mmm-yoso!!!

Roadtrip (During Covid) - Elote Cafe and the Devils Bridge Trail (Sedona)

After doing the Oak Creek Trail, the Missus and I picked up some stuffs from Whole Foods and had a simple lunch. By dinner time; well, I was ready for some "grindz". Luckily, our dinner destination was basically right around the corner from our accommodations. Even more lucky....I'd made reservations for dinner as there was already a line when we got to the place at 5pm! Our reservations were for 515! I pity the folks with no reservations.

We worked our way down the reservations line and got a nice table with some good distance from other folks. The service here was more friendly and things seemed much more laid back than dinner the night before.

The Missus really loved the chips here! In fact, She cleaned it out pretty quickly and our friendly Server quickly got us more!

After the days hike I was pretty darn hungry, so we actually ordered three apps and two mains!

And since this place is named "Elote" (corn)....well you know what our starters revolved around, right?

Things started with the Elote ($11).

There was a bit too much mayo in this, which nullified the sweet-smokiness of the fire roasted corn.

Next up the Huitlacoche Corn Soup (a small - $8).

You could really make out the corn here! Nice sweetness, the chili de arbol powder added some nice heat to the dish. Not enough huitlacoche to really make much of an impact in our opinion.

Sweet Corn Salad ($12).

We enjoyed the Chipotle Vinaigrette and this was nice and refreshing, but again it was kind of short in the elote department. But not bad overall.

We had explained that we'd like to dine "family style" and the folks here cheerfully accommodated us with separate plates and even plate changes! Great staff.

The Duck Carnitas ($29) was bit more chewy and fatty then I had anticipated.

Pasilla chilies, which have a nice fruitiness was a nice match and the guacamole really helped to refresh the palate cutting thru the richness of the dish.

The Smoked Pork Cheeks ($28) was my favorite dish of the evening.

The pork was indeed smoky and the texture was good, not falling apart but quite tender. And this part of the swine has a wonderful porkiness. I wasn't sure about the buttermilk-cumin drizzle, but it worked well in this framework, a bit of acidity, nice earthiness. I also enjoyed the cascabel chili sauce, a nice nutty-earthiness.

Overall this was an enjoyable meal, the service brought it up a notch.

Elote Cafe
350 Jordan Rd.
Sedona, AZ 86336

The next morning the Missus wanted to do one more hike on our way out of Sedona. She wanted to hike to the Devil's Bridge. During Her previous previous visit, the Devil's Bridge was packed with the "selfie crowd" and She never got to walk out onto it. And se we headed on over. Even though it was December, the parking lot was already filled when we arrived. A really nice guy in a brand new Corvette had parked....he saw us, waved and moved up to make room for us to park! What a nice guy!

The trail, other than the last portion up to the bridge is flat and easy to navigate. And you get really nice views of the Sedona "Red Rocks".

And when we arrived at the Devil's Bridge, there was only one couple ahead of us.

  And that couple was the folks from that new yellow Corvette. We were just going to take a stroll on the Devil's Bridge and maybe do a selfie. But the really nice guy told me; "I'm going to rest here a while, so why don't you walk on over and I'll take a picture of you!" And he didn't take just one photo, but an entire set! You know, people like him really do make travels just so much better!

And so, our time in Sedona was up.

But there was one more stop for us left!

Stay tuned!

Roadtrip (During Covid) - Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill and the West Fork of Oak Creek Trail (Sedona)

After leaving Winslow, we headed west on the 40 and then down the 89 to Sedona. The Missus had really enjoyed hiking in Sedona during Her roadtrip and wanted to torture me to enjoy some of those hikes. Wow was the place crowded with tourists! And there seemed to this interesting vibe...almost like Lahaina meets New Age, that I got from the place.

I did enjoy our accommodations which was close to everything downtown, our dinner destination for the next night was just steps away. And the location while being close to everything had convenient parking and was pretty quiet.

After checking in, we headed out to do some shopping in the Uptown area....man, there were a ton of tourist traps here. After passing shop after shop of "stuffs", we finally found one where we could find some good gifts.

We enjoyed shopping here and purchased gifts for folks back home. The staff was also quite knowledgeable. 

After which we headed back to the room to relax and refresh.

I had made dinner reservations at a place recommended to me by an acquaintance. It was located a bit over a mile down state highway 89A named Mariposa. Well, because the Missus thought that I hadn't had enough exercise, She decided that we needed to walk there. The walk wasn't bad, though we were the only folks actually walking. And after taking the right where 89A turns right and 179 goes straight it seemed like we were walking on the freeway. For a place that had been described to me as being "spiritual" they sure seemed to have a lot of large strip malls!

We found the restaurant, walked up past the parking lot and entered.

The place was quite busy and many parties looked like they were here to celebrate various occasions.

