We drove to Brenda, AZ (halfway point to Tucson) spent one night, the next day drove the rest of the way to Tucson. It was supposed to be a 3.5 hour drive, but took 7 hours because of a truck that caught on fire on I-10 and blocked all the eastbound lanes. It took 3.5 hours to go 28 miles, ughhh!
Finally, made it to Tucson where we had an appointment to get a minor body work issue resolved on the house, but while there, found out one of our A/C units needs to be replaced. It was reaching the high 90s and some days 100, which will remove any doubts about whether or not your A/C is functioning properly and ours wasn't.
We couldn't stay and wait for the new A/C unit to arrive because we were due in Flagstaff on Friday (5/26). That was OK because it was 67 degrees when we arrived in Flagstaff. It was in the 70s and 80s all week and that was fine with us.
Bill (Jane's brother from Ohio for those of you who don't know) & wife, LuAnn arrived in Flagstaff on Saturday in time to have dinner with us.
The next 7 days were filled with doing everything we could think of to do in the Flagstaff and surrounding area. I think we did just about everything you can do within 150 miles of Flagstaff.
Sunday we went to Sedona for our first day of sightseeing.
Monday was Memorial Day and we started out by going to the Flagstaff Aquaplex for some indoor Pickleball. Bill had heard of it, but had not played and was anxious to learn. The four of us played for almost 3 hours. The facility is run by the city of Flagstaff and was very impressive. It had a full fitness facility, climbing wall, mini indoor water park, basketball courts (converted to Pickleball during specific times) and more.
After lunch we went to downtown Flagstaff for the holiday weekend arts and crafts festival and to take in the shops, stores and restaurants. We discovered that a man named Weatherford from Weatherford , Texas, was instrumental in the early development of Flagstaff.
Tuesday was our trip to the Grand Canyon. We entered from the east, saw the watchtower, went to the south rim and Mather Point, then went to the South Kaibab trail for a hike down to Ooh Aah Point.
LuAnn had asked prior to our trip, "How long can you stand and look at a hole in the ground?" But, her first reaction upon seeing it was, "It's so beautiful, I can't breathe." There were a couple of people we encountered on the hike back up the canyon who, literally, couldn't breath. Nurse LuAnn offered assistance but everything turned out to be OK after a short time. It's just that that hike will make anybody huff and puff for all they're worth.
And every time Jane would get close to the edge,
which she loved to do, I couldn't breathe.
I never get close to the edge unless it is safe. Jane
We were at the east entrance to the park
at sunset. 
The Colorado River looks so small and tranquil from up here, but I'm sure it's anything but peaceful when you get close.
Even when you've been before, it is still breathtaking and awe inspiring.
This is the watchtower at the east end of the park at sunset.
It is not a really old building but was built to look old to fit in with the surroundings.
We started Wednesday with 2 more hours of Pickleball and then spent the rest of the day catching up on laundry and went bowling Wednesday evening.
Thursday we went to Walnut Canyon, just 10 miles from Flagstaff to see the cliff dwellings. It was fascinating and something we all were amazed to discover. It is still hard to imagine how people lived in the sides of the canyon walls 800 years ago.
I don't recall reading anything about the size of the people who lived in this place 800 years ago, but if that doorway is any indication, we've come a long way.
Then, we drove out to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park, 100 miles east of Flagstaff.
The end of a tree trunk, where you can see the quartz which causes the wood to harden and "petrify".
Friday, we got up early and left for a 2 hour drive north to Antelope Canyon, near Page, AZ. There is an upper and lower canyon. We toured the lower canyon. They are both slot canyons, formed by flash floods.
After about a 10 minute hike from the starting point, we descended a few flights of stairs, 90 feet into the canyon.
We would go through narrow passages and then it would open up into various "rooms". This one was called the Lion's Den. Can you see his profile?
The flash floods would happen so quickly, people have been caught unprepared and died in this canyon.
They said the flash floods could be from rains several miles away. Since that time, they've added escape measures and bolted stairways in place that cannot be washed away.
Jane, LuAnn & Bill
We started our tour around 10:30 am, which turned out to be great because the sun overhead was sending light through the canyon and providing amazing color contrasts.
You cannot go through the canyon without being part of a guided tour as this place is on a Navajo Indian reservation.
The tour took about an hour and Jane, although claustrophobic, handled the narrow passageways with no problem.
As long as I could look up and see the sky, I was OK with the tight spaces. Jane
When we finished the tour, we decided to drive the few miles to Lake Powell. After checking out the marina, we decided if we really wanted to see the lake, we needed to do it by boat.
So, we rented a boat and took our lunch with us and spent a couple hours exploring
The Glen Canyon Dam from the lake side of the Colorado River. We considered swimming but this water was a bit too "refreshing" and we just dangled our feet off the back of the boat.
On the way back, we stopped at Horseshoe Bend, which is the Colorado River on the other side of the dam from Lake Powell and again marveled at the beauty and uniqueness of God's creation. I couldn't help wondering, with no park rangers around, do people come out there with hang-gliders and jump off? It's 1,000 feet straight down to the river.
We finished off a great week by resting on Saturday since Bill & LuAnn were flying home on Sunday and Jane & I would be driving back to Tucson to get the A/C unit installed. We taught them how to play Dummy Rummy and enjoyed a great day sitting outside at the picnic table playing cards.
"If the Lord wills, and we live", we'll be back in Arlington on the 8th for a 4 week stay before going to Arkansas for 2 months.
After another spring of frenzied travel to complete our baseball trek, it really sounds good to sit still for a few weeks. Haven't seen the fam since Christmas and this mom/gram needs to see her kids/grandkids.
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