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Feature Article
The day the luggage flew off the top of the car and other family adventures By Christine Loomis Phoenix…Grand Canyon…Arizona… These were names as exotic and mysterious sounding to me as any in distant Africa. For a young girl from New York in the late 1950s, a road trip to the American West was nothing short of grand adventure, a multi-day journey through far-flung communities and vast expanses of land still raw and untamed. Like all my childhood vacations, this one was defined in large part by my mother's idiosyncrasies: Her fear of flying, a firm belief that bologna and white bread sandwiches could sustain a traveler for days, and her utter devotion to Mercury station wagons, of which we had a long succession. My father's main job was to pilot the Mercury and maintain a sense of humor, particularly when we were lost—a frequent occurrence usually preceded by an announcement that he'd found a "short cut." Travel was different back then. Certainly it lacked technology that's so prevalent today—seatbelts, SUVs and a bewildering array of electronic entertainment. Yet those are just travel accessories. The very heart and soul of travel back in the 1950s and 1960s was different because of two critical elements: more leisure time and an absence of the ubiquitous superhighway. With two-week vacations the norm, families explored at an easy pace on two-lane highways that went into the heart of eclectic roadside communities, not zooming around them. So, when we weren't consuming bologna and white bread or defying death by riding unshackled by seatbelts, we tasted America, met it face to face, and celebrated its differences. Today, fast food, eight-lane interstates, the popularity of "quick escapes," chain hotels, sprawling suburbs and identical strip malls have changed the face of travel. Yet, I wanted to give my kids the same sense of wonder and discovery that my childhood road trips brought me. At first, it seemed impossible. But after digging through some old photo albums and thinking about what I had enjoyed and what might interest my kids, I landed on Arizona. It still has untamed spaces and inspiring landscapes, to say nothing of diverse cultures, intriguing history and modern sophistication—making it perfect for a family road trip. Among its many destinations are four I especially love because they offer something for all ages and interests. They offer something else, too: The ability to inspire wonder. Phoenix as playground Phoenix—especially its luxury resort suburbs such as Scottsdale—has grown since I first stayed at the Wigwam Resort in the late 1950s. Now, the city has dozens of grand resorts and hotels (including the venerable Wigwam) where families can golf, ride horses, splash in multiple pools and generally match their varied interests to offered amenities. You certainly can have a memorable vacation without ever leaving any of these havens. That would be a pity, though, because Phoenix, like most cities, has much to offer families. An excellent place to start is the Heard Museum (602-252-8840, www.heard.org), dedicated to native cultures and art. The kachina doll collection alone was enough to fascinate my kids, but exhibits on every aspect of native peoples and life provide a rich backdrop against which to explore present-day Arizona. If your kids are like mine, fire and mayhem always hold special appeal, which makes the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting (602-275-3473, www.hallofflame.org) a must. With its interactive areas for kids and firefighting equipment galore, it's a stop they'll love. For both myself and the kids, another good stop is the Desert Botanical Garden (480-941-1225, www.dbg.org). Set in Papago Park (also home to the zoo), the Desert Botanical Garden offers a close up look at Arizona's diverse plant life. Discovery Trail is paved, making it accessible for strollers, and if you go March through May you'll experience the surprising fragile beauty of the desert in bloom—also the best season to splurge on a balloon ride over the Sonoran Desert, which I highly recommend. Sedona—great outdoors, classic shopping One of my vacation downfalls is trying to do it all, necessitating dawn-to-dusk drives that do not bring out the best in any of us (okay, this is a huge understatement). Eventually, I learned to keep drive times to a minimum by choosing destinations we reach early enough to relax by a pool for a couple of hours before dinner. Sedona, two hours north of Phoenix, is perfect, and a place of intense natural beauty where outdoor adventure and sophisticated galleries and restaurants make equal statements. With action and shopping, Sedona is good for teens and for families whose interests are diverse. (Note: Just because it's a family vacation doesn't mean you have to spend every moment together.) Even if you're not diehard outdoor types, you can get your toes wet here—literally, in Slide Rock State Park (928-282-3034) where families have been zipping down the natural rock slide into Oak Creek for generations (and wearing the bottom out of expensive swim suits, so bring old shorts). Pink Jeep Tours (800-873-3660 or 928-282-5000, www.pinkjeep.com) makes off-roading doable for anyone. While their guided outings into Sedona's dramatic hills and canyons are definitely adventure, they're also a way to get families into the desert safely. For train lovers (and who isn't?), nearby Verde Canyon Railroad (928-639-0010 or 800-293-7245, www.verdecanyonrr.com.) has four-hour journeys into the high country. Sedona is also a shopper's paradise; Tlaquepaque village houses galleries and shops with everything from nice souvenirs to fine art and restaurants. With Sedona and Phoenix so close, stop en route at Montezuma's Castle, a 12th Century cliff house; you can't enter the ruins but a trail offers views, history, and a break from the car. My children groaned about stopping some place "educational," then didn't want to leave. Grand Canyon—nature's rockin' classroom The truth is, learning and fun aren't mutually exclusive. Honest—though it doesn't seem so when I overload my kids with information until their eyes glaze over and they turn conveniently deaf. Even if classes don't sound like the stuff of vacation dreams, Grand Canyon National Park, a two-hour drive from Sedona, is one place to give family learning a try. Consider this: