Fun in Flagstaff

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day – the high in Phoenix was going to be in the 60s, but we wanted to see snow . . . so we drove north! 

As we travelled up I-17, climbing in elevation, we began to see snow on top of the mountain, and then alongside the road, too.

One of our goals for our trip to Flagstaff was to take some “snow pictures” for our Christmas card, so after lunch at Five Guys, we headed up the mountain to the Snow Bowl Ski Resort.

There were  quite a few people there for early season skiing, and all the runs were open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We scoped out places for pictures,

and enjoyed the scenery from the top of the mountain, before heading back down to Flagstaff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back, we stopped at a small park that was a popular spot for sledding and building snowmen.

The boys thought it looked like a good place for a snowball fight!

 

Even Tom got into the action!

 

Back in Flagstaff, we looked around for a church to go to mass at.  Our Lady of Guadalupe looked cute, but is only used for weddings now.

We found one with a 4:30 mass, so we had a couple hours to look around tow.  We stopped at the Visitor Center to find out the route for the Winterfest Light Parade that evening, and then walked through some of the downtown shops.

 

Apparently, Flagstaff has a “Pinecone Drop” on New Years Eve!

After mass, we found a spot to park on a side street, and made our way to the beginning of the parade route to wait , along with the rest of the crowd.

It was pretty cold with the sun down, and the wind was really whipping up!  We tried to find a spot out of the wind, but it didn’t work!

Soon enough, the parade started . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicolas liked this rescue vehicle!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lights had to get their power from somewhere!

There were about 70 parade entries, but by the time we got to number 50,         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we were nearly completely frozen, so we headed inside to get some dinner and thaw out!  Bigfoot BBQ had been recommended to us, so we gave it a try.  We all had pulled pork sandwiches, and followed them up with apple cobbler with ice cream . . . we had warmed up by then!

After dinner, it was time for our 2-hour drive back to Lake Pleasant . . . and warmer temperatures!!   It was a fun day, and we had our fill of the snow and cold . . . we’ll take 70 & sunny for the rest of the winter!

Williams, Arizona

From Holbrook, we travelled west on I-40 with the San Francisco Peaks drawing us toward them.

It was an easy drive across the state, through Flagstaff, and before long we were driving into Williams,

and arriving at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park.

The RV Park belongs to Passport America, and it’s quite a deal at $19.50 for full hookup. 

The sites are paved, and although narrow, we’ve had worse ones.

There is a Community Building with laundry and bathrooms (which were really nice and clean), and a community gas firepit that gets lit every night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They even had several gas grills available for use, and since we were right across the street, they were really convenient for us to use to cook our dinners!

The resort also has a hotel, with an indoor pool, that we were able to use . . . so we took advantage of it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Canyon Railway makes a daily trip to the Grand Canyon, and also offers “Polar Express” train rides on the weekends from now until Christmas.  The grounds are fully decorated for Christmas, and Nicolas loved walking through the lights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to being the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon”, Williams, Arizona is also known as the last Route 66 town bypassed by I-40, and it was our last stop on our trip along Route 66.

There were plenty of Route 66 sites to see around Williams, including old motels,

gas stations,

old cars,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and even an old Dairy Queen (too bad it was already closed for the winter . . . what?! Are we back in Michigan?)

Williams is definitely the most active of all the Route 66 towns we’ve visited on this trip, with plenty of restored businesses and new businesses, too.  There were hardly any empty storefronts . . . except for one that used to be a Quilt Shop . . . what a bummer!

We walked through the gift shops – there was no shortage of Route 66 paraphernalia – T-shirts, magnets, mugs, signs . . . anything you could possibly want to buy.

 

Most of the shops stayed open in the evening, too, and several looked even better after dark.

We even saw the “largest Route 66 shield”!

There was no shortage of restaurants, either.  The Cruiser Café looked pretty cool . . .

The menu looked good, too, and the smells coming from the outdoor BBQ grill were heavenly . . . . but we opted for pizza on the one night we ate out.

So, even now as we are entering the “off-season” for this area, it’s still pretty active and most places were open. 

We really enjoyed Williams;  it’s a cute little town and definitely convenient to the Grand Canyon – whether you want to take the train (we didn’t), or just drive yourselves, and the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park is a definite gem.