# Things to do in Arizona during New Year's eve?



## jesuis1837 (Oct 11, 2012)

I'm planning to go, with a very good friend of mine, to Arizona from december 29 to january 5th.  I've never been there and it's been a while i'm thinking about visiting that place.  Grand Canyon and Monument Valley are on our ''must'' do.  Will certainly attend the Fiesta Bowl on Jan 3rd but we would like to celebrate the coming of 2013 in an original way...  Is there any kind of New Year's party in the desert or celebration out of the ordinary?  A place that is a ''must'' for that occasion? She isnt picky and we arent looking for anything ''classy'' or ''fancy''...

Also,  i would love to visit some caverns where i could picture ancient drawings...  Is there a good place to visit caverns in Arizona?

Also, what is the weather like in that time of the year?  Living in a snow country i wont mind having to deal with cold but if it is warm, i better let my wintercoat here...

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!


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## hjtug (Oct 11, 2012)

jesuis1837 said:


> Also, what is the weather like in that time of the year?  Living in a snow country i wont mind having to deal with cold but if it is warm, i better let my wintercoat here...
> 
> Any help would be appreciated!
> 
> Thanks!



The weather in the Phoenix area and other parts of the Sonoran Desert should be good.  Phoenix has average highs in the 60s that time of year.  The South Rim of the Grand Canyon can have snow and I believe the North Rim closes in the winter.


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## nightnurse613 (Oct 12, 2012)

Tempe Town Lake typically has a NYE Block Party - bands, food and fireworks. Not a problem for you but the South Rim can be pretty cold and access a little tricky - there is plenty of info on visiting the Grand Canyon, you might check out the Grand Canyon Railroad - it's kind of a unique fun trip. If you cruise up the day before you could stop at Camp Verde for Montezuma's Castle (cliff dwellings but NOT writings) and then continue on thru Sedona (stopping for a late lunch) before proceeding up thru Oak Creek Canyon towards Flagstaff and spending a night there or heading on to Williams (for the train). Again, snow is NOT out of the question once you get towards Flagstaff. There are some interesting caverns but the most famous is a couple hundred miles south (Kartchner).  It's worth seeing but you're on a pretty compressed schedule already.


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## jesuis1837 (Oct 12, 2012)

Kartchner....   What about Colossal Cave Mountain?  Have you been there?  I think both places are quite close from each other... 

Yes i'm on a compressed schedule but we really want to do: Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Petrified forest, Painted desert and one cave... (plus the Fiesta Bowl!)  I'm ready to do some driving...  We plan to stay in Phoenix (or Scottsdale) and Flagstaff during that week... (dont know if it's a good idea but i think those 2 spots are close to what we want to see...

so exciting!!!:whoopie:


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## PStreet1 (Oct 12, 2012)

Phoenix is really not your best spot to use as a home location--lots more driving involved, and no real reason to be in Phoenix because each day, you'll be gone more than the daylight hours.  If you want to be in Phoenix for New Years Eve, I'd do that, but for other things, I'd stay elsewhere.  Although, there might be a lot to be said for being in the Grand Canyon on New Years or in Sedona for New Years.

Sedona is, in my opinion, worth a stay on its own merits--and your driving distances will be cut to a pleasant outing, leaving you time to enjoy Sedona.  http://www.visitsedona.com/ 
Sedona to the Grand Canyon is a very scenic 2 to 3 hour drive.
Sedona to the Petrified Forest is a couple of hours
Petrified Forest to Painted Desert is not much--easy to combine the two in
     one day.
Sedona to Tuzigoot is only 30-40 minutes, giving you time to enjoy and 
      explore.  The Tuzigoot ruins are walkable and fun.
Sedona to Montezuma's Castle is about an hour, again giving you time to 
      explore--it's a Cliff Dwelling, but you view it from a distance, and you
      might as well see the well while you're in the area.
There are Native American ruins that are fun to explore essentially right in 
      Sedona.  There are red rocks that are amazing in Sedona.
      Sedona is about 4 hours from Monument Valley.

Staying in Sedona would allow you see the places more or less at your leisure and get back to Sedona at a reasonable hour.  Remember the days are short that time of year so you'll need to be at the spot you are touring no later than noon if you want any time to see it.  If you stay in Phoenix, you'll have to add 2 hours to each direction for each trip--except for going to Tucson, if you choose to do that.

