When we started our adventure in August, we always said we’d move quickly in the beginning to make sure we saw as much of the colder northern states before winter. Then, we would slow down when we got to warmer temperatures. That is exactly what we have done. We’ve been in Arizona for about 3 weeks now creeping south as each place gets too cold at night.
📍Flagstaff, ➡️📍Grand Canyon, ➡️ 📍Sedona (and surrounding areas), ➡️ 📍Phoenix (suburbs), ➡️ and 📍Oldtown Scottsdale.
📍FLAGSTAFF
Who knew it snows in Arizona?! In early November, we found a great public land site right outside of Flagstaff near the Snowbowl, a ski resort! They open November 21 so we knew our stay wouldn’t be too long. 🥶
That said, Flagstaff or “Flag” as it’s called by locals, is a great, small town that sits at about 8,000 ft elevation. We loved the easy parking, tons of highly rated (on Yelp) restaurant choices, and microbreweries. We spent about 4 days here, and could have easily stayed longer if it had been warmer. There is convenient $1 per hour parking lot right by Mother Road Brewing. It’s definitely worth a stop. The beers were good, bar food (from an on-site food truck) was great, and the staff was very friendly. They loved Lucy and shared their knowledge and recommendations for the city. I rarely write Yelp reviews, but took the time to give them a review. Right next to them is Pizzicleta. I’m embarrassed to say after dinner we got to go pizza from them… twice.
Bonus: Flagstaff is about an hour drive from the 📍Grand Canyon, so it was a very easy day trip down highway 180. I wish we had seen either a sunrise or sunset here, but it was our anniversary so we headed back to Flagstaff for dinner. And let’s be honest, we struggle with sunrises right outside the car let alone an hour away! Leashed dogs are welcome at the Grand Canyon.
📍SEDONA
When Flagstaff got too chilly, we headed about an hour south along 89A to Sedona. The elevation drops to about 4,300 feet so in less than an hour drive we watched the forest turn to giant red rocks and temperatures go up 10°-15°.
Sedona is absolutely a special place. Not only is it beautiful, but people travel from all over to experience the vortexes (or vortices). There are 4 popular vortex locations in Sedona known for positive energy for meditation and healing. Though we didn’t go to any of these specific locations, Sedona still brought us lots of good energy. Up until Sedona, the three of us 👫🏻🦮 had pretty much kept to ourselves. Sedona was different. Sedona allowed us slow down and make new friends on their own nomadic journeys. And it was all because we decided to camp in the same spot. Some days the 3 of us stayed put, some days we (the two of us) went biking, and some days we explored Sedona and nearby towns like Cornville and Cottonwood, but each night our neighbors all gathered by a fire to talk, laugh, and share knowledge.
We really liked the dog friendly restaurant, Creekside American Bistro in downtown Sedona. The food was really good, and the ladies next to us ordered Lucy a side of bacon. The steamed shrimp was served with ketchup, but we will let that slide because everything else was wonderful.
Nearby Sedona:
📍CORNVILLE
Just outside of downtown Sedona there are both vineyards and tasting rooms. In Cornville, there are 4 vineyards right in a row. One day we checked them out. We started a Page Springs Cellars, hopped to Oak Creek Vineyards, skipped to Javelina Leap, and ended at DA Ranch. All were dog friendly except Page Spring’s tasting room. We personally enjoyed Oak Creek Vineyards the most, but did not actually get any wine at DA Ranch because they had a wedding.
📍COTTONWOOD
While Sedona is very touristy (in a good way), Cottonwood seems to be a working town with a very cool Main Street. We were able to grocery shop, do laundry, grab dinner, and do wine tastings all in this town. The lead singer of the band Tool, Maynard James Keenan, opened a tasting room/restaurant called Merkin Vineyards Tasting Room and Osteria in hopes to attract Sedona’s tourists. We did not try this particular tasting room this time, but really enjoyed Arizona Stronghold. Thanks to our new friends who found a Groupon, we got a tasting and cheese plate for a great price! Plus, they’re dog friendly!
If you find yourself in Cottonwood, definitely try Colt 804 Grill for great BBQ, tacos, and more. Also, they’re dog friendly on the patio!
And after about a week, the temperatures started to get a little chilly so we headed south again.
📍PHOENIX (area)
Thanks to Instagram, we had another awesome meet up! We had great conversation and a pup pool play date.
📍OLDTOWN SCOTTSDALE
We hit the jackpot arriving in Scottsdale on a Saturday. We hit up a huge Farmer’s Market and as an added bonus they had a dog show too! Oldtown Scottsdale was very dog friendly. It was great for walking around window shopping souvenirs and art with lots of restaurant options. We ate at dog friendly Hula’s and Lucy sat near the very busy sidewalk. So many people stopped to talk to us and pet her, but I don’t think anyone walked by without smiling at her sidewalk sploot. I just loved that she brought so many smiles to the people walking by.
Headed further south soon… stay tuned for Arizona part 2! 🚐💨
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