The menu featured "tapas" styled dishes, grilled red meat, interesting sounding Latin influenced mains, and a host of sides The service was a bit on the "cold" side, at least to us. Apparently he knew folks on his other tables and spent his time with them and barely uttered a complete sentence to us.

We chose a couple of "tapas", a main, and some side dishes for our "family style" meal.

First up was the Pulpo Parilla ($26).

We were a bit surprised at the prices, which seemed on the "high" end of things; but this was a good sized plate. The octopus was nicely cooked and hit a nice balanced texture, toothsome, but not overly chewy. In terms of flavor, it was again nicely balacned in terms of sodium. The garbanzo bean puree was nice and hearty and the shredded fennel added an interesting anise flavor to things. This was, by far, the best dish of the evening. We also enjoyed the Biquinho Peppers; which weren't overly hot, but it really brought a bit of spice to the dish.

The Gaucho Plate ($22) arrived next.

The chorizo was a bit too mild in terms of spices....it really could have used a bit more chili in it. The bread was a bit on the crumbly side for our taste. The best item on the plate were the butter beans which which had a nice, firm exterior, but were quite creamy inside.

The one main we ordered was the Veggie Nirvana ($28). After having those pretty hefty tapas, we cracked up when this arrived as it was actually smaller than the previous dishes.

This was a bit overdone in terms of having so many things going on; the Romesco Sauce, black beans, pepitas, and cheese overpowered any subtle smokiness from the roasted poblano. 

We also ordered the Wood Roasted Mushrooms ($12).

This was fine, if a bit on the bland side.

The most disappointing dish was the Roasted Cauliflower with Romesco ($10).

The cauliflower had been charred, but was still quite hard and for some reason, didn't seem to be seasoned. As I mentioned previously; not a fan of the Romesco sauce as it really didn't have that "zippy", garlic-smoky-mildly spicy and tangy flavors I enjoy.

Overall, well....this felt like a meal in a very "corporate" restaurant.....for some reason it reminded me of eating, in say, a Fleming's???

I had read about the wonderful view, but it was past sundown when we arrived so I can't comment on that.

Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill
700 West Hwy 89A
Sedona, AZ 86336

We had a quiet walk back to our room. I had started noticing random items on our walk back that sometimes looked a bit out of place. Like what is this Torii doing here?

Maybe I missed something in the darkness?

The next morning the Missus wanted to show me one of Her favorite hikes in the area. It's the West Fork of Oak Creek. We got there early and found parking and paid the $11 fee.

    It is a nice hike and I loved the rock formations. Now this is what I envision when I think of Sedona!

The hike was a bit over 6 1/2 miles round trip and wasn't too bad.

There were 13 river crossings though! But I managed to make it without falling into the river once....much to the Missus's disappointment. Just kidding.

Not too many people hiking on this morning; though it seemed like folks were arriving as we were leaving.

We passed some ruins as we were leaving the trail.

I was curious and walked over to the sign.

From 1926 to 1968 Mayhew Lodge stood here. The cabins saw visitors like Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Stewart, Walt Disney, and Clark Gable. You can read more about it here. In 1968 the Mayhew family sold the lodge to the U.S. Forest Service and in 1980 a fire consumed the buildings, leaving only the remains we can see today. It's interesting the things that you run across.....

As folks started arriving; we knew it was time for us to leave.......and time for me to have a break and maybe even a nap?

Thanks for stopping by!

Roadtrip (During Covid) - Forrest Gump Point, Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum, Standing on the Corner....., and Lunch at the Turquoise Room (Winslow, AZ)

We had really enjoyed our tour of Mystery and Monument Valley. After returning to the hotel we went back to the gift shop and then went for a walk around the hotel a bit.

There were some really great views from the patio of the closed (because of Covid) restaurant.

Man, it was pretty......

I noticed a sign and well, wouldn't you know it.....

Not wanting to drive, we just had packaged food for dinner. 

And of course we awoke very early for the "show".......

Man, this never gets old.....

We had some nuts and bars for breakfast before heading out. Our next stop was Sedona; but instead of heading South, I headed Northeast on the 163. Why? Well, this was going to be my "fun day". There were a couple of novel, perhaps obscure, and just plain fun stops. A couple of miles south of Mexican Hat is this little stop.

Beautiful scenery isn't it? But I had a reason for stopping here. This is Forrest Gump Point. Recognize it from the movie? This is where Forrest Gump, after 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours decided it was time to stop running.

Heck, I just "needed" to stop here......

Cue up Running on Empty by Jackson Browne! 

It's a pretty popular stop.

After a couple of photos we turned around and headed back to Kayenta for one more stop....this time at the Burger King. No, it wasn't to eat, though I did get a Diet Coke. This Burger King was established in 1986 by Richard Mike, whose father was a Navajo Code Talker in World War II. This BK features a Navajo Code Talker Exhibit.

