Flagstaff and Little America

I'm back in the US now, but before heading on to Texas, my mom and I planned to meet up to celebrate her birthday in Arizona!

I had a one-night layover in Los Angeles after arriving from China, then a short flight to Phoenix, a 30-minute layover, and a 17-minute flight from Phoenix to Flagstaff. After five flights, I was excited to have a few days to explore Arizona - a state that I had never been to before!

the Little America Hotel

Mom arrived about two hours after I landed in Flagstaff, and we collected our luggage from the arrivals area of the tiny airport, picked up our rental car, and headed to check in at the Little America Hotel.

Welcome to Arizona!

The hotel was warm and cozy, and was already getting ready for Christmas! In fact, when we checked in we were told that the very next night would be the annual Christmas lighting event! They had decorated the hotel grounds with over 1 million lights!

the warm and cozy lobby

It was mid-afternoon, but we wanted to get an early start on our adventures in Arizona. When we checked in, the lady at the front desk told us that we could walk over to the gas station next door for a fun community event.

The Sinclair Dinosaur float is on its way to NYC to be in the Macy's Parade! As it crosses the country, it's stopping at several Sinclair gas stations for a celebration. We arrived in Flagstaff just at the right time! We got to enjoy free hot dogs at the cookout, as well as pick up some free gifts from Sinclair. I've got to look for the dino during the parade.

the famous Sinclair Dino on the way to NYC!

On our first evening, we drove to the nearby Walnut Canyon National Monument. It's not nearly as impressive as the Grand Canyon, of course, but it's still a beautiful piece of nature just outside the town. Walnut Canyon has a lot of great hiking, but we arrived just before the park was about to close. Instead, we took a short hike along the canyon rim to a small archaeological site.

Walnut Canyon

This ancient pueblo ruin was our first experience learning about the Sinagua, the ancient people who lived in northern Arizona. We would learn a lot more about them over the coming days!

an ancient pueblo site

The next night was the Christmas lighting event. It really was a community event! In fact, we could barely find parking at the hotel that night! Every tree was covered in colorful lights, and there was a Santa's workshop, games, and activities for visitors to enjoy. They were even busing people over from the university!

Christmas lights at the hotel

The photos don't do it justice, but the lights were really amazing! It was cold that night, too. During the day the temperatures got up to the mid-60s, but at night they fell to below freezing.

it was a cold night in Arizona!

Still, it was not as cold as I had expected it to be in northern Arizona in November. Flagstaff has a super nice climate. Even though it's just a short distance from Phoenix, summer temperatures rarely rise above 85.

It's a very trendy town, too. Flagstaff is popular with retirees and snowbirds, but it's also a college town. There are a ton of cool bookstores, cafes, and restaurants. One night, Mom and I went to a local brewpub for dinner. We shared a beer flight of six tiny samplers, which were all brewed right on location.

a beer flight at a local brewpub in the city's historic downtown

They also served excellent burgers and onion rings!

Vietnamese burger with some of the best onion rings ever!

On our final morning in Flagstaff (or, "Flag" as the locals call it), we took a walk along the hotel's nature trail. The 1.6-mile loop runs through the forest behind the hotel. Flagstaff seems like a very active city, and a great place for outdoor activities and hiking.

walking the 1.6-mile nature trail behind the hotel

Flagstaff is located right in the middle of the largest ponderosa pine forest in North America. We walked through the chilly forest, enjoying the views of the distant mountains.

early morning behind the hotel

In the afternoon, it was time to go home.

boarding a tiny plane at the tiny airport

I'll be writing about our adventures in the national parks and national monuments around Flagstaff over the coming days! For now, it's just good to be home!

the Grand Canyon from the air