We are really busy people in my family, and so when we get away for a vacation, we pack in as much as we can. The past 5 days were filled to the brim with fun, and I have so many stories to tell and memories sealed into my brain from this wonderful time spent together as a family.
So, if you live in Tucson, here is an itinerary for an awesome road trip of quality family fun!
Day #1: Drive to Holbrook, AZ, which is about 4-1/2 hours from Tucson. The turn off is right after you get to Show Low in the White Mountains. There is not much in Holbrook, but it is the gateway to the Petrified Forest, which is an awesome place to experience with children.
Day #2: The Petrified Forest – Make sure to stop at a visitor center and ask for the Junior Ranger activity book for your kids. If they complete at least 4 activities, then they get a Junior Ranger badge & patch before they leave the park. The park rangers take it really seriously, and your kids will have so much fun with it while they’re learning.
When you get out of the Petrified Forest, continue on your drive to Durango, CO, which is another 4-1/2 hours of driving.
Day #4: We boarded on the Durango Narrow Gauge Train. During the winter, the train goes to Cascade Canyon, which is is a 2 hour ride each way. When you stop at Cascade Canyon, you get out and toast your fingers around a huge fire pit. People bring picnics and eat at the picnic tables there, too. During the rest of the year, the train goes to Silverton, which I understand is more of a town at 10, 000 ft. elevation. As nice as it would have been to see Silverton, I almost think a 4-hour each way train ride would have been too long for the kiddos. The ride to Cascade Canyon was just right. The train for a family of four is expensive. It cost us $200, but if you’re wondering if it’s worth it, the answer is “Yes, it is!” It was a definite highlight of our trip.
When we stepped off the train back in Durango, we walked into a few of the little boutique shops on Main St. The shops in Durango’s downtown are charming, and we especially had fun in the original Rocky Mountain Chocolate Shop. The only disappointment was that Rocky Mountain didn’t have any historical signage like the first Starbucks does at Pike’s Place in Seattle. Still, it was fun knowing we were in the very first location.
After a long, exhausting day, we had a quiet evening at a local movie theater and then went right to bed. Boy did we all sleep well with sweet happy dreams in our heads!
Day #5: The one danger of a trip to Colorado in the winter time are snow storms, and the reports were telling us that a huge one was headed our way. The plan for Day 5 would have been to go to Mesa Verde on our way out of town and heading on to Flagstaff. As we got to the Mesa Verde visitor center, however, the storm was starting, and so we had to skip it to avoid getting stuck. Too bad, because it looks like an amazing site. CLICK HERE to learn more about Mesa Verde. I’m showing y’all a picture I found online, so you get the general idea of its awesomeness and to see why we would have added it to the trip if we could have.
As we continued on our drive to to Flagstaff (5 hours from Durango), we drove right past Four Corners and just had to stop! How many times to you get to stand on the exact spot where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah connect. Again, another highlight for all of us, and the kids were so excited to experience this moment! It is definitely one we will always remember.
If we had more time on this trip, there are several amazing excursions that you drive right past on the I-40. We could have stopped at Monument Valley, Canyon to Chelly, Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge Monument or the Grand Canyon. Seriously – I could have added 5 more days on to this trip!
Day #6: After a snowy night in Flagstaff, we headed back to Tucson through Phoenix. It’s a 4-1/2 hour drive, so it’s easy to get home at a decent hour.
What a wonderful time we had on this trip, and I highly recommend this itinerary for any Tucson family looking to get away.
Of course, with a Colorado vacation, my song of the day is by John Denver, because he is definitely the music of that region. It is totally understandable that he sang of a “Rocky Mountain High,” because when you spend time in Colorado, you are overcome by its beauty. So, here’s “Rocky Mountain High” which I will be humming all day long with a big grin on my face reliving these very special memories.