   An important part of our history that wasn't even revealed until 1968! 

If you're ever in the area please stop by.

Burger King
Highway 160
Kayenta, AZ 86033

From here I headed down the 160 to the 89. Driving thru Flagstaff I went East on I-40. Not the way to Sedona you say? Well, you'd be right. There were a couple of places I had on my "list" and thought this short detour would be fun.

The first I'd read about and thought that perhaps it might be a tourist trap of sorts. 

I think folks often mistake this for a state or national type. Depending on your interests, you may or may not enjoy it here. And it's $25 a pop for admission.

There's some nice displays, a movie, and also a 40 minute rim tour if you're so inclined.

For us...well, it was about the giant crater......

A big hole in the ground. More about the crater here.

Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum
Interstate 40 Exit 233
Winslow, AZ 86047

Now the next stop got me quite excited. Depending on your age....well, I'm in the demographic that remembers a certain song. And of course that line:

"Well, I'm a-standing on a corner
In Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It's a girl, my Lord
In a flat-bed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me"

Speaking of Jackson Browne and all that.

So our next stop?

Yep, we drove into Winslow, Arizona, parked and strolled to Standin' on the Corner Park. And it was indeed a fine sight to see....heck there was even a mural of a girl in a Flat Bed Ford! 

And a Flat Bed Ford parked at the corner as well.

Yes, it's corny, cheesy, cliché, but if you're of a certain age, you'll remember that. And I'm of that age and even the Missus enjoyed this stop.

We saw folks taking photos and selfies. I even went and took a photo of this woman and her pooch....on the corner....in Winslow, Arizona. A fine sight indeed.

Unlike most of the other folks; who just got back into their vehicle after taking their photo, we strolled around town a bit; after all, this is part of historic Route 66.

There was a place I'd read about in Winslow; a hotel that was once a prize jewel and destination during the golden age of train travel, when Fred Harvey and the architect Mary Colter, whom I've mentioned before built a hotel named La Posada which has been restored to it's former grandeur.

We walked on over, strolled around a bit and decided to have lunch in the hotel's restaurant, the Turquoise Room.

It's a beautiful space.

We were quickly seated, the folks working were warm, friendly, and still very professional.

We placed our order and soon some complimentary cornbread arrived.

I ordered the Arizona Grown Vegas Salad Bowl....yes, you read that right. All that National Park Food and "stuffs" had me craving veggies.......yes, it doesn't happen often....

Lovely quinoa (when do you recall me typing that out before?), corn, crisp kale, refreshing jicama.....this really hit the spot.

The Missus really got a winner with the Lamb Posole.

Man, this was so good! Just gamy enough, wonderful lamb flavors; the hominy was cooked perfectly, a hint of spice, a wonderful comforting dish!

One of our favorite meals of the trip. If we're ever back in the area, we'll definitely return here.

Who knew...Winslow....

Turquoise Room (in the La Posada Hotel)
303 E 2nd St.
Winslow, AZ 86047

It was just enough food for lunch.

As we headed out of town, the Missus started up Spotify......and you knew which song She started with, right?

All together now:

"Well, I'm a-running down the road
Tryin' to loosen my load......"

Take it easy everyone!

Roadtrip (During Covid) - Mystery Valley, Monument Valley, and Lunch at Goulding's Stagecoach Dining Room

On our full day in Monument Valley we had gotten a private tour. Since Monument Valley  is on Navajo land, the only "real" way to visit is to hire a Navajo Guide. I had also wanted to see Mystery Valley as well. So, I booked a private all day tour with 3 Sister Navajo Guided Tours. Based on our short hike the day before and the amazing sunrise; I just knew it would be money well spent. And it was. Our guide Amory was raised in Mystery Valley, he clarified a lot of things for us, one thing we learned quickly is that the Navajo call themselves Dine', which means "the People". Amory also passed on things he learned from his grandmother and was a great guide.

There was just so much information, so much to learn, that if I ever return, I'm going to take notes. As it is; I'll mostly share photos with you all.

There were two reasons I really wanted to visit Mystery Valley, which is still inhabited....we passed farms raising livestock along the way. I really wanted to see the various arches and the Anasazi ruins.

We were taken in a four wheel ; a must for a tour like this.

That's the Square House Arch above, which was the first stop. Which then led to one of the places I really wanted to see; the vehicle maneuvers along some fairly slick rocks, we stop and Amory walks us into a small valley and points up.

This is known as the Square House Ruins.

A closer look.

During the tour Amory told us what he learned from elders and his grandmother. Seeing these ruins high up, we are often told that the Anasazi used ladders to get to these dwellings.

Amory was quick to point out the walls of the canyon.

