Northern Arizona

 Following Max's end of third grade party, we piled into the car and drove north to see the sites and play tourists for the weekend. We arrived in Page, AZ pretty late so we checked into our hotel and called it a night.

In the morning, our first stop was lower antelope canyon. I have been dying to visit the canyons forever, but it just never seemed to workout until now. It did help that Max started asking about it since he learned about it in school this year. It was beyond cool. Even Max said "Mom, this is pretty cool." My pictures definitely don't do it justice. The lower canyon is shaped like a V, so it's pretty narrow at the bottom. There were many places that we had to crawl and maneuver through.

After that we went to see horseshoe bend. This is a very popular tourist attraction and there were many people there taking pictures. It's about a 15/20 minute walk out and then again back. So, we weren't there that long. It was neat to see and something that you must do while you are there. It's only 5 or 10 minutes from the canyons so you can't go to antelope canyon without stopping at horseshoe bend.

Then we went to upper antelope canyon for our scheduled tour. This was cool, but not as cool as lower antelope canyon. The upper canyon is shaped like an upside down V, so it's wider at the bottom. This caused sand to trickle down. Once we got back to the hotel I noticed all the sand in my hair. It was also fun to watch it wash out in the shower. I didn't realize how much sand fell on my head as we walked through.

I would highly recommend seeing both canyons if you are ever in the area, but if you only have time for one I would say lower antelope canyon is way cooler. I know Max would agree with me.

We packed up and headed to Flagstaff for the night. When in Flagstaff it's a must to get together with our good friends for dinner. It was so great to see them since we don't see each other much anymore. You know, life gets in the way of things. 

The next morning we got up and headed to the Grand Canyon. This was something Max has been asking to see for months, so he couldn't wait to see it. He didn't realize how big it is. He was shocked at the size. 

We had lunch at the Grand Canyon cafe and then headed to Bearizona to see some animals. We took Max here when he was two years old, but since he doesn't remember we decided to go again. He got to sit in the front seat as we drove through the attraction. He was so excited to spot all the animals, especially the bears.

After the drive-thru we parked and walked around the zoo to check out some more animals.

We were supposed to stay one more night, but Andy wanted to head back home. He hadn't slept at all while we were up north. We all decided it was a good idea to head home and get a good night sleep. Once we crawled into our own bed we realized Andy had a fantastic idea to go home one night earlier than we planned. It was an awesome holiday weekend playing tourists in Arizona. We got to see some cool sites and spend quality time together as a family. I highly recommend all five sites if you are ever visiting northern Arizona.