It was unbearably hot last week in Phoenix. The kind of hot week that usually only happens once or twice throughout the summer in our city, but when it does, it’s brutal. We checked the weekend forecast on Friday hoping for a little bit of relief, and what we saw was the opposite: a weekend headed for 115/116 and sunny, which means you’re pretty much stuck inside in the air conditioning, finding ways to occupy your time indoors. If you live in a place with long, cold, dark winters, you know what that feels like. Cabin. Fever. Luckily, Chris came home with a brilliant, spontaneous idea on Friday night, sparked by one of his regular customers at the restaurant: why not head north to Flagstaff for a day of fresh air and amazing 80 degree temps? Genius!
We’re so lucky that Flagstaff is just a short, two hour drive from our house in Phoenix, and that its landscape is so vastly different that the dry, hot desert landscape of the valley in the summer. It’s almost hard to believe you’re in the same state when you’re up there because when it’s this hot in Phoenix, hanging out in Flagstaff feels like you’re on another planet. And there’s another perk to visiting Flagstaff at this time of year – the sunflower bloom around the San Francisco Peaks is in full swing right now, so you’ll get to see these gorgeous wildflowers blanketing the fields as you travel around the area. We’d never been to Flagstaff at this time of year before, so it was a pretty incredible sight to see sunflowers lining the roads as we explored. We also got caught in the most unexpected rainstorm that followed us as we drove and hiked around the area, giving us even cooler temperatures and sprinkling us with the most stunning, picturesque showers. It was pure bliss.
Before driving up the road to Snowbowl, stopping at some of the lookouts, and hitting a trail, we walked around downtown Flag and stopped in for brunch at Criollo, and you guys… if you’re in Flagstaff and have the chance, this place is a must! If you’ve visited Flagstaff before and were looking for a great place to eat, then someone has probably recommended Brix. And you’d be right to take their advice because Brix is the jam. Criollo is a product of the same genius minds behind Brix, and our entire meal there was like a scene straight out of the “What About Bob” dinner scene. It was that mind-blowing. We had the Blue Corn Pancakes with blueberry compote and the Chorizo Enchiladas and Eggs, and we decided that those two dishes were the perfect pair. A little sweet, a little savory, all heaven.
This day was such an unforgettable, spontaneous adventure for us, and as you can see from the pics, filled with tons of epic views and a lot of laughs (Chris made me cry-laugh about ten times that day). And of course, no road trip is complete without jamming out to a solid 90s alt-rock ballads playlist, and reminiscing about the tunes of your youth, which is exactly what transpired on our drive back to Phoenix. If you’re our age and claim you never totally jammed out to this song back in the day… you can’t be trusted.
We’d love to hear where you stay and play in the Flagstaff area when you go, so drop us a line in the comments so we can add to the list below!
What to do in flagstaff:
Firecreek Coffee Try their house-made chai… it’s spicy, refreshing and so delicious!
Rendezvous Any place that serves Oberon and “cofftails” is a winner in our book
Him: Shirt – Gap (sold out, similar), Pants – Gap, Shoes – Tretorn, specs – Warby Parker
Her: Overalls – Forever 21, Tee – J.Crew, Bag – Cambridge Satchel Co., Sandals – Loeffler Randall, Lipstick – Face Stockholm in “Instinct”, Sunnies – Selima for Club Monaco, Specs – Warby Parker
Where did you find the sunflowers?? Trying to find a good spot for photos!
Hi, Julia! The sunflowers were blooming all over Flagstaff kind of at the time we went, which was right around this time last year, or a little bit earlier. They may still be blooming up there right now though!