He told us that that over time floods had eroded the soil away and pointed out former soil levels. So ladders weren't necessary at that time.

He also asked us to take a look around to see if we noticed anything.......and then pointed out the petroglyphs.....

And then pottery shards.....

Which we had totally missed! We'd be paying more careful attention for the rest of the trip!

It seemed that every turn yielded another arch - this is called the Honeymoon Arch - see how it meets in the middle?

This is the Stout Arch.

This is the Baby House Ruins.

The House of Many Hands.

See the hand prints?

It was just plain amazing.

Soon, it was time for a lunch break. Amory took us back to the hotel.

And we got in the car and drove into Utah and over to Goulding's Lodge, which was once upon a time really the only place to stay near Monument Valley. Since the restaurant in the View Hotel was closed due to Covid, the only other real option for us was Goulding's Stagecoach Dining Room.

It pretty much a diner.....and service was a such

The Missus got the Turkey Soup with Fry Bread.

Fairly bland and dry turkey meat. 

I got the Navajo Taco.

This fry bread was kinda "doughy" and not as crisp as the version at Amigo Cafe. Sour cream and generic salsa, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and chili con carne.......

Very generic, simple food for the masses.

Goulding's Stagecoach Dining Room
1000 Gouldings Trading Post Rd.
Oljato-Monument Valley, UT 84536

Walking out of the restaurant we ran into this friendly fella'.

I went to the car and got him a treat; which he quickly gobbled up. We had finished lunch fairly quickly, so we went to check out the gift shop. Guess who was waiting by our car when we got out of the shop? It was great "valet service"!

Goulding's has quite a history and Harry Goulding is credited with bringing Hollywood to Monument Valley. 

The original Trading Post is now a museum.

And of course the star of many of those movies needs no introduction....

And when She Wore a Yellow Ribbon was filmed in Monument Valley, structures on the grounds of Goulding's were used in the movie.

We headed back to the View and met back up with Amory and then headed into Monument Valley.

First stop was John Ford Point.

Which was one of Director John Ford's favorite filming points.

It's got quite a view!

Because we had a guide, we were able to get off the main road and thru various gates; getting some wonderful views.

That's the "3 Sisters" above.

And there are arches here as well. That's the Mocassin Arch above.

   While looking at my photos, I noticed that they really don't do scalar justice to the arches. So, take a look at the photo of the Big Hogan Arch above and then for a reference point take a look at the photo to the right.

And all of the arches and rock formations have names!

It can be quite overwhelming!

The last two stops where mainly for taking photos!

And it was so easy to compose some pretty nice photos......

Which made this an unforgettable day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Roadtrip (During Covid) - LP Espresso (Page), Amigo Cafe (Kayenta), and the Lee Cly Trail (Monument Valley)

We left Zion fairly early in the morning. I was looking forward to our next stop; Monument Valley...after all, my late Mom was a big time Western fan, and I recognized photos from Monument Valley as scenes from some of her favorite Westerns. Plus, Monument Valley, located in both Arizona and Utah and on the Navajo Nation Reservation is not quite as heavily visited as other places we've been to.

We headed out the East exit of Zion National Park, down the 89 thru Kanab. We decided to stop in Page, which we were somewhat familiar with, to grab some provisions and for a coffee break. We took a short stop at the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge before heading into Page.

A nice little stop to stretch our legs.....

In Page we stopped to fuel up and then at the Safeway for water and a couple of other items; then drove over to LP Espresso for our caffeine fix.

Part espresso/coffee bar, part wine/beer pub, the young ladies were very friendly, though our Espresso and my Cold Brew (???) took a while.

There's not much choice for decent coffee in Page......so we took what we could get.

LP Espresso
612 North Navajo Drive
Page, AZ 86040

From here we headed down the 98, then to the 160 East. At the point where we needed to take the 163 (no, not THAT 163) North to get to Monument Valley is the town of  Kayenta, which is part of the Navajo Nation. I had marked off a place to grab lunch, Amigo Cafe, mainly because I wanted some Fry Bread. 

The restaurant is located past the usual fast-food suspects, right as you take the left onto highway 163.

This small restaurant was doing some steady business. They had some great Covid protocols in place and we had to actually sign in and leave our contact information for contact tracing. The Navajo Nation was hit hard by Covid-19 and at one time had the highest per-capita infection rate of COVID-19 in the US. But due to their response they've beat back Covid and according to several articles I've read is now one of the safest areas with regards to Covid in the nation.

All the tables were cleaned super well, all employees (and customers we saw) wore masks. The staff was friendly and warm.

The Missus got Pork Posole with Fry Bread ($10).

Which was on the bland side and really needed more porkiness and seasoning. The base also needed more chili paste as this was lacking in the fruity-smokiness of dried Guajillo and Ancho chilies. The Fry Bread was light, crisp, and yeasty, reminding the Missus of youtiao.

