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Arizona Adventures: Two Days in Tucson

1/26/2020

In the middle of the Sonoran Desert, and less than two hours from Phoenix, sits Tucson, the second largest city in Arizona with more sunshine than you can imagine! With more than 340 days of sun each year, you are almost guaranteed a sunny vacation any time of year! Our trip in January allowed us to experience a wide range of temperature and climates of Arizona, including the cool northern temperatures below freezing in Page so we welcomed the contrast in temperatures when we arrived in Tucson with clear blue skies and sunny hot temperatures!

Where to Stay

We spent two nights in Tucson at stayed at the Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort & Spa. It is a large resort with hacienda-style homes with an upscale Southwestern experience in the Sonoran Desert. With suites starting at 605 sq ft in size, the room was larger than my first apartment!

The resort is set among the desert mountains with onsite hiking, biking and horseback trails where you can experience the desert scenery among the cityscape.

Bonus: Pets are permitted! With all the trails onsite for guests to enjoy, the resort is pet friendly and encourages families and their pets to explore nature among the privacy of the property.

With attention to comfort and privacy, your stay is complete with modern conveniences with service that matches your vacation style.

Westward Look Hotel & Spa, Tucson, Arizona

What to Do

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

“The mission of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is to inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert.”

Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is not really a “museum” in the traditional sense that we are used to. It is the #1 attraction in Tucson and one of the top 10 museums in the country. Most of the museum is outdoors and you get to experience the wildlife, botanicals and vegetation of the desert. The exhibits highlight the living animal, reptile and botanical collection co-existing other in their natural habits of the desert. The research programs onsite help conserve the desert and educate those who are not familiar with the unique conditions of the desert.

Walking through the outdoor collection, especially the cactus-filled botanical gardens gives you a first hand experience of the desert climate.

Old Tucson

A fan and unique attraction – where Hollywood and the Wild Wild West converge. Originally built in 1939 as a set for the movie Arizona, the mock Wild West town setup has been used for more than 400 film, television and commercial productions since then. As a fully operational film studio, it is the premier film location for Western-themed productions and has become America’s “Hollywood in the Desert”.

When not in film production, the set becomes an amusement park for guests to step back in time to explore the Wild Wild West, enjoy live action-packed stunt shows, comedy entertainment, musicals and vintage rides and guided tour experiences “where the spirits of the Old West comes alive!”.

Both Old Tucson and The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is perfect to experience on the same day as they are located about 10 minutes from each other. Bring lots of water ensure you are well hydrated. Walking outside in the hot sun, feeling the dry heat (even in January) is hot! Watching the stunt guys in full Western gear out in the sun made me appreciate what they do and cannot even imagine what it would be like in the hot desert sun during the summer!

Pima Air Space Museum

From the Wild West or the desert, you can deep dive into airspace at the Pima Air Space Museum. The large air space museum is the third largest in the world and features over 350 historical aircraft ranging from commercial aircraft to ones of historical significance. Learn the history of flight and aviation as you explore the inside hangars and outdoor exhibits as well as the memorials dedicated to aircraft used in World War II.

You can easily spend a couple of hours here wandering through all exhibits and marvel at the different aircraft. There is even a tram tour that departs on the hour daily, where you can listen to the guides share stories and history of all the aircraft.

Air Force One

Aviation enthusiasts and World War II historians will appreciate the memorials with the information and history of air and spacecraft showcasing each of their important contributions to aviation history.

Three different and unique experiences that are fun for all ages made our two days in Tucson fly by! The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum gave us first hand experience and background to the unique conditions of the desert and the plants, animals and reptiles that inhabit the desert. We walked back in time to the Wild Wild West of Old Tucson and experienced the Hollywood of the Desert! And the Pima Air Space Museum was truly an enjoyable and education experience into aviation history.

Thank you to Visit Tucson, the tourism board that hosted us and helped me plan our trip with lots of great ideas to experience Tucson! Their website is the perfect place to start your trip planning and reaching out to a travel agent (like me!) will help you easily plan your trip! Let me know how I can help!

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Arizona Adventures: Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend

1/18/2020

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Upper Antelope Canyon

You may have come across these vividly beautiful works of art in photographs, online or print magazine wondering in awe and amazement as to what it might be. It’s Mother Nature. Or, rather slot canyons located throughout the American Southwest, notably in Utah, Arizona and Nevada.

With each trip we take, I try to find at least one unique or memorable experience for us to have as a "must do" or "bucket list"-type experience. On our recent visit to Arizona, it was Antelope Canyon. I had seen the Instagram and Facebook photos in my social media feed. I had googled "Antelope Canyon" and saw all the gorgeous photos online. So I wanted to see if for myself. Isn't that how travel photos can plant a seed into your travel plans?

