Arizona

Monument Valley (above)

Painted Desert (above)

Arizona

So you find yourself glancing out at the amazing Grand Canyon, thinking wow this has been a great day, but what in the world should I do for the other 3 days that I am supposed to spend in Arizona? Check out the places below:

Monument Valley is actually located within the Navajo Nation so you can get a guided jeep tour by a real Navajo member, who has grown up in the area, or you can buy artisan products while you are there.

Another Navajo monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, is a canyon with pueblo ruins that are very well preserved.

The Painted Desert is quite literally a desert that was painted by God. You can drive through it as you leave the Grand Canyon and drive to the Petrified Forest National Park. Volcanic lava destroyed this forest, but petrified wood made mostly of quartz now covers the area as well as remnants of prehistoric pottery.

If you have time, check out the Chiricahua National Monument which is an amazing park full of different volcanic rock formations. If you would rather skip the desert and see the water, you can head over to Lake Havasu, which has every water sport that you can imagine. If you have the extra cash you can rent a houseboat, take a hot air balloon ride, or spend the day at the golf course.

There are other various hiking trails, mountains, and monuments for hikers and rock climbers all over the state of Arizona. So if that is your cup of tea you can go pretty much anywhere in Arizona for a drink.

Then of course there is the Hoover Dam. There are some arguments over whether the Hoover dam is in Arizona or Nevada, but either way stop by this engineering marvel. This is an important part of US history, as during the Great Depression, thousands of people came to Black Canyon in order to build the Hoover Dam, named for the President.

PIT STOPS

Prima Air and Space Musuem in Tuscan has one of the largest air collections in the world. If you are into space, you should also check out the Kitt Peak National Optical Astronomy Observatory. This is still a working research station.

Heard Musuem in Phoenix has a huge collection of Native American art and also offers live perfomances of Native American cultural activities

The Borgata of Scottsdale is Arizona’s attempt at providing visitors a little bit of Italy in the middle of the desert. Lots of shopping, restaurants, and art galleries this is a nice pitstop if you are driving through the Scottsdale area.

So although Arizona may not be the most exciting state in the union, there are definitely plenty things to do if you are the outdoorsy type.