She was also provided with some pretty plain guacamole and chips.

I got the "Navajo Taco" ($11).

  Basically Fry Bread (think of it as a unsweetened funnel cake if you will) with a smear of refried beans, shredded lettuce, onion, and tomato. A side of Spanish rice was also provided. Very Ameri-Mex toppings. 

Well, the fry bread was a bit oily, but yeasty, and I got to try it out.

The folks working seemed to know all the other customers, so I'm guessing quite a few locals eat here. The service was very nice and efficient and I thought prices were quite reasonable.

Amigo Cafe
US Hwy 163
Kayenta, AZ 86033

From Kayenta you head up Highway 163 and then take a right on Indian Route 42 right after crossing the border to Utah. Taking the right on the roundabout takes you right back into Arizona, take a left, you're in Utah....straight ahead is Mexican Hat. Many folks stay at Goulding's Lodge down Monument Valley Road. But I decided that we should stay in the only hotel in Monument Valley; the View Hotel. There's only one entrance to Monument Valley, you drive up to the booth and pay the entrance fee, $20 per vehicle. We got to the hotel; which was also under Covid restrictions, so the restaurant was closed and so forth, a bit early. So of course the Missus wanted to "stretch Her legs"....... There are two hikes in the area; the Wildcat Trail and the Lee Cly trail, a 2 mile loop that we took. These are the only two hikes you could take without a Navajo guide. The trail starts just East of the hotel.

And yes, Monument Valley was every bit as beautiful as I thought.

From the left to the right; the "West Mitten", the "East Mitten", and "Merrick Butte".

A wonderful, pretty easy hike to the South of the hotel.

Upon completing the hike our room was ready. The View has hotel rooms, cabins, and a camping area. I took a top floor room for both this view at dusk.

And the night sky.....it was so totally dark, we saw so many falling stars......

Because of Covid, the hotel restaurant was closed, but bag meals, basically brown bag sandwiches and chips were provided. We were enjoying the view so much that we really didn't fdeel like driving out for dinner. Also, no alcohol can be sold on the Navajo Nation.

We walked over to the gift shop before picking up our sack meal. We really liked the gift shop and ended up buying some certified Navajo items as gifts.

It was so quiet, we slept so soundly, and got up before sunrise the next morning, because we wanted to see this.

Beautiful, isn't it?

We had a full day planned out with a Navajo guide and were really looking forward to that!

Thanks for stopping by!

Postscript (04/18/2022) - this one is for FOY Junichi who said he enjoys the Westerns filmed in Monument Valley:

Road Trip (before Covid-19) - FLG Terroir and Annex Cocktail Lounge (Flagstaff)

After our wonderful tour of the Grand Canyon, we took a short rest, then decided to head out for an early evening. I had a place in mind, but as we wandered down North San Francisco Street (can't get the flaneur out of us, I guess); the Missus went into a shop called The Artists Gallery to do some shopping...…..it seems that all of the folks who sell their art and crafts here  were also at the Art in the Park the previous day. As we were leaving, I took a look upward and saw the "FLG Terroir" sign in the window above.

This was one of the places I had on "my list"; so we headed upstairs. Man, this place was quite large and the selection of wine was quite good.

The Missus enjoyed Her two glasses of wine and I reacquainted myself with an "old friend" from Belgium.

The seats with a view were taken; so we just sat at one of the tables. I went over to the counter and also ordered us some food.

Which arrived piping hot. First to arrive was the "Poutine" ($5) (after our time in Montreal, I needed to add the quotation marks).

This version had thick mushroom gravy, which wasn't too bad, the fries were crisp; but the cheese curds were mushy. Decent seasoning though a bit on the salty side. To us, this was the better of the two dishes.

Next up was the Shrimp and Grits ($10).

This version was made with red curry and coconut grits. Can't say I'm fond of this combination of flavors as it really overpowered the grits. The shrimp were fine, if a bit on the muddy side and the carrots and zucchini nicely prepared. 

Overall, I thought the prices were quite reasonable. The food is a bit "fusiony", but the Missus enjoyed the wine selection, the service was very friendly.....one of the bar staff was even from San Diego!

We'd be happy to return when we're back in Flagstaff.

FLG Terroir: Wine Bar & Bistro
17 N San Francisco St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Currently only open for takeout

After heading back down to San Francisco Street, we headed south, crossing over Route 66 and arrived at our next destination. Alice, in her fine blog "Alice's Restaurants" lists Tinderbox Kitchen as one of her favorites. While we weren't quite in the mood for a full meal; the folks from Tinderbox Kitchen own three properties lined up right next to each other. One of them, called "the Annex", a cocktail lounge serving some basic eats seemed like just the thing to end our evening. 

