1. Flagstaff: for our month in Arizona we chose Flagstaff as our base. This is a nice quaint town at the bottom of the San Francisco Peaks. We were expecting to see lots of snow because of the high elevation (6,909) but we were treated with lots of sunshine instead.

2. Sunset crater, Waputki, Walnut Canyon: right nearby Flagstaff you can enjoy 3 fantastic historical site. Sunset Crater erupted in 1084 and affected the lives of the local population (the Sinagua). Today you can walk among the lava flows (a'a and pahoehoe) and imagine the majestic events of the eruption. A little down the road from Sunset Crater (heading north) you'll find the Wapukti National Monument. This pueblo is consider to be the tallest, largest and perhaps the richest and most influential pueblo on the Colorado Plateau. Walnut Canyon is situated in the opposite direction (south of the Crater) and houses amazing dwellings. Under limestone overhangs the Sinagua built their homes. Then around 1250ac everyone left, and the why is still a mystery today.

3. Navajo Nation: About 1 hour north of Flagstaff you'll enter the Navajo Nation. Here you'll discover some of the most amazing natural phenomenon in the United States. Home of the World Famous Grand Canyon, (which we skipped this time around since we have already experienced it in the past, but a must stop for everyone that comes to the area), the Navajo Nation also hosts many more natural wonders. We loved to visit both Antelope Canyons (we enjoyed much more the experience of the Upper canyon because it was a little less busy with tourists) and enjoyed taking in the views at Horseshoe Bend. Breathtaking places not to miss. One thing to note is that it is not possible to visit the Antelope canyons without a local guide. There are lots of tour operators run by the Navajo people, so pick the one that fits you best. On our way home we stopped on a roadside shack and bought 2 bracelets made by the Navajo women.

4. Sedona: For anyone coming to Arizona, Sedona is often on the map as one of the places to visit. Only one hour south of Flagstaff, it was a nice day trip. Sedona is famous for its vortices (places of energy). Overall, Sedona has a feeling of a more ritzy town compared to the the college town feel of Flagstaff and the locals tend to remind you of that. However, if you are a spiritual person, you should experience Sedona's vortex.

5. Jerome: South-West from Flagstaff (about halfway to Phoenix) there is the very quaint town of Jerome. Jerome is a mining town that found a way to keep things interesting after the decline of the mining industry with.... wine! You will not expect to see vineyards in the high desert but Jerome made it happen and the wines are quite good.

6. Montezuma Castle: Continuing south from Sedona we stopped at the Montezuma Castle. The castle is pretty cool and it is another architecture of the Sinagua people. We were more impressed by the Walnut Creek dwellings than the ones in Montezuma, but worth a visit nevertheless.

7. Route 66: The famous route 66 that originally ran from Chicago, IL, to Santa Monica, CA goes straight through the center of Flagstaff. And of course we ended up reanimating the song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" 😉

8. Cactus: You can not go through Arizona without seeing the iconic cacti. While there were only a few smaller varieties (e.g., pin cushion and cat-claw) of cactus in Flagstaff, we were in awe of the saguaro cactus found off Highway 89 (which follows the Black Canyon Trail). This cactus can but be over 40 feet tall! Do you know that a cactus grows only 1-3 cm per year?

9. Petrified Forest: a little less than 2 hours east of Flagstaff you can find the Petrified forest. It is amazing what nature can do. We really enjoyed the blue mesa where the colors of the rock formations are truly mesmerizing (although they looked more purple than blue to us).

10. Arizona Snowbowl: Even though we did not find much snow in the town of Flagstaff, just a bit up the mountain the Snowbowl offers some fun snow entertainment. Due to the warm temperatures only a few slopes were open (people were skiing in t-shirts) and we got the chance to do some skibiking again.