So even though our original plan was to visit Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson, I wanted to make sure we stopped at Antelope Canyon, a majestic slot canyon area located in northern Arizona in Page. It is about 4.5 hours from Phoenix (but you can also get there from Las Vegas, Nevada, about the same distance away).

Antelope Canyon is one of the most beautiful slot canyons in the world, and probably the most famous and well-known. It is a photographer’s dream, and there is no shortage of opportunities for photos to view when you look for Antelope Canyon! And it just so happens that the "most expensive photo ever sold" by professional photographers is a photograph of Antelope Canyon, sold for over $6 millions dollars in 2014.

Since the world has now discovered the natural wonder and beauty of Antelope Canyon, it is a highly recommended experience to see it for yourself.

What is it?

A slot canyon is a narrow canyon formed when water finds its way through a small crack in the rock. After thousands of years in temperature extremes, what started as a small crack expands as repeated flash floods tear through the crack and erode the sandstone rock surfaces resulting in these beautifully gliding narrow canyons that are tall and narrow with very high walls. Because of the hot, dry desert temperatures that follow, the sandstone is buffed and shined resulting in cascading walls, that glide and twist with swirling vibrant orange and red colours.

And as you go through the canyon, we stop often to listen to fun facts, stories and tidbits about the history of the area, and the culture and beliefs of the Navajo. The guides are very knowledgable and patient, ensuring each guest stops for their opportunity to get the perfect photo at each opportunity.

Heart

This is Standing Bear

Inspired to visit?

Here are a few important tips to help you plan:

A guided tour is required to visit.

Antelope Canyon is located on Navajo Indian Tribal Lands and cannot be visited unless you book a tour. Travellers must book a guided tour to visit their sacred lands, in order to preserve the natural area and manage the amount of people during the tours to prevent over-tourism. The tour involves walking through narrow canyons and they do need to manage the amount people that can go through at any given time and to ensure the area remains protected.

Flash floods do still occur so tours will be cancelled if the weather conditions pose a risk. It was in 1997 when 11 hikers in Antelope Canyon were killed during a flash flood so since then, it was mandated that visitors had to join a guided tour to visit for safety and security reasons.

Book early as spots do fill up, and they have limited spaces available on each tour. There are only a couple of authorized tour companies that run slot canyon tours, with a set number of spaces available on each tour.

Decide between Upper Antelope and Lower Antelope.

Once you start looking into tour options, you’ll see there is both an Upper Antelope and Lower Antelope Canyon. Most visitors go to Upper Antelope Canyon. More light comes through the canyon so the colours are brighter and more vivid on the Upper Canyon. It is easy to walk through for most people as it is a flat surface tour, with minimal difficulty.

Lower Antelope Canyon is not as well known, but also not as busy as the Upper Antelope Canyon tours. Guests will need to climb down ladders and boulders so it is not recommended for anyone who has mobility concerns or joint issues.

If you want to visit both Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon on the same day, you can book both tours but pay the Najavo Land permit fee once.

(Our tour was just only the Upper Antelope Tour).

When is the best time to visit?

Light beams are best during the spring and summer months, usually around mid-March to early October. However, this is also peak travel time so tours fill up quickly and the canyon tours may feel crowded. Tour operators also increase the tour times and offer more daily tours than during the off-season.

Our visit in January is considered the off-season when the light is not always as visible but there was nothing there that indicated to us otherwise. It was just as breathtaking to see! The colour changes as you navigate through the canyon so some areas are brighter in colour than other areas.

The best time of day to see the light beams coming into the canyon are between 11:00am and 2:00pm and therefore are the most popular times to book. Most tours offered during this time frame have a slightly higher per person cost (by a few dollars more) than the early morning or late afternoon tour times.

Which tour company to choose?

Only authorized tour companies can offer the Antelope Slot Canyon tours so whichever tour operator you select will provide you with an excellent experience. Book early though as tour spaces and times fill up quickly, especially during peak times. Check here for available tour options to get an idea of pricing and availability.

I booked our tour about 10 days before and I was having difficulty finding a tour time on the date I wanted! It was a bit stressful as I didn’t have much flexibility in my trip but I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to visit! I was able to find a tour with Antelope Slot Canyon Tours by Chief Tsosie, a company that is Najavo-owned and operated. Our guide was a Navajo tribe member sharing valuable history and stories of the area.

How to get here

Antelope Canyon is located just outside of Page, Arizona in the northern part of the state. It is about a 4.5 hour drive from Phoenix or Las Vegas. Day tours from both Las Vegas and Scottsdale are available, but be prepared for a very long day though. If you can spend one or two nights in Page, then I would highly recommend it. You will have time to enjoy the beauty of the area, including Antelope Canyon tours, Lake Powell and stopping at the Horseshoe Bend Overlook.

