#285: The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa, pg. 566 (2nd Ed: Golfing The Valley of the Sun, pg 709)

 

April 5, 2021

Not hard to see where the area or the resort gets it's name!

Huge granite boulders millions of years old surround the entire area and property.

Even the pool area is surrounded by "the boulders."  

As the book says, "Flintstones-Like buildings are nestled ingeniously among them (the boulders)."

But it's main claim to fame are the two 18-hole Jay Morrish-designed courses that stand in stark contrast in their lush green beauty against the desert landscape.  It's gorgeous!

I'm not a golfer, but I walked around the courses and watched the golfers and appreciated it all just the same!

I also did the Nature Path

And saw lots of huge cacti 🌵

And made friends with this scaly creature 🦎

Verdict: No.  It's beautiful.  It's creative.  It's luxurious.  I love that everything about this place is built into the landscape and environment and becomes a part of it both in color and in materials.  But I maintain that there are just very few hotels that fit into the category of something you have to do before you die.  By all means, if you have the money, come stay here!  But you can certainly go to your grave just fine if you don't. 

#284: Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa (pg 570)

 

April 5, 2021

The Arizona Biltmore is the only surviving hotel in the world in whose design Frank Lloyd Wright participated.  It is also one of America's oldest resort hotels (it opened in 1929).  Many notable people have stayed here including Marilyn Monroe as well as Ronald and Nancy Reagan (who honeymooned here). 

The Frank Lloyd Wright connection can be seen in many ways throughout the resort!

As I was exploring the beautiful property and all the amenities and public spaces, I couldn't figure out where all the guests were?

I finally looked on my phone and saw this..... they were closed.  Sigh..... opening back up next week.  I would have loved to see this resort in full operating function with people milling about, but it was also kind of nice to have the place to myself and see what it was all about!

This place screams "luxury" and "for adults" and yet, it has this massive waterslide area!  So clearly, kids come along with their parents on lavish getaways to the AZ Biltmore!

If your room doesn't back up to one of the many beautiful pools, then it backs up to this!  The resort sits on two beautiful golf courses.  This is the Links Course and the other is the Adobe Course.

Verdict: No.  It's possible that my opinion was tainted by the fact that the resort was closed while I was there (but I still walked all over the entire property and nobody said a word to me!  So I still got a pretty good feel for it).  It's gorgeous.  It's luxurious.  If you went and stayed here, you'd have a lovely time.  But there are very few hotels/resorts that fit into the "must do before you die" category and this isn't one of them. 

#283: Red Rock Country pg 571 (2nd Ed: Sedona and Red Rock Country pg 710)

 

March 31 - April 3, 2021

The highlight of our time in Sedona and Red Rock Country was the Pink Jeep Tour!

We did the Broken Arrow trail.

Mother/daughter jeep selfie

Hold on!

Posing with Trusty Jeep #70.  Jeep #76 (the one we started out on) proved to not be so trusty.  It broke down (the Control Arm snapped) half way through our adventure and we had to be rescued by this jeep 😜

The views from the various stops we made were spectacular!

There are several trail options for both hiking and off-roading.  We did the Broken Arrow trail, one of the most popular.

My daughter, Riley.

She's so excited and she just can't hide it!

This place has been on my radar for years.  So glad I finally made it!

Doing my favorite thing with my favorite people.

Dreamy.....

First breakfast in Sedona..... Sedonuts!  Don't mind if I do..... 😋

We explored other dining options as well, including eating Rattlesnake at the Cowboy Club.

We also explored the downtown area quite a bit shopping, eating, etc..... Howdy partner! 🤠

We stayed at the Sedona Summit Resort and enjoyed this infinity hot tub with a killer view!

We also explored the surrounding area including the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which is absolutely worth seeing! It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's protege and is really quite something!

The view from the inside with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the red rocks.  Communing with God and nature at the same time.

Just 6 miles outside of Sedona, but still within "Red Rock County" is Slide Rock State Park, which is another "must do" if you're in the area.  The water is absolutely freezing, but there is an 80-foot natural waterslide, cliff jumping, pavilions, fields, etc.  It's clean and fun and the backdrop to all these activities can't be beat!

Verdict: YES!  I absolutely loved everything about this place!  There was so much to do and see in Sedona and in the surrounding area (the Grand Canyon is just 2.5 hours away, which we also did).  It's gorgeous and offers the adventure-seeker countless activities as well as the relaxation-seeker an equal number of opportunities to just mediate and soak in the unmatched beauty of the area.

Cost:  Hotels are expensive and can easily run ~$400/night.  We were lucky and were able to use my in-law's time share points.  Food downtown Sedona was expensive as well.  The best deal in town was the breakfast at the Courtyard Marriott.  It was $4.50 for kids and ~$10 for adults and the food was FANTASTIC.  We loved it so much, we went to eat there twice within 3 days.  The Jeep Tour is expensive as well. Cost varies depending on which tour you choose.  The Broken Arrow experience that we chose was $129/adult and $116 for kids.  But it was worth it!  Highly recommend!  My best recommendation for this area is to save your money and go - but you don't need to stay long.  Experience it for 2-3 days and then move on to a lower cost place.  But don't miss it!

#174: Canyon de Chelly National Monument (pg 567; 2nd Ed pg 705)

Canyon de Shelly is a 130 square mile canyon with multistoried cliffside dwellings built by the Anasazi people between A.D. 700 and 1300.  These dwellings are the oldest houses in the United States.  

We decided to do the White House Trail.  Here is our view from the top.

It took us about 40 minutes to reach the bottom of the trail and we were treated to views like this.

Info:  Cost: Free.  Bring your own water on hikes.  There is a drinking fountain where you can refill water bottles in the Visitors Center.

Verdict:  Well, this may not be something you have to do if you've been to Grand Canyon, since this is sort of a "mini" grand canyon.  But honestly, it was VERY cool and we loved this hike and the time we spent here!

#44: The Grand Canyon (pg 568, 2nd Ed pg 706)

February 2000: I was living in Las Vegas and the guy I was dating at the time and I decided to drive to and from Grand Canyon in a day since neither of us had ever seen it. As 1000 Places to See Before You Die states, "Few things in this world produce such awe as one's first glimpse of the Grand Canyon." I couldn't agree more.
Nearly every good picture I have of this trip is obviously with my then boyfriend, but now that I am happily married to someone else, I didn't really want to post any of those pictures, so my pictures, unfortuanely are slim pickings! It doesn't really matter since pictures don't do it justice. You just have to see this in person!

Nature worked on this for billions of years.... and it was worth the wait!

Verdict: Absolutely one of the most amazing visual experiences on Earth. I absolutely hope to go back again with my husband and kids and to stay for several days.