I’m traveling back in time to 2019, to finish a few trip reports from a March vacation that we took to Arizona. Originally, we had planned to spend a long-weekend in Phoenix in search of pool weather for an escape from our snowy mountain winter. Unfortunately, Phoenix proved to be just warm enough that it was tolerable for the pool, yet a far cry from the heat that we had anticipated.

So we changed our plans and embraced the cold by heading to Flagstaff.

Flagstaff is just a two and half hour drive from Phoenix, but it feels like another world. The flat desert landscape shifts to majestic mountains and enormous pine trees. The sprawling suburbs of Phoenix are left behind, as we entered the charming town of Flagstaff.

Describing a small town as charming can often sound trite, yet Flagstaff is truly charming, especially the historic downtown. We dumped our suitcases off at the Hilton Doubletree and spent the afternoon exploring.

Flagstaff is famous for being a train stop. We visited the historic train depot that was built in 1926 and now also serves as a visitor’s center.

Outside of the depot, we found a Baldwin Steam Engine from 1917.

And even more impressive, we discovered “The Fountain of Youth!” Who knew it was in Flagstaff, Arizona?

We walked around downtown to enjoy unique shops, local food, and architecture of yesteryear.

Animal art.

My favorite place in Flagstaff was Bright Side Bookshop. I always love to visit indy bookstores and support local authors when I travel. I asked a helpful employee for a book recommendation and she directed me to Annette Mcgivney’s Pure Land, a non-fiction account of a murder of a Japanese woman in Havasu Falls. Pure Land is a gripping, thought-provoking read that I have been widely recommending. Make sure to stop by Bright Side Bookshop if you visit Flagstaff.

It was kismet that our hotel had one of our favorite types of restaurants: Teppanyaki! Sakura Sushi and Teppanyaki was one of the most delicious and surprisingly good-value teppanyaki restaurants that we have ever visited. They even had a few unusual tricks beyond the usual onion volcano…they stacked eggs and set the whole table on fire. We did not expect our plates to be set on fire and it was a bit close for comfort..

Although we only stayed for one night, we were delighted with everything that Flagstaff had to offer and we look forward to a future vacation.

One last funny thing…as I was going through our Flagstaff pictures, I saw this one that I took of a Natural Grocers Store. I likely took it because of the cow. I love cows. However, now that we live in Colorado, Natural Grocers is meaningful to us. We love their cheesy commercials with the super hero girls: Health Crusader and Organic Girl. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you must go to Youtube immediately!