Arizona Travel

Simple question, not-so-simple answer:

Dear Arizona Travel:

We’ll be coming to the Grand Canyon on October 12th this year. Will we still be able to get to the North Rim? Is it weather-dependent or is there a certain cutoff day in mid-October when visitors aren’t allowed? Thanks!

Jill

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Have you been visiting Arizona for many years now and have been on the fence about buying a second home, vacation home, or a place to retire? Arizona’s real estate market is falling almost as fast is it sky-rocketed. If you’ve been thinking about buying a home in Arizona, and you have means to buy without getting caught in a loan that will turn you upside down, now might be the best time to catch yourself a great deal. Between foreclosures of houses (even houses once valued at $600,000+) short sales, auctions and other schemes that the banks come up with, you could just land yourself one heck of a deal on a very nice home. We’re all familiar with the events that led to this economic situation, but a local real esate agent in Sedona offers his insight and explains why now might be one of the best times to buy a home in Sedona and other Arizona cities:

In today’s buyers market, timing is everything. Many homes are priced to sell right now. Knowing when, what and where to buy real estate can be intimidating. There is no doubt that the real estate market in Sedona has changed dramatically in recent history. Depending on who you talk to, there are several reasons why the market is where it is today, here are a few possible factors:

1. Home prices were rising to fast and the market could not keep up.
2. The lending industry loaned money to consumers who were not qualified.
3. The supply of homes did not meet the short term demand.
4. The economy, politics, job market etc…

All we have to do is turn on the evening news for another report on real estate and the housing situation we face today. Whatever reason you decide to believe, the bottom line is that we are currently in a period of correction. While this correction period is not the best news for sellers, buyers are in an excellent position to purchase property at a fair price…”

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Here’s a recent question we received from a reader. For some, the answer may seem obvious, but we thought it was a reasonable question for anyone who has never traveled to the West and can’t picture the lay of the land.

Dear Arizona Travel,

My wife and I are thinking about taking a trip to Las Vegas and making a day trip to the Grand Canyon. I noticed that there is a park fee as there is at all national parks. But with the Canyon being so big, has the National Park blocked all the roads to it so everyone has to go through the Park Service to see it? Or are there a few free stops along the road to look and take pictures? I don’t mind the fee, but I am just curious. Please let me know so we know what to do and how to plan. Either way, if we go we will be stopping by to see it.

–JT

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Here’s a question we received this week. With the summer family vacation season soon upon us, we thought it might be helpful to readers with a similar query:

We are planning a trip for four days with our kids to visit the Grand canyon and are debating whether or not to visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parksas well. Would that be a good idea or is it too much too little time? How many days typically does a family stay in the Canyon?

Regards, DD

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There’s nothing worse than finding yourself at the wrong resort pool. You’re expecting to spend a summer weekend splayed out on a lounge chair with nothing but a Sudoku puzzle book and your iPod. But what if, when you arrive at your resort pool, you discover it’s crawling with kids doing cannonballs? Or on the flip side, maybe your family is embarking on a long-awaited resort vacation, anticipating waterslides and lazy rivers but you mistakenly end up at an all-hours over-21 party scene, complete with teeny bikinis and free-flowing piña coladas?

Your summer vacation by the pool could go horribly, horribly wrong.

But it doesn’t have to. Continue Reading »

Here is another Frequently Asked Question that came in from our site, sedona.net, today:

Dear Arizona Travel:

Which airport is the closest and how long a drive to Sedona from that location??

–Laura from California

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Here’s a question we received this week on our site, Scottsdale-Phoenix.net:

 

I am planning on flying to Phoenix in September and was hoping to locate a bus or train that goes to Sedona, near Phoenix airport. Please let me know the status of transportation from Phoenix to Sedona. I wasn’t planning on renting a car.

Thanks, Sue from California

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Drivers are urged to plan for extra travel time this weekend while Interstate 17 is closed at Carefree Highway (State Route 74) for bridge demolition work:
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This has been one of the best snow seasons for Arizona in many years. It would be a sin for me not to test out the fresh layers of powder snow blessing the sacred mountains of Flagstaff, Arizona. Sometimes living in Arizona, especially The Valley (Metro Phoenix), can feel a bit monotonous and even look monochromatic without the apparent changes of seasons. But really, Arizona’s best characteristic is its outdoor adventure potential.
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International Spiritual Experience is proud to announce a unique retreat at Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat Center, March 25-31, 2008 devoted to “Explorations into Energy Consciousness.”

All of life begins and ends with the movement of energy through our bodies, auric fields, the environment, and in our relationships. The quality and types of energetic flow affect us on every level, at all times. Awareness of this energy can be defined as “energy consciousness”.

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