Family fun in the Valley of the Sun

For spring break, I planned a family road trip to the Grand Canyon—it was simultaneously amazing and brutal.  Amazing because, well, it’s the Grand Canyon.  Brutal because our itinerary required a butt-busting 29 hours in the car.

Although we had the unabridged children’s audio book of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on board, I decided it wasn’t enough.  What we needed was a light at the end of the tunnel (or, more accurately, a light in the middle of the tunnel).  What we needed was Phoenix.

Now, summer is Phoenix is a triple-digit temperature experience, but spring and fall?  Are just right.

See the desert

Although metropolitan Phoenix is in the Sonoran Desert,  you won’t see much wilderness within city limits unless you go looking for it.  The Desert Botanical Garden is a great place to start.  Our kids moaned and whined about having to go to a “plant museum” on their vacation, then had to eat their words when they absolutely loved it.

Go as early as you can (they open at 8am) and wander the trails lined with amazing succulents, including rare, threatened, and endangered species from around the Southwest.  Wildlife is everywhere—we saw birds nesting in trees and Saguaro cacti, quail, lizards, hummingbirds, tadpoles, chipmunks, and ground squirrels.

The Butterfly Pavilion was alive with 15 species of colorful, fluttering residents—not to mention friendly and helpful docents.  I’m not a real bug fan, but I managed.  This was a real highlight for our kids.

Stay at a water park

Family friendly resort-style hotels are thick on the ground in Phoenix and Scottsdale, but you’ll have a hard time finding anything your kids will like better than the Arizona Grand Resort.

There are plenty of suite-style accommodations, family friendly restaurants, and swimming pools in town, but just one with a 7-acre water park on the property.

Are you ready for three 8-story slides, a 25-person hot tub, a river with mini-rapids, and a gigantic wave pool. Your kids are.

All guest suites at the Arizona Grand Resort come with separate living rooms, patios or balconies, coffeemakers, and mini fridges.   If you want a little extra room to spread out, the one and two-bedroom Villa Guest Suites are pretty much heaven.

If you somehow manage to drag your kids away from the water park (good luck with that), the resort offers hiking, mountain biking, and golf  too.

Don’t miss dinner at family-friendly Rustler’s Rooste (a western-themed restaurant on-property whose motto is: beef and brew with a view).  They have a country and western trio knocking off Johnny Cash, a slide entrance, a long-horned mascot in a pen outside, and a magician who comes to your table.  Don’t ask me why, but it works.

Save room for Mexican food

The Food Network recently featured Los Taquitos on its show, “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” and—lucky you!—it’s right across the street from the hotel.

Grab a plate of carne asada street tacos or carnitas if that’s more your style.  Both are a little spicy for kids, but there are cheese quesadillas on the menu too.

If we’d been in town longer, I would have tried some of these restaurants too.

Next time

Because we were only in town for 48 hours, we had to make some tough choices.  I wanted to see the Heard Museum (a huge collection of Native American Art) and the Phoenix Zoo.  Sedona and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum called to me too.  So did the Canyon de Chelly, the Meteor Crater, and Slide Rock State Park.

There’s always next year.

May 17th, 2010 | by Jamie Pearson 5 comments