Flagstaff Check-in

We had decided to stay a couple of nights at Flagstaff, since it is only about an hour away from the Grand Canyon, which was our destination when we set out from Vegas after the conference.

I remembered driving through the town in 2003, coming up from Phoenix for a Canyon day trip.  I noticed the climate difference from that valley to the south - lots of pines and greenery, and cooler temps.  That made a nice change from Las Vegas as well.

We had some time the first night to take a little walk around downtown, so we checked out some of the old Route 66 landmarks and iconic neon - visible in the first picture here.  The second picture is the view from our room - those are the San Francisco peaks, and there is a popular ski resort there.  As you pass through the range, the altitude rises to 8,000 feet above sea level.

We checked out a little outfitter there - Peace Surplus - to pick up some new fleeces.  It was chilly in Flagstaff during our stay!

Second feature of the evening was a visit to the Beaver Street Brewery, Flagstaff's famous craft brewery and restaurant.  Those were some good beers and burgers.

Afterwards, back to the hotel to rest up after Vegas and the drive.  We had a pretty big day ahead of us at the Grand Canyon, after all.