If it were me, I'd consider spending one night in Grand Canyon at one of the lodgings in the park.  That way you could see Sunset and Sunrise over the canyon, and for me, that's why you go.  During the day, the light is flat, and while it's still spectacular, it isn't in the same league with sunrise and sunset.  You might even be able to make dinner reservations at El Tovar.

If you're considering Karchner, you might want to do an overnight in Tucson.  It's a couple of hours from Phoenix and you'd have an easy drive to Karchner (you need reservations for Karchner--the number of visitors is very strictly controlled, and they often fill), and of course, you'd have the Desert Museum (outdoors--a "hunk of desert" with docents to explain things; it's very enjoyable.  I figured we'd spend an hour (after all, I thought "desert is desert"), but we were there about 4 hours and I was fascinated.  We wouldn't have left when we did, but we had an appointment and had to.


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## DaveNV (Oct 12, 2012)

jesuis1837 said:


> Kartchner....   What about Colossal Cave Mountain?  Have you been there?  I think both places are quite close from each other...
> 
> Yes i'm on a compressed schedule but we really want to do: Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Petrified forest, Painted desert and one cave... (plus the Fiesta Bowl!)  I'm ready to do some driving...  We plan to stay in Phoenix (or Scottsdale) and Flagstaff during that week... (dont know if it's a good idea but i think those 2 spots are close to what we want to see...
> 
> so exciting!!!:whoopie:





I think you may want to take a closer look at what you're proposing.  Arizona is a big state, and the things you've named are a fair distance apart.  Much of it is on secondary roads.  If there is snow, that'll slow you down quite a bit.  Flagstaff is at ~7500 feet elevation, and unquestionably will have snow - and maybe a LOT of it.  You are no doubt a great driver in snow, but a lot of others on Arizona roads in the Winter aren't likely to be as skilled as you.

You can easily spend a whole day just seeing Grand Canyon.  The views are very different from different parts of the park, and cutting it short isn't a good way to appreciate anything there.  It's more than the view from the Rim - there is history and architecture and culture to appreciate as well.  And that all takes time.

According to Google Maps:  From the South Rim of Grand Canyon to Monument Valley is a 3.5 hour drive in optimum weather.  

From Monument Valley to the Painted Desert is nearly a 4 hour drive. 

From Painted Desert to Petrified Forest is almost another 3 hours.

Unless you plan to spend all your time in the car, and not much time actually seeing anything, you may want to extend your visit, or scale back your plans a bit.  Better to see and enjoy fewer things more comfortably, than trying to cram it all into such a short timeframe.

Just a thought.  

Dave


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## PStreet1 (Oct 12, 2012)

And don't forget the short days.  You can't see anything in the dark.


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## jesuis1837 (Oct 12, 2012)

Wow!  Thanks for the all the tips!!!!  i'll try with her to ''squeeze'' or ''narrow'' or choices but still....   Will be arriving to Phoenix at midnight so will rest there and then starts touring the day after. SEDONA will be a good spot according to you guys so Sedone it will be!


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## PStreet1 (Oct 12, 2012)

Major item for your "To Do" list:  see the sunset in Sedona from the top of Airport Mesa (which is right in town).  The locals go there; so do tourists; there's a large parking lot.

Consider staying at Sky Ranch Lodge, which is on top of Airport Mesa.
http://www.reservationcounter.com/h...ord=+sky +ranch +lodge +sedona&hotelid=325064

THE rooms to have (in my opinion) are the ones overlooking the canyon.  They each have a deck over the canyon, for sunset watching, a fireplace, a fridge (for storing the chardonay), and a micro and coffee pot.  You have to ask for these rooms specifically; there are other king size rooms with fireplace, etc.


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## nightnurse613 (Oct 27, 2012)

A little tidbit I saw in the paper this morning-NOT a recommended trip during winter time- Encompassing 5,000 acres between Winslow and Holbrook, Rock Art Ranch is a cattle ranch and home to one of the best preserved and most extensive collections of ancient petroglyphs in the world.


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## Neesie (Oct 27, 2012)

*Prescott, Arizona is worth checking out*

My family & I were in Arizona before our week in Sedona for New Years 2000.  (Remember airplanes were going to fall out of the air?)  We got reservations in Prescott, AZ for 12-31-99 and had a great time at their block party.  Prescott is billed as the oldest town in Arizona and has a lovely town square and a historic bar (the Palace?) where Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders frequented.  It is also the setting of the Billy Jack movie from back in the 70's.  

I don't know if they do their block party every year but it was fun and family friendly and a nice little historic town not far from Sedona.


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