It was a beautiful evening so we headed to the area called "the yard", which was quite interesting....especially the wall in the back of the property. I later read that this was once a Basque Handball Court.

We decided on something simple to munch on; the Annex Nachos with Chorizo ($12), which turned out to be quite good.

The chorizo had a nice, mild smoky-spice. The chips were crisp, the avocado heavy, thick guacamole very nice.

I had the Hip Stag - a Pineapple Infused Mezcal based cocktail. Loved the notes the cilantro-lime bitter added. This was slightly smoky and not overly sweet.

Meanwhile, the Missus was captivated by the smoked cocktail menu and started off with the "Coffee and Cigarettes" which featured Pipe Tobacco Smoke and Espresso Beans. I didn't think She'd like it; but the Missus really enjoyed this.....so much....that I didn't even get a taste!

She definitely wanted another drink after this one and settled on the Irish Whiskey (and Pipe Tobacco Smoked) "Red Badge of Courage".

Which She enjoyed even more.

And then it happened. A group of younger folks were having a competitive round of Jumbo Jenga. One of the young men was really "chirping" quite a bit....and he was backing things up by beating all his friends. He saw us watching and started trying to convince us to play......there's no way I'd play. But the Missus; bolstered by a couple cocktails decided to have a go before we left.

I was amazed to watch Her beat this guy in three moves! The young man was stunned and asked the Missus how often She played. Her response? "I've never played this before....but it's all math....geometry. Maybe you should spend more time in class and less time out drinking?" Oooooh snap!

As you can tell, we enjoyed the cocktails, the vibe, and the service was wonderful. The Missus really does want to return here.

Annex Cocktail Lounge
50 S San Francisco St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Current Hours:
Thursday  3pm - 9pm
Friday    3pm - 10pm
Saturday  9am - 10pm

We stopped at a couple of shops on the way back to our hotel. We talked about how much we enjoyed the friendly folks in Flagstaff.

And look forward to returning again someday. The Missus will want Her smoked cocktail fix!

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip (before Covid-19) - Grand Canyon Desert View Tour

***** Not much food in this one, mostly just photos - just clearing out the memory card

When planning our road trip to visit Antelope Canyon and Flagstaff, I decided to do a small group day tour of the Grand Canyon from Flagstaff. Why a tour you might ask? Well, the main reason being that it was Labor Day weekend and I didn't want to deal with traffic, parking, etc, etc..... I thought doing a small group tour might work out well and it did. Plus, I figure we'll be back someday....I can take my time and meander around then.

I'm going to try to keep the verbiage down. There are many resources out there for visiting the Grand Canyon.

This tour took the less crowded East Entrance (currently closed due to Covid-19) from Navajo Country into the park. Our guide/driver was a hoot....warm, funny, knowledgeable, just a great guy.

We met at our assigned time in Flagstaff, loaded up the van and were off.....the group was on the older side; so folks were really mellow, even the three biker guys who had ridden in from California. We drove in through the East entrance not running into a single other vehicle until we came to Desert View known for the historic Desert View Watchtower.

Talk about wonderful scenery!

We enjoyed wandering around....I could probably spend an entire day here.....

And of course we spent some time in the watchtower, which only dates back to 1932 and was designed by Mary Colter; Chief Architect for the Fred Harvey Company and one of the few women architects of her time.

The tower was designed to resemble Pueblan Watchtowers, though it is much taller than any known traditional structure. The interior is also quite stunning.

Among the various landmark signs is this one.

Which recalls a terrible tragedy, the deadliest plane crash/collision of its time. Because of this and other tragedies and near misses that followed the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 was passed which became the FAA.

We had a few more short stops......

Before heading to the Tusayan Ruins. Our guide got us to the site just as a Ranger was ready to start his tour.

I could probably do a whole post just on this site; but I think you'll enjoy the National Park Services document much more.

After a quick stop at the Museum/Gift Shop, it was time for lunch under a nice patch of trees. Just simple sandwiches and chips....which did us just fine.

After lunch our next stop might have been my favorite; Grandview Point. The views from the point are amazing.

The Grandview Trail also starts here.

I was just happy with the views.

And our guide made sure to take photos of everyone (who wanted) on the rock outcropping.

There's also quite a bit of history here.....

Would you believe that a hotel once stood on this ledge?

Yep, the Grand View Hotel once stood there! Man, I wouldn't want to be walking around outside the place after having a few whiskies.....

Beautiful, ain't it???

We made a couple more stops before ending things at Grand Canyon Village.

As you can tell; some rain had rolled in right before we stopped here.

So, while folks went to take a "bio-break", got some coffee, or did some shopping, the Missus and I explored this structure.

It's another structure designed by Mary Colton; the Hopi House. Designed to resemble a Hopi Pueblo.

