Just returned from 2 glorious days in Flagstaff!  Originally, I didn’t want to go to avoid the holiday crowds but, turns out, no crowds because everyone thought Flagstaff was on fire.  The only signs of a fire I saw was the huge helicopter flying overhead going home as the firefighters had put out the fire.

When we left Scottsdale, the temp was 114 F.  When we arrived in Flagstaff, the temp was 70 F.

Late in the afternoon we went to check out a lava tube just past Snowbowl which was an experience in itself.  When I was told about a lava tube, my thoughts went to diamonds all over the place (spewing from deep inside the earth thru the lava tube) and thought it would be a must see for the gemologist.  I figured a tame tourist site in one of our national parks.  With better directions from a manager at the local ski resort,  who said “don’t forget flashlights”, we found the barely marked road and drove about 8 miles on an unpaved dusty road to arrive at a parking lot with about 8 cars in it.

Everyone piled out of the cars and grabbed all of the flashlights we could find.  Before we hit the trail a woman walked by and advised us to bring coats.  I had no coat so wore 3 t shirts and everyone else bundled up with sweaters, jackets and ponchos.  About 300 yards into the woods we came upon a hole in the ground with a “kind of” rock wall around it and a few people sitting around.

There’s a bunch of boulders in the hole and you can see an entrance, of sorts, that you have to climb down to and thru to get inside the lava tube which is a cave.  Pitch black, huge boulders, jagged rocks, ice and a temp of 35 F.  I went anyway and had a great time exploring.  On the way back I fell and broke the tip of my pinkie finger but, other than that, everyone else was fine and had a great experience.  Highly recommend checking out this site.

Early today we took the chair lift to the top of Snowbowl.  A bit scary but what a view.  Saw snow there, too.  I have no idea how anyone other than expert skiers can ski down these higher trails as it is close to straight down.  Looks like it would be great fun in the winter.

The temp was in the low 50′s F at the top of the mountain (took a whiz in the highest benjo in AZ) and returned to Scottsdale where it was a balmy 101 F.

I highly recommend visiting Flagstaff this summer.  A welcome relief.