Flagstaff Arizona Lowell
Visiting Flagstaff, Arizona, then driving to Vegas on the second week of March. What is there to do and see?
We are all late 20′s-early-30s girls and we would like to make the most of our trip. We will be checking out the Grand Canyon, Sedona, the Lowell Observatory and downtown Flagstaff as well as Williams. What else is there to do? What will the weather be like the second week of March? Also, how are the local residents in terms of diversity and acceptance? Where are some cool spots to dine at? We will also be checking out the famous Route 66 – is there a lot of cool spots along the way to Vegas to check out? Thanks a bunch : )
PS. We are not looking to party, we just want a nice, relaxing time!
Flagstaff is a great town. It is a historic lumber and railroad town with the majestic San Francisco Peaks towering over them to the north.
Downtown Flagstaff has a lot of historic buildings from the turn of the last century and they are now filled with nice little shops, cafes and galleries. Lowell Observatory is an excellent place to visit. Another great attraction is the Museum of Northern Arizona (north of town on the way to the canyon) which has excellent exhibits on Native American culture and local geology. The Riordan Mansion State Park (a log mansion built by early lumber barons) is also a fun short visit. Sunset Crater National Monument (extinct volcanic field) and Wupatki National Monument (large prehistoric pueblo ruin) are two excellent, but often overlooked, parks just to the northeast of Flagstaff on the way to the east entrance to the canyon (at Cameron).
As far as places to eat… Flag (as locals call it) has some great places. Beaver Street Brewery (a microbrew with good food and nice atmosphere) is a personal favorite (on Beaver Street south of the old RR depot). Also good is Macys (Coffee Shop), Bun Huggers (burgers), Crystal Creek (deli, sandwiches), Oreganos (pizza), and Dara Thai.
Flagstaff is a university town with a lot of artists, counter-culture and outdoorsy folks… the local population is primarily white, hispanic and native american but there is a very high degree of acceptance (at least by Arizona standards) with an openess and even enthusiasm for other cultures and life styles.
As for the trip from Flag to Vegas… definitely do Route 66. You can pull off of I-40 at the little town of Seligman and detour around on the longest continous surviving stretch of Route 66 until you get to Kingman (this section and the section to Oatman to the west of Kingman is the section that the animated movie Cars was based on). It is a pretty drive, through small towns forgetten by history. When you pull off at Seligman, be sure to stop at the famous Snow Cap soda shop – a Route 66 landmark. In Kingman, I highly recommend the excellent homemade Mexican food at El Palacio near the RR tracks in the old downtown area.
The drive from Kingman to Vegas is long and without much to see until you get to Hoover dam. If you get bored, you can take the turn off to Chloride Arizona (about an hour north of Kingman) which is an old historic mining town with old buildings now populated by artists and retirees.
AZ Key: Lowell Observatory
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Astronomy/observatory Photo Mugs Professor Percival Lowell in the observatory he built at Flagstaff, Arizona …. |
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Percival Lowell Mouse Pad … |