There's an actual Hopi door from Oraibi which leads to an altar room. If you'd like to read more about this amazing architect you can do so here.

From here we headed back to Flagstaff. We'd really enjoyed this small group tour. It gave us a nice taste of the Grand Canyon; I'm sure we'll be back. It was well worth the time and money.

We got back to our room, had a short nap, and got ready for dinner.

Yes, this is still a food blog, so I'll get to that in my next post. Thanks so much for indulging me!

 

Road Trip (Before Covid-19) - Antelope Slot Canyon, Lower Antelope Canyon, and Dinner at Shift Kitchen and Bar (Flagstaff)

***** Warning; this post is super long.

Man, it's been over a year since we did this road trip. I thought I'd better get my posts done. The Missus wanted to do a road trip over the Labor Day weekend last year. She had been wanting to check out Antelope Canyon for years. So, after doing a bit of research , I came up with a plan, to do both Antelope Slot Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon, check-out Horseshoe Bend, and even do a small group tour of the Grand Canyon over the weekend, with just taking the Tuesday after Labor Day off. Frankie's Auntie "Alle" had just returned from visiting family in Italy and graciously said she'd love having Frankie around over the weekend.

So, we left on Saturday morning. I'd planned a couple of stops along the way. When we stopped right outside El Centro....good lord, it was in the high 90's and the humidity was crazy, so we drove through Yuma and decided to get gas in Dateland at the travel center. The Missus actually enjoyed shopping at the Travel Center and even bought a couple of packages of dates.

We then headed out east on the 8, then headed up the 85, onto the 10 East, then straight up the 17 toward Flagstaff.

Then it happened. About 15-20 miles out of Flagstaff, my transmission went out. I pulled to the side of the road and we tried calling AAA. Unfortunately, cell phone reception was very bad. I finally found a high spot off the freeway and got thru to the Auto Club. Unfortunately, they weren't able to find our location....I even got the latitude and longitude, but no bueno. What I neded up doing was calling the Highway Patrol and getting a location after they pinged the cell phone tower and I walked up about a mile and got the milepost as well.

And then it was just waiting......good thing I could still start my vehicle and run the AC and such. And we waited.....I think this cloud kinda looks like Frankie, what do you think?

And for some reason; a version of an Eagles song went through my mind; "stuck on the shoulder outside Flagstaff, Arizona...…"

After about 90 minutes a tow truck arrived and we got hitched up and were on our way to Flagstaff...….except about 5 miles down the road, our tow truck broke down....soooooo; we now needed a tow truck for our tow truck! About an hour later, a fleet of tow vehicles arrived, including the owner of the tow company who was so nice and apologetic.

This time they used a car carrier and we drove to the Flagstaff Toyota dealership. Now, I'm not big on fancy cars; my little 2005 RAV4 had over 220k miles on it....the Missus decided it was time I got a new car. Which is how we went on a roadtrip and I ended up getting a new RAV4. By the time all the paperwork was done and the car was prepped it was 9pm and we headed off to Page. Which was a 2 1/2 hour drive. We got into our hotel at around midnight and immediately crashed....it had been a long day.

The next morning; we had the hotel breakfast and checked out. I had made two reservations for the day....we'd be visiting upper and lower Antelope Canyon. Antelope Canyon is located in the Navajo Nation so all access is by tour groups.

Our first visit was to Antelope Slot Canyon. We headed into Page and arrived at the designated location for Antelope Slot Canyon Tours by Chief Tsosie. Based on our reservation time; we were loaded onto minibuses and headed out. Our guide was amazing; so knowledgeable, even fielding questions and making recommendations for other places to visit.

There were quite a few vehicles parked as several companies do tours here.

And what you don't really see in photos are the crowds of folks entering.

Though they do a really great job of keeping distances between groups allowing folks time to take photos and take in the beauty of the canyon.

Before entering we were given a little lesson on how the canyon was formed. We were asked how the canyon formed in the specific way and no one answered; so I finally went, "sandstone erosion based on fast flowing floods". The guy stopped and cracked up, telling me "I've been doing this for a decade and that's the best answer I've ever had." Not sure if he was just making feel good......and I got an elbow and a whisper of "don't show off" from the Missus for my effort.

Like I mentioned; our guide was amazing. He went over the famous "sites" and set-up and took photos of everyone in the group. He kept folks together; even the two groups of "selfie Instagram girls". He told us stories of Antelope Canyon; the flash flood in 1997 that took the lives of 11 people, with only one survivor (see the link if interested), about Peter Lik's black and white photo of Antelope Canyon fetching 6.5 million dollars, and that National Geographic is banned from Antelope Canyon, how the canyon had been closed twice because folks were illegally dumping human ashes in the canyon.

The lighting does play tricks with you...….

