cheaper than gift shops, way cooler than anything you’d find at a chain store, and every piece comes with a little story. Also, my husband is super into it too… so it’s a fun family activity for us.

So before I dive into our adventures visiting the Grand Canyon, hiking the Granite Dells and the fact that it SNOWED one day and we were in shorts the next, let’s check out some thrifted treasures!

Zara skirt, $3

I found this new with tags Zara skirt and was intrigued by the parachute-type material, stretchy waist and deep pockets. It’s marked as an extra-small/small, which is ridiculous because it fit my body just fine. Apparently it sold for $69.90 at Zara, but all skirts were just $3 at the Prescott thrift store. Everything was priced so cheap there – my husband bought 2 tee shirts for just $1.50 each!

Anyways, here is the skirt on me:

It’s flowy and comfy and I like it a lot. My original thought was that I’d hem it a bit shorter, but I may wear it a few times at its current length before I make my final decision.

Vintage skirt, $7.29

I accidentally overpriced this on my Instagram share, but found the receipt while typing up this post and it was actually less than $8. SCORE! And yes, I know that this skirt leans a little hippy-dippy. Mid 90’s Joules would have LOVED this skirt and honestly, so does 2025 Joules.

Here it is on and I ended up wearing this outfit for our travel day from Prescott to Scottsdale to the airport and to home.

This skirt is just so eclectic and lightweight and I love the different fabrics. It’s a vintage brand, so probably from the mid-90’s and I can’t wait to it with tank tops and graphic tee shirts this summer!

Vintage skirt, $9

Yes, I was on quite the vintage skirt kick on this trip. This one is another vintage label – most likely from the 1980’s or 1990’s, with a gorgeous flow and pretty detailing. It’s a smidge loose in the waist, but that’s an easy fix.

Here it is paired with a graphic tee:

I love the mix of soft and tough! It’s such a pretty color in person and the fabric is super soft but thick enough that it has a bit of weight to it. I do feel like this one could look quite dated depending on how you style it, but I really like it with a graphic tee shirt. I’m looking forward to experimenting with styling this one with other items in my closet soon.

Everlane sweater, $7

You guys. I’m OBSESSED with this sweater. I love the long cuffs and the stripes and the chunky 100% cotton knit. I’ve actually eyed this sweater on the Everlane website, but it’s $110 so I hadn’t pulled the trigger. I was concerned that the medium would be a little too fitted, as I like my sweaters oversized, but it’s actually pretty fantastic:

It looks pretty darn cute with the skirt and I’m sure it will look fabulous with jeans and joggers too. I almost hope we get a few more cool days before summer hits so I can enjoy it, but I’m sure future Joules will appreciate it when she re-finds it in the fall too!

Acme cowboy boots, $25

One of things I was *hoping* to find while thrifting in Arizona was a pair of authentic vintage cowboy boots. At each store, I checked both the women’s and the men’s sections, because I actually prefer the fit of men’s boots (they are wider and you can stick some big, fluffy insoles inside and wear comfy socks). Each store had a couple pairs (at least), but they were all either in terrible condition, the wrong sizes, or marked at $50 or higher.

And then, at a Goodwill in Sedona, my husband pointed me towards these! Vintage leather Acme cowboy boots for just $25!!!

And they looked kind of terrible:

But I had hope that they just needed some love. And conditioner. So I grabbed some boot conditioner and mink oil at a local boot store and went to work. First, I scrubbed all the dirt and yuck around the edges with a scrubbie and water. Then, after letting them dry for a day, I massaged on some boot conditioner and let it soak in. Then, I gave each boot a really good rubdown with mink oil and let it dry for an hour or two. I buffed it down and then gave it another coat of mink oil. One more buffing. And BAM.

Gorgeous and the perfect amount of worn/broken in! I kind of wanted to wear them home on our last day, but they went into the suitcase for the ride. In order to finish preparing them for real life, I just need to add a pair of squishy insoles (which I have already) and also throw on some comfortable socks!

We had so much fun with our Arizona vacation thrifting and I can’t wait to wear all my new treasures. And once again, staying in a VRBO with a washing machine is so helpful. I was able to launder all of our new finds before packing them back in our suitcases to bring them home!

Planning Another Family Trip to Sedona

I was so, so, so happy to see the calendar switch over to April, because spring break is almost here. And the best part of spring break… planning this year’s return trip to Sedona! We visited once before for a four-day weekend, but it wasn’t nearly enough time so we are excited to have a whole week for our vacation.

I mentioned some tips on using ChatGPT to help plan a vacation (you can find the post here), so I created this year’s itinerary from a combination of place/things we liked before, stuff we wanted to do but didn’t have time for, and recommendations from ChatGPT that felt good to us.

Here’s our current plan:

Day 1: Fly to Phoenix and drive to Prescott, AZ

Last time we visited Sedona, we flew into Phoenix and stayed in a hotel overnight before exploring Phoenix and Scottsdale. This time, we decided to fly into Phoenix a little earlier, get our rental car and drive straight out to Prescott, AZ. Why Prescott? Well, we wanted to be within easy driving distance to Phoenix and Sedona, but not pay the sky-high Sedona prices. I found a cute VRBO to rent in Prescott and we are excited to make it our home base.

Day 2: Explore Prescott

After a day of work, airplane and then driving to our home base, we want the first full day in Arizona to feel a little lazy. So we will stock up at the grocery store, explore the town, and go on some local hikes. I have a few restaurant recommendations, secondhand/antique stores, and even a popular rock shop on our list, thanks to ChatGPT.

Day 3: Explore Sedona

 The drive from Prescott to Sedona is about 1 ½ hours, so we will make our way there after breakfast. Once we get to Sedona, we definitely want to revisit the local donut shop Sedonuts for a morning snack, because they are awesome! We’re going to do a hike, stop somewhere for lunch and then visit the Tlaquepaque Arts & Craft Village, since we ran out of time on our last trip.

Day 4: Explore the Grand Canyon

Will we ACTUALLY make it to the Grand Canyon on this trip?! The chances of being snowed out are certainly less in April than when we failed back in January 2023, so this time we may actually make it to the South Rim. The drive from Prescott is about 2 ½ hours, so we are planning to drive there, hike part of the Rim Trail and check out a bunch of the scenic viewpoints. On my ChatGPT recommendations was to drive along the Desert View Drive with stops at Grandview Point, Lipan Point and Desert View Watchtower. Depending on our hunger, we will either stop in Flagstaff on our way back for dinner, or eat somewhere on the way home to Prescott.

Day 5: Explore Prescott

Another day to explore Prescott, this time with some hiking, e-biking and maybe even some kayaking around the Dells at Watson Lake!

Day 6: Explore Sedona

Back to Sedona for another day of hiking! Some possible hikes on our list include: Bell Rock Loop, Cibola Pass to Jordan Trail, Cathedral Rock Trail, Boynton Canyon Vortex, Scorpion Trail, and Fay Canyon Trail.

Day 7: Slow Return to Phoenix

We will wake up, clean up and leave the VRBO by noon. Then, we will either hang around Prescott for the morning, or we will make the drive to Phoenix and spend the morning there – possibly at the Desert Botanical Garden. We will eat a yummy lunch somewhere in Phoenix and then do the whole return the car, check into the airport, and hop on a plane to come back home.

I can’t wait! If you have any recommendations for places we shouldn’t miss – whether it be food options, hikes, stores, or views – let me know!