Fewer than 5 percent of the millions of visitors to the Grand Canyon each year ever set foot below the rim. Most spend more time in gift shops than in one of the most awe-inspiring landscapes on the planet. Enter Learning & Lodging Adventures (928-638-2525) whose guides know basic info about the park as well as the legends, stories and weird facts that kids love—and no one's eyes glaze over. These three-day programs take families (ages 10 & up) above and below the rim to learn about the canyon's human and natural history, geology, ecology and architecture. You even get to go some places other visitors don't. Lodging is included in the package, and if you've never seen the canyon in moonlight, walk to the rim before turning in. Before or after the program, be more freewheeling. Rafting through the Canyon is still one of the all — time great adventures. With young kids, ride the Grand Canyon Railway (800-843-8724, www.grandcanyonrailway.com) between Williams, Ariz., and the park with musicians and western characters. Trains and kids are a natural combo and with someone else driving, you can all enjoy the grandeur of the passing landscape. Canyon de Chelly — a cultural journey In Northeastern Arizona, the draw is not just dramatic scenery but insight into a culture that once defined western America. Canyon de Chelly (da shay) National Monument (928-674-5500), near Chinle and a seven hour drive from Phoenix, comprises 84,000 acres within the Navajo Reservation and actually encompasses two canyons—Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto. Here, where Native sheep ranchers graze their herds among ancient ruins, history and the modern world co-exist. Several cultures from 2500 BC to the present are represented, including those known as the Basketmakers, as well as early Pueblo people, Hopi and Navajo. Because the monument is home to a unique culture, do some research—better yet have your kids do it—before visiting. Kids will learn, for example, that alcohol isn't permitted on the reservation, that the Navajo consider it extremely rude to speak of the dead or to interrupt a person who's talking (I'm thinking of sending my son to live there). With the exception of one trail, visitors must explore with Native guides; an easy way to do so is to stay at Thunderbird Lodge (800-679-2473) near monument headquarters, which has daily tours to the major ruins and sites. It's obvious to all those who once rode in the back seat and now drive the car that family travel has changed. But it still has the power to inspire a love of travel and a sense of the grandness of this country. When I opt for back roads and eating in local restaurants in small towns—and when I remember to slow down—I see in my kids the same joy of discovery that I once had. Best of all, I share in it with them. Christine Loomis is a Boulder-based freelancer writer who has traveled more than 30,000 miles on roadtrips with her children and is author of Fodor's Family Adventures. AAA Connection Stop by your local AAA office to consult with a AAA Travel professional and to pick up an Arizona TourBook and map. Once you've established your general route, click on www.aaa.com for a TripTik and to learn what Show Your Card & Save partners have to offer in the places you'll be visiting. Also consider the exclusive-to-AAA TripAssist Drive Protection from Access America. Family Travel Tips Let every family member pick at least one activity. Family vacations are all about give and take, but kids shouldn't do all the giving. One way to convince my kids to (happily) experience the things I'm interested in is for me to (happily) experience something they want to do. Thus, I agree to ride roller coasters (without complaining), and they agree to accompany me to museums (without complaining). Okay, we complain sometimes. Take a cue from your kids: Slow down. The best thing about family travel is that it gives adults the gift of seeing the world through their children's eyes. One of my family's memorable experiences occurred in a state park where my goal was to complete a five-mile hike (greeted unenthusiastically all around). Before we'd walked half-mile, one of the kids, lagging irritatingly behind, called us back. By the trail were two huge, hairy tarantulas digging in the sand. We stood for 30 minutes watching them do what tarantulas do, then turned and headed back to the car, elated—no thanks to me. Humor — don't leave home without it. We can't control weather, traffic or closures. We can't change who we are. We can be flexible, prepared for the inevitable (kids will get hungry and tired; siblings will fight), and we can laugh. On one infamous childhood trip our suitcases, piled atop the Mercury, sailed onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike to be crushed by startled drivers. Staring helplessly at the carnage, the trip we'd anticipated seemed as unsalvageable as our belongings. Then my dad bent down, picked up his absurdly twisted nine-iron and took a swing. Suddenly we were giggling, and after rescuing what we could, we returned home, repacked, and started out again. The Day the Luggage Flew Off the Top of the Car still makes us grin. Open doors... stand aside. On that first visit to Phoenix in 1959, I was mesmerized. There were honest-to-goodness cowboys and my sister and I rode not just horses but Indian ponies that could fly across the parched desert. There were simple things not common back East — fields of alfalfa bending in the dry wind, Air Force jets from a nearby base cracking the sound barrier, scorpions, and legions of saguaro cactus standing tall against skies that were a shade of blue I'd never seen. Over it all hung the intoxicating perfume of the Wigwam's fragrant orange trees. I doubt my mother would name any of these as things she thought I'd hold dear about that trip, yet they've all added to my love of travel. So I've learned that I can open doors for my kids as we explore, but I can't guarantee or orchestrate what they'll get out of it or love. Balance electronic diversions with old-fashioned games and learning. Sometimes kids should retreat into the privacy of music or movies — we all need occasional breaks from one another. Other times it's good to look out and discover what's there. And the games my sister and I played—21 Questions and Geography — still make a drive more fun.
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