Other well known locations were pointed out; like the "Dragon's Eye".

Let your imagination run wild......

This tour was super easy; the terrain is level so there were quite a few people on the tour. It does get a bit cramped at times, but I as very happy we did this.

We had a little over an hour between tours. I had a well regarded fried chicken place in mind for lunch; but it was just too hot for us to think about having that. Instead, I just bought some cold cuts and a salad from the Safeway across the street from the tour office. This would be enough to hold us until dinner. We planned to be in Flagstaff by then.

After lunch we headed off to Ken's Tours Lower Antelope Canyon. Man, the waiting/office area was packed. Luckily, we had made reservations months earlier. When we were called, we queued up and then headed down a trail. Just looking out, you really couldn't tell that there was a slot canyon here.

And after a short walk, we arrived at some pretty steep stairs and headed down into the canyon.

And while our guide at Antelope Slot Canyon was definitely better; the lighting here was amazing. Also, foot traffic here is one way thru, you don't have to turn around to head back, which made things less cramped. And did I mentioned the lighting????

The lighting, shadows, red sandstone just adds to the otherworldly feeling.

And you start seeing shapes...….some of them are quite well known. This is "Bruce the Shark".

And don't forget to look up. I actually saw the shape of a seahorse in the view to the right.

This was quite an amazing place to visit and I'm glad we did it.

After the tour, before heading to Flagstaff, the Missus had one more place on Her "list". A place that was actually made famous by social media, a destination made popular by Instagram, Horseshoe Bend. Back in, say 2014, about 40,000 people a year visited Horseshoe Bend....but after folks started posting photos on Instagram, you know, the selfie generation, it is estimated that over 2,000,000 folks visit the site right outside Page every year.

And so we found a parking spot and made the short pilgrimage down the trail to the look-out.

Notice the folks sitting on the bench? Well, it was pretty darn hot already on this day.

We saw several young people sitting and vomiting.....heat stroke...I guess perhaps they'd partied too hard or hadn't hydrated properly. What was even worse were the knuckleheads who brought their dogs out. We saw one vomiting....a guy was running past us in the opposite direction; his poor dog was having seizures! What morons.

We joined the masses to take a photo that I guess everyone now needs to have.

We saw quite a few people head over the railing to get "that photo" of themselves here. Crazy. Even with the overlook in place, folks still find a way to kill themselves.

We headed off to Flagstaff. I'd booked two nights at the Residence Inn in "Flag" as I heard residence call the city. Home to Northern Arizona University, both the Missus and I enjoyed our time in the city.....folks were friendly, there's a kind of artsy, hipster, chill vibe. At around 7,000 feet elevation, the weather was much cooler than Page. Also, I was a bit surprised to see the pine forests surrounding the city.

We also lucked out as right across the street from our hotel, the city was having it's "Art in the Park" festival.

Where we managed to do a good bit of shopping and purchase some gifts for folks back home.

It was a fun time....folks (including the four legged ones) were so friendly here.

Gifts in tow; we headed back to the hotel for a short break before heading out for dinner.

And while our dinner destination was a mere two blocks from where we were staying; we took our time. We really enjoyed the historic downtown area of the city.

For dinner, I did a bit of research and decided on Shift Kitchen and Bar; the focus on shared plates and an interesting cocktail list seemed like just the thing for us.

We were seated across from the bar area; a perfect place for us as we could see what others ere ordering and still had some privacy.

The cocktails were good; my favorite of the evening was the Smoked & Dirty Martini.

There was one item that drew me to Shift. The Missus loves salt and vinegar chips and the Pickled French Fries with "Secret Sauce" seemed like something She's love.

Wonderfully "pickly" with a good amount of salt, the Missus just loved this. She really didn't need the "secrest sauce" (think Mickey D's). As a matter of fact, we had a second order of this.

The Duck Liver Tart, was well, a bit too "tart" and sweet for our taste.

We loved the greens, though the pickled pears were much too sour for us.

The Smoked Bone Marrow was quite good; though the garnishes added perhaps a bit too much acidity for our taste.

Loved the bone marrow; savory-buttery goodness on the toast. Could have done without all the mustard seed and really acidic pickled veggies - jalapeno which really detracted from the goodness of the bone marrow.

All-in-all, a decent first meal. Friendly, amiable service, solid cocktails.....we (the Missus) would definitely return for those fries.

Shift Kitchen & Bar
107 N San Francisco St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Current Hours:
Wed - Sun 5pm - 9pm

We'd had a pretty busy 24 hours....we drove from San Diego, got stuck on the I-17, bought a new car in Flagstaff, drove to Page and spent the night, visited Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, and were really enjoying Flagstaff. Man, would I sleep well on this evening. Dreaming of red sandstone shapes rising toward the sky......

Thanks for stopping by!