Arizona

Arizona is up there for me among most amazing places in the world, and I know there’s so much more I didn’t get to see when I was there in early spring!

Tucson

  • Although we didn’t actually get to visit, San Xavier del Bac Mission is a cool-looking Catholic Church South of the city. 

  • Little Anthony's Diner, another cute place we didn’t get to make it to, is a 50’s/Grease-style diner with cute old cars out front

  • A little town that was built as a western movie set, Old Tucson. It’s pretty expensive to get in ($40/person) and we only really spent a couple hours there. But it’s worth it if you’re into that kind of thing. We had fun wondering around and checking out all the sets and shows throughout the area. 

  • We also didn’t make it to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, but I’ve heard it’s really great and might be a good alternative to national parks

  • Saguaro National Park has two sides, East and West, and both are worth visiting. They are on opposite sides of Tucson, so 2 days is a good idea to have enough time to see both.

  • On the West side (Red Hills Visitor Center for map directions) has some small/short trails right around the visitor center, or you can do longer hikes throughout the park. 

  • Use Rincon Mountain Visitor Center as the starting location to find the East side of the park. My FAVORITE thing was to just drive the loop around the park and see seemingly never ending forests of giant Saguaro cacti! 

  • Mercado San Agustin & MSA Annex is a cute shopping market area. We went on a Saturday and it was pretty hoppin. Good snacks and coffee, and cute little shops at the Annex, which is a maze of shipping containers that have been turned into retail stores. 

  • Tucson Mountain Park and Gates Pass is another good area to see lots of Saguaro cacti if you don’t want to do the national park. Gates Pass is great for sunset, but get there early because parking really fills up

Sedona

  • Driving into Sedona from the south, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Airport Mesa are all cool rock formations you can highway either to just point at it as you drive by, or there are pull offs to stop and take pictures!

  • TLAQUEPAQUE art & shopping village is an artsy shopping area right in town. It’s really big and looks cool, but be warned everything is really expensive so it may be more of a window-shopping experience. On the grounds, Spirits and Spice Sedona is a liquor store, and they do tons of free samples. 

  • Keep going north on 98A from Tlaquepaque and there’s a very touristy Gatlinburg-esque strip of restaurants and shops. We didn’t stop in this area on my visit because it was pouring down rain, but it looked like a fun area to spend some time on a trip to the area.

Grand Canyon and Flagstaff

  • If you’re in Arizona, you’re mostly going to visit Grand Canyon National Park. Like many of the USA’s national parks, you see a lot just by using a paved trail that starts near the visitor’s center. There are many lookouts along this walk to get great views of the canyon. As always, please use caution and remember there are many areas that are not safeguarded by a wall or railing. 

  • Not too far from Flagstaff are the Wupatki and Wukoki Pueblos. These e[ic historical structures are free to visit and located near an easily accessible parking lot, making them good for a short stay. Although you can’t go inside, these structures give amazing insight into how people lived in this area before the modern western world.

Tucson was amazing, and I hope to make another trip there someday. We did not spend much time in Phoenix, but obviously in a bigger city you’ll find lots more to see and do!