The Grand Canyon has been on our bucket list forever. David went once as a child. I never have been. We decided to road trip for a six day trip to the Grand Canyon! The photos do not do it justice so I just posted a couple here. We went in early Spring and it was perfect. There were hardly any other people and no lines/traffic. First night, we stayed at a corporate property in Barstow. Then, for three nights, we stayed at the Grand Canyon Plaza Hotel. The property is very dated, but the service was excellent in all the areas, the suite was large, it was pet friendly, and it was located in Tusayan, close to the South Rim entrance. We both are glad we ended up staying outside of the park because of the other amenity/dining options available nearby. We spent a full day driving from one end of the south rim to the other. We did not do any hiking because the dogs were with us, but we did hit up a bunch of the viewpoints. We also went back one evening for star gazing. Beautiful!! Cold!!
We spent another full day playing tourist at the attractions near the Grand Canyon. I love the offbeat, unique, and quirky!
Flintstones/Bedrock City/Raptor Ranch is an attraction in Williams, AZ. It is a combination of a re-creation of Bedrock City from the Flintstones, and a mini zoo that has a variety of raptors, goats, and alpacas. We had the whole place to ourselves. The place could use some updating and the raptor cages are way too small for my liking. We had a really neat surprise upon arrival. On the admissions counter were two plastic bins that had baby raptors. I did not record what kind, but one set was a kind of owl, and the other, I think was a falcon! We bought some packeges of goat/laama chow and fed them. The goats stuck their heads through a staged mural.
Driving home, we had a bit of a scare. A metal cylindrical object was rolling down the highway and bounded toward us, hitting our car and windshield. I was covered in tiny shards of glass, but it did not break through. I am grateful for modern glass technology! We sustained significant windshield damage and some body damage, but the car was still drivable and we were able to complete our trip as planned.
Stopped off in Santa Barbara for a chack in/walk on State St./dinner with our boy. We ended up going to Holdren’s Steak and Seafood and enjoyed a terrific meal. The lovely lady neighbors next to Alex’s apartment offered to watch the dogs for us. In gratitude, we gifted them turkish delight from Lokum, one of the prettiest shops I have ever seen. While David charged the car, Alex gave me a little tour of where his classes are on campus and where he likes to hang/study.
Our last night was spent in the adorable town of Solvang, the ‘Danish capital of America’. We arrived lat in the evening to a town aglow in white lights. If I was not so tired, I would have taken time to walk the town and take photos. We spent the night at Wine Valley Inn and Cottages. The room was a little wonky, but overall, a decent property, and pet friendly.
The next morning, we walked through the town, and shopped some of the shops. We ended up buying a piece of art for our Manzanita place from artist Chris Pavlov/Pavlov Art Gallery. At the end of town is the California Mission Santa Ines. We walked the exterior grounds together, then David stayed with the dogs while I toured the mission and interior grounds. So beautiful and serene!
