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Arizona in Feb for family with kids


JD Lud

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Good evening all,

 

Planning out our kids school break time in February and thinking of flying into Phoenix.  I’ll be looking at the inter web furiously searching and analyzing until fully paralyzed.

 

Until then, good idea?  We want to escape the rainy season for a bit, weather average shows around 70s and we would be there toward the end of the month, week before EoT I believe.  Probably looking toward Flagstaff or Sedona area.  We haven’t been down there for 20 years I guess it is now…Any good loops in and out of Phoenix to make to keep kids entertained or a base camp to suggest?  Hiking, sightseeing, being able to go to a restaurant and general tourist stuff that kids/family would like.    
 

All input is appreciated as I know a lot of people on here from that area and frankly I value and respect your opinions more so than google by a long shot!

 

 

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Train from Williams to the Grand Canyon and back.

Prescott courthouse plaza.

Camp Verde and Sedona area's red rock country.

Montezuma's castle and Montezuma's well.

Sharlot Hall museum in Prescott.

Bald eagles at some of out local lakes (seasonal and I don't remember just when they show up.

My place.

 

Lots of places to eat, some better than others.

Lots of historical sites, some better than others.

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Lake Pleasant is just a few miles west with hiking and fishing.

Wickenburg loves its western heritage and has some shopping in the older downtown. 

There is a pioneer town just north of Phoenix.

There is the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix.

There's an amusement park in Phoenix right on I-17.

Shopping/eating in Old Town Scottsdale

Shopping/eating on Whiskey Row in Prescott.

Shopping/eating on Jerome

Shopping/eating in Old Town Cottonwood. We like the Colt Grill.

Pink Jeep tours in Sedona to see Indian ruins and Schnebly Hill Road, if weather has it open.

Skiing at the Snow Bowl by Flagstaff.

Sunset Crater/ Wuptaki just north of Flagstaff is cool and surreal to see.

Walnut Canyon Indian ruins by Flagstaff is a nice hike with 700 plus steps up/down

Agua Fria National Monument has Indian ruins and hiking and that's just north of Phoenix

Tlaquepaque in Sedona is very nice and has shopping and dining.

Cruising on Route 66. Williams and Seligman cater to cruisers. The Snow Cap diner is always a hit. Be sure to ask for mustard and ketchup.

Going east, Tortilla Flats is fun to see cool desert terrain. Bring a dollar bill to put on the wall.

Crown King is cool is the weather allows. No shopping but the general store but there are a few restaurants. It's mainly for the drive and scenery as the last few miles follow the narrow gauge railroad grade. If you don't have a high-clearance vehicle resist the urge to follow the road to Prescott.

 

If you have questions about any of these, ask.

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I should add that it can be 30 degrees cooler in Flagstaff vs Phoenix. Temps differ by roughly 5 degrees per 1,000 feet in elevation change. Rain in Phoenix can be snow in Prescott or Flagstaff.

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Great points and info so far thank you.  Haven’t been to Tucson since some simulator training a while back.

 

Didn’t realize they much colder hadnt got that far yet so thank you for pointing that out early!  Lots of great ideas, thank you again.

 

I may have some more questions as I dig in.

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4 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Verde Canyon rail Road South of Sedona in Clarkdale is a family friendly 4 hour train ride. Wife and I did it several years go.

+1 My wife and I did the Verde Canyon RR several years ago. I am a Garden RR enthusiast, so I liked to visit excursion lines where ever we went. 
 

In one of John Wayne’s Westerns (I wish I knew which one) he drives a wagon past a large rock formation in the distance that resembles a campfire coffee pot. This formation is in Sedona. If you visit Sedona head up to the local airport. On the road up the mountain there is a lookout point where you can park and look out over Sedona proper. Out beyond the main drag is “The Coffee Pot”. It really looks just like a giant stone coffee pot.

 

CJ

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I live by Prescott. 95% of the time weather isn't an issue in the high country. If you have FB, follow the National Weather Service in Flagstaff for all the forecasts and updates. If an event happens, it's usually over fast and the roads are clear the next day. There are rare occasions we get heavy snows but the odds of it happening when you are here is slim. 

 

Secondly, Ben Avery is on the absolute north end of Phoenix so it will be much easier to head north than south through the Phoenix traffic which can have you making up new cuss words.

 

As SD mentioned, the Verde Canyon RR is nice and is at a lower elevation so still warmer. The train verses direction at the Perkinsville depot, which of you are a movie buff, you will remember was Gold City in the 1962 saga How The West Was Won. It was the beginning of the last segment with George Peppard, Eli Wallach, and Debbie Reynolds. Bear in mind that was 59 years ago so the depot is not in as good a shape as it was for the movie. The depot is on private land so the train is the only way to see it.

 

4725_how%20the%20west%20was%20won_perkinsville_2.jpg

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3 minutes ago, Cactus Jack Calder said:

+1 My wife and I did the Verde Canyon RR several years ago. I am a Garden RR enthusiast, so I liked to visit excursion lines where ever we went. 
 

In one of John Wayne’s Westerns (I wish I knew which one) he drives a wagon past a large rock formation in the distance that resembles a campfire coffee pot. This formation is in Sedona. If you visit Sedona head up to the local airport. On the road up the mountain there is a lookout point where you can park and look out over Sedona proper. Out beyond the main drag is “The Coffee Pot”. It really looks just like a giant stone coffee pot.

 

CJ

Many movies were made in the Sedona area. The Last Wagon, Comanche Territory, and others. Much of The Last Wagon was film off Schnebly Hill Road which is now a high-clearance only road.

 

IMG_1818.thumb.JPG.43460d963439b67ab91f9e1cd53128bf.JPG

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The only recommendation I have is get room rates and reservations ahead of time. Sedona can be expensive. The sooner you can lock in rooms the cheaper it may be. 

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7 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Verde Canyon rail Road South of Sedona in Clarkdale is a family friendly 4 hour train ride. Wife and I did it several years go.

Another good choice.

 

Also in and around Prescott /Prescott valley we have some splendiferous hiking trails, like the Peavine Trail which pretty much follows the old rail lineup though Chino Valley, Paulden, and on north towards Ash Fork.

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