We visited Arizona as a family during the summer. Brandon’s dad lives in Arizona, we’ve never been as a family and I have a few friends that live in the area. Seemed like a great reason to visit the Grand Canyon State. Let me tell ya, it was H O T! When we were in the shade the weather was tolerable. The sights were breathtaking and the hiking just amazing. We went to the garden of the gods, Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and a few shops. I even joined my friend in a Stroller Strides workout! Here’s our list and Brandon’s review of our Arizona trip.

Flagstaff

Riordan Mansion State Historic Park:: 409 W Riordan Rd, Flagstaff, AZ 86001-6440

We enjoyed our visit. The house is a bit underwhelming when you pull up, but there is a ton on the inside and some of it is pretty unique. The staff were great and the tour was informative, although a bit fast. The biggest downfall for us was having a toddler in a place where you can’t touch anything - a predictable difficulty but for that reason I wouldn’t recommend for families with small children. On the flip side of that, the visitors center has a bunch of hands on period games and tools, which our toddler loved. Overall, it was a good visit and worth the time.

Bigfoot Bar B Que :: 120 N Leroux St, in the Old Town Shops, Flagstaff, AZ 86001-4544

My family stumbled on this place while shopping. It is in the basement of a building, FYI. It happened to be lunch time so we stopped and it was great. The food tasted great, portion sizes were large, and the price was in the affordable to cheap range. We had everything from ribs, pulled pork, fries, beans, salad, and Mac n cheese. All of it was good or great. They fry their ribs, which is pretty interesting. It adds a unique crisp to them. The smoked meat was very good. The staff were extremely friendly, helpful, and patient. The only drawback really is the location. Definitely recommend for anybody in the mood for barbecue.

Winslow

Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum:: I-40 and Exit 233, I-40 off Route 66 on the way to the Grand Canyon, Winslow, AZ 86047

A good experience and pretty unique - this is the first time I have ever been anyplace with a meteorite impact site. It’s extremely well preserved and a more impressive in person than I expected. The tour was good - and free. The museum had some interesting, small exhibits. The drawbacks are that you can’t go around the crater rim in your own (I thought the paved trail encircled it) and if you aren’t interested in big things, geology, or astronomy, then it probably just is a hole in the ground and not worth your time. We really enjoyed it - glad to go. It was also small child friendly.

Phoenix

Chase Field :: 401 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, AZ 85004-2438

Visited with the family. I have been to over ten MLB parks and this was by far the worst experience. On the positive side - beautiful looking facility, the employees were nice, close and affordable parking. On the negative side - the employees were not knowledgeable about the facility layout or policies (received three different answers for how to get to a certain gate, none of which were correct), the security confiscated some property without talking to us about it first, and they chase you out of the stadium as fast as possible. Apparently the owner demands that everybody leave the stadium within 20 minutes (according to one of the employees), so they literally escort you out of the building at that time, whether you are near your exit or not. Babies and all - out into the triple digit heat and figure it out for yourself. Basically, once you can’t spend any more money in their park, you’re no longer welcome. I will never support that team again - be prepared if you choose to attend!

Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting :: 6101 E van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ 85008-3421

This museum has a ton of artifacts and memorabilia. Obviously, the trucks themselves are the big item are there are tons of them. But there was plenty of other items too, from patches to pewter carvings. I loved the content and it’s extremely well organized and displayed. I arrived with only one hour left until close and had to end up rushing along after the first 30 minutes. There is a ton to see and learn! I loved it - just wished I had left more time.

San Carlos

Coolidge Dam :: Gila River, San Carlos, AZ

If you happen to be on the San Carlos Reservation and have a spare hour, this dam is worth seeing. The dam itself is beautiful and pretty unique with the domes on it. The details are pretty cool too, like the lamps at both entryways and the giant eagle on the downstream side. The views are great too, including of the Gila River. Unique place worth a visit.

We also ate at Whataburger! An oldie but a goodie in my book. The kids didn’t enjoy the Spicy Ketchup. Have you been to Whataburger?  

I hope this information inspires you to go out and try something new. Have you been to Arizona? Thanks for reading and be sure to follow me @sincerely.schwartz on Instagram. Bye for now!

When you see a fork in the road, take it.

-Yogi Bera

Sincerely,Schwartz