Although hot and full of cacti and scorpions, Arizona can have a lot of fun things to do and beautiful things to see. Northern Arizona can be a good choice for seeing a lot of these things without completely melting away in the sweltering heat.
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Jerome
Founded in 1876, this former mining town is known as the largest ghost town in America as well as America’s most vertical city. Instead of copper mines, today in Jerome you can find a thriving artistic community with stunning views of the Verde Valley and tons of history.
Jerome has quite a bit of shopping but be prepared for a little bit of a price tag as a lot of the merchandise is handcrafted artwork. Make sure to bring some comfortable shoes on this trip! Being America’s most vertical city, there are quite a few steps in this town.
Travel Tip: Try going to Jerome during the off season (January, February, May, August-November) to get better prices on purchases. Some of the shops may be closed, but most should still be open.
We took a break from shopping/burning calories to take in a lot more at Haunted Hamburger. This 5 star rated burger restaurant is a must try and you might even see a ghost along the way… We always get the deep fried pickles for our appetizer and following that the Ghostly Burger and Haunted Burger. They also have delicious handspan milkshakes or if you’re wanting a little extra something, they have boozy shakes as well. Make sure to get there right as soon as they open at 11am as they get extremely busy and you can be waiting for hours for a table.
After filling our tummies with delicious food, we were able to do a number of things to keep us busy. There are several art galleries that we got to peruse and a lot of different cute little shops to browse. Something we have never done but always wanted to do is a wine tasting, as there are quite a few wineries in Jerome. If you are a fan of museums, there is the Mine Museum right on the main street, across from the Spirit Room and Conner Hotel. It is only $2 admission for adults and free for children. It is not a huge museum but it does have some interesting facts and history about Jerome. It of course has a gift shop as well for some more shopping!
Since we both have a bit of a sweet tooth, we always make it a point to stop in at Rickeldoris Candy & Popcorn Co. before we go. They have an assortment of yummy treats, including prickly pear cactus candy, which is surprisingly very good. They also have a variety of different kinds of candy: chocolate, sour, soft, hard, anything you like!
Grand Canyon
Now of course we could not forget to mention the Grand Canyon National Park. As one of the seven natural wonders of the world, you must see it while in Arizona! Admission to the park is $35 for a car and it is good for a week if you want to stay and hang out a while. The first stop we make when visiting the Grand Canyon is Navajo Point. It is the highest point of the South Rim, except for if you are up in Desert Ridge Watchtower.
Since we were feeling a little adventurous, we hiked down a little ways to get some better views. The narrow path starts on the right ride of the fence when the Watchtower is on your left and you’re facing towards the Grand Canyon. You will have to go around the fence just a little bit and then it veers off to the left and down. It is not an extremely hard hike down but make sure you are wearing either good grip tennis shoes or hiking shoes as it is kind of gravely.
The next stop we make is to the Grand Canyon Village. The drive to get there is some beautiful scenery that includes pine trees, peeks of the Grand Canyon, deer, and elk. Once we arrived, we tried to park in parking lot C, since that is the closest one to all there is to do here and we were walk up to the main area without taking the shuttle. If you aren’t able to get lucky as we usually do, at least they do have the complimentary shuttle to get you from the other lots. From the parking lot, walk to the left upon exiting your car and look for the railroad tracks. When you see them, cross them and walk up the stairs to the hotel at the top. That is your way to the fun!
Once we entered the hotel, we were given the option of either walking straight through to the other side for amazing views or if we went right, there was the gift shop. It is full of all different kinds of Grand Canyon Souvenirs and some snacks (if you are feeling a little hungry). If you are more than just a little hungry, walk outside the gift shop and to your right is a little snack shop that sells hotdogs, pretzels, sandwiches, ice cream, etc. If you are feeling even more hungry, there are a few pricey restaurants nearby. We personally just got some snacks to forego the big dollar spending, and waited until Flagstaff to get our fill.
Flagstaff
To finish our trip to Northern Arizona, we stopped in Flagstaff on the way back to Phoenix to get some delicious pizza. Fratelli Pizza has been around since 2002 and they have 2 locations, both of which are equally good and locally owned. You can chose from their speciality pizzas or build your own. We personally have tried the cheesy stix and breadstix for the appetizer and for the pizza we have tried the meat lover’s, buffalo chicken, and make your own. Now we have tried pizza from a lot of different places across the country and Fratelli has one of the best crusts and sauce out there! It is definitely worth the stop. The prices are very reasonable for the amount of food you get and the atmosphere is relaxing.
