OUR NIGHT AT THE CASINO… LOL!

The original plan had been to stay in Flagstaff for a few days but upon driving in and through town we were underwhelmed and changed the plan to be a quick overnight before heading onto Santa Fe the next day. Looking on our favorite Hotels Tonight app we found a room at the Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort on the outskirts of Flagstaff for a cool $76! It looked brand new and nice so we decided to book it and cross our fingers for the best… also we have driven past a lot of casinos and not yet stayed in one so we thought we might as well do it. It actually was really nice and felt like we were in Las Vegas although in the middle of the Arizona desert! Our room was clean and spacious and Michael was excited for the $16.95 All You Can Eat Crab Leg dinner… possibly what sealed the deal for him! LOL! Let me just say neither of us will be eating crab for a while after this… Although we didn't get sick (I was worried!) we definitely OD'd on it. All in all a memorable night at the casino even though we didn't gamble… so thank goodness we didn't lose any $$$!

View from our room...

SEDONA, AZ

We just did an overnight in Sedona but took advantage of the great weather and gorgeous scenery so it felt like we spent more time there! We went to Sedona a few years ago and I loved it so I was so excited to go back. It's so beautiful and since we were in the off season it was a little less crowded than normal! We found an amazing restaurant called Mariposa and had dinner AND lunch there before heading out of town. A must visit for anyone going to Sedona!

Arriving into Sedona…

Enjoying the gorgeous fall weather in Sedona



Amazing dinner & decor at Mariposa!





Morning coffee with a view!



A little sightseeing before leaving Sedona...

Back at Mariposa for lunch on the patio! Enjoying a yummy lunch and beautiful views and grounds.

Off we go again...

SCOTTSDALE, AZ

We spent 5 nights in Scottsdale and were lucky to be able to stay with our friend Brian and his mom in a beautiful home in Scottsdale Ranch right on its own little lake! We drove through the sunset from La Quinta and it was a beautiful drive! We had fun relaxing and spending time with Brian and his mom and Michael got his final lake fix which he was really happy about before winterizing the jet ski!

The gorgeous lake neighborhood of Scottsdale Ranch- most people have electric powered boats that zip around the lake ... they are so quiet you can barely hear them, they kind of just sneak up on you! The sunsets were gorgeous too!

Saguaro Lake- right off HWY 87...the 4th reservoir on the Salt River formed by the Stewart Mountain Dam

Lake Pleasant - we took out the raft here! It's a large recreational park as well as an important storage reservoir unit for the quickly growing metropolitan area of Phoenix!

Fun afternoon at the Desert Botanic Gardens with my friend Yoon!

Look closely in the middle and you can see an owl perched up in the tree!

Yummy wine & apps at the Botanic Gardens... Yoon's husband Scott joined us!

Final Scottsdale Ranch sunset walk before leaving the next morning!