Horseshoe Bend is less than 5 minutes to Antelope Canyon and is worth the stop to visit. It is a mild 1.5 mild walk/hike roundtrip from the gate. And the views are stunning when you reach the canyon edge! Named for the horseshoe shape formed as the Colorado River flows below, the area is a breathtaking sight as you “feel” like you are in the Grand Canyon! (but you're actually just a few miles from the Grand Canyon National Park entrance).

If you have a car, there is now an $10/car entrance fee to park at Horseshoe Bend.

Horseshoe Bend, Arizona

Overnight in Page

There is a wide variety of choice in hotels in the area, and I would highly recommend spending a night or two in Page, so that you can experience all the tours available in the area, including boat tours that take you around Lake Powell, or join an airplane tour of the canyons.

View from the Best Western View of Lake Powell Hotel, Page, Arizona

Driving up from Phoenix to Page made for an interesting road trip in January. As we drove north, our scenery changed from cactus-filled mountains, to snow covered flat lands including a drastic drop in temperature from the southwest desert sun. Cold temperatures fill the dark air in Page. The early sunset makes for dark skies and not ideal or safe for highway driving. And even in the morning, the temperature was below zero degrees, cool and brisk air, but as the sun came out, the it warmed up during the day.

Having the opportunity to head to Page to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend was definitely a worthwhile experience to deviate from the Phoenix/Scottsdale and Tucson parts of our Arizona trip. Make sure you add this experience to your list if you are in the Arizona area, or in the Las Vegas area next time.

Wondering what to do with kids in Las Vegas? Here are some ideas from our trip there last time!

With each trip I take, I try to make the experience as memorable as I can so that my kids will have unforgettable memories of our travel adventures. Let me know how I can help you plan and book your trip so that you can create unforgettable memories in your own travels!

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The most fun you will have with goats! (and a little yoga too)

1/12/2020

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“Trump is sooo cute!”

Followed by squeals of delight and giggles abound.

Trump, the goat

That’s not something you hear very often, but only in a large field in Arizona, with more than 100 participants taking part in a yoga class surrounded by goats, Trump was definitely a popular one! But there was no shortage of goats around grazing the field looking for attention and cuddles, and there were plenty of us willing to share.

Arizona Goat Yoga is among the top-rated activities in Phoenix and Arizona and is definitely a must-do when you are in the area!

Goat yoga is exactly that – yoga with goats. And while there is some yoga, (we do stretch and hold yoga poses), much of the attention is on the goats! They are scuttling around - weaving in and out of the crowd, through your legs of your Warrior II pose or underneath your downward-facing dog poses. It makes it harder to concentrate on your pose when you’re looking for the goats or scrambling to find your phone to take photos when the goats come around!

It’s not your traditional yoga class experience, but the connection to your sense of zen and overall joy is just as therapeutic. The goats have that power.

So yes, there is a little bit of yoga, but mostly there is a lot of laughter and giggles all around (and plenty of goat selfies!)

Goat snuggles at Arizona Goat Yoga

While the goats get most of the attention, there are also alpacas that are there for hugs and snuggles too! They graze aimlessly waiting for you to give them a little love.

Because who doesn't love their cute little faces??!!

A few things to know:

Purchase your tickets online in advance to ensure you have a spot in the class. The class schedule is posted on their website one month in advance though they do run year-round. Cost is $15 USD in advance or $20 USD at the door.

Bring your own mat or towel. Or can rent one from them for $5 USD.

Gassy goats. You’ll know it if you pick them up to snuggle. Goats do poo. But that’s why the class is in a large field. Will they poo on you? Maybe...but as a mom, poo is poo...we’ve seen worse than goat poo, right? Not a dealbreaker for participation in my mind!

Take lots of photos! They sometimes have a photographer at the class to take pictures of the class but you are encouraged to take your own without concerns of disruption to the class. It’s what most of the class is doing anyway...

Arizona Goat Yoga is a fun activity for all ages, including kids, as long as they are comfortable around animals. It’s a super casual, super chill yoga class that is really all about the goats. There is something incredibly therapeutic when you are surrounded by goats and alpacas, and you leave the class with the same elation after a traditional yoga class.

If you're visiting Phoenix, I highly recommend fitting in a goat yoga class if you can....just because! Let me know how I can help you plan and book your upcoming vacation to Phoenix and/or Arizona!

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Arizona Adventures: Two Days in Tucson

Arizona Adventures: Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend

The most fun you will have with goats! (and a little yoga too)

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