In less than one week we’ll begin our first big retirement adventure and we’re glad you’ll be following along.

We’ve rented a 500 square foot, ground floor apartment at 90th and Central Park West in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. We found our accommodations on Homeaway.com Click on the link and you’ll be able to see our palatial digs. We’ve been told it has a closet, which is a big coup for New York City.

When we get to New York we’ll use a 10-day New York Pass to get oriented to the city and we’ll be posting updates about the many tours and attractions we hope to jam into our first 10 days. After that we hope to have a good lay of the land and spend the remaining 10 weeks enjoying the city life.

We’ve had a fabulous summer in our new home in Prescott. We enjoyed great hikes, cool summer rains, and lots of wildlife. Highlights included quick trips to the Oregon wine country, a weekend in San Francisco, the annual 4th of July festivities in Prescott, and lots of family time.

The many visitors who joined us were the best part of it all. Some of our favorite pics and people are below.

On Wednesday we’re heading to Phoenix to spend the night in a hotel near the airport and then catch an early flight on Thursday. Just for fun we’re organizing a Bon Voyage Happy Hour and we’d love to have you join us if you are in the Phoenix area. We’ll be meeting at Culinary Dropout in Tempe at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 7. If you can make it, please RSVP to us via email or in reply to this post. You can bet we’ll do a post to chronicle the party!

Now we turn our attention to packing and preparing for our temporary move to NYC. Stay tuned as the urban adventure begins!

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We are just starting to get the hang of this retirement thing. In fact, our summer has been super busy with settling into Prescott and organizing this new life. We did find some time to take a mini trip to northern Arizona to check out some new territory. Our itinerary included a visit to Page to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend and then on to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to do some hiking.

We’ve lived in Arizona for many years but just recently started hearing about Antelope Canyon.

In the past 15 years this spectacular slot canyon has become one of the state’s top tourist attractions, so we had to check it out. We started our visit with a tour of the Upper Antelope Canyon, booked through Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours. We booked ahead to be assured a spot, and we were glad we did. These tours sell out, especially for the noontime trips when the light shines directly above.

The Upper Canyon tours begin with a 15 minute drive through the Antelope Canyon river bed in a 4×4 truck. Once at the entrance to the Canyon, you walk through a narrow opening in the sandstone and begin the one-hour awe-fest. The pictures below can’t convey the beauty of the rock formations.

We finished our first day in Page with a visit to Horseshoe Bend at sunset.

The viewpoint requires a short hike uphill through sand and then down to the edge of the plateau. For some it might be a little challenging, but it’s totally worth the effort!

Day two took us to the Hanging Gardens, a short hike with views of beautiful Lake Powell. The “garden” is foliage that grows out of a large sandstone cliff. The plants are spring-fed and the contrast between the stark red rocks and the lush green vegetation is cool.

Next, we headed to the Lower Antelope Canyon, where we had a reservation for a noontime tour with Ken’s Tours. At the Lower Canyon, you walk to the entrance which is above the Canyon itself. To get into the Canyon there are a series of stairs and ladders that allow you descend several stories below. We decided that we liked the Lower Canyon better than the Upper Canyon, though they are both spectacular.

July and August in Page is HOT! Each day the temperature hit 100 degrees +. What do you do when it’s hot and you are in Page? Hit the beach! We spent the afternoon at Wahweap Beach, Lake Powell and enjoyed cooling off in the lake.

What amazed us most was that most of the other beachgoers were from outside of the USA. We heard French, German, and several other languages that we couldn’t identify. This most northern part of our great state is really an international destination.

After two days in Page we headed to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, stopping on the way at Lee’s Ferry to watch several large Colorado River rafting trips launch. Watching the groups set out for their rafting adventure convinced us that a raft trip is in our future.

The north rim, like Page and Lake Powell, is an international destination. At the lodge we heard many different languages and met new friends from all over the world while sitting on the patio admiring the view. In our three days on the rim we did several hikes, including a three mile descent into the Canyon on the North Kaibab Trail. The Cliff Springs Trail, near Cape Royal, took us down a side canyon with incredible views and indian ruins.

Being monsoon season we also enjoyed massive storms rolling over the canyon. Lightening and thunder shook the buildings and provided an ever-changing image of the landscape. On our last afternoon Steve went for a run on the Widforss Trail and found himself in one of these storms. While the rain was refreshing, the lightening bolt that struck just to the side of the trail was a little unnerving.

We enjoyed our mini trip and can’t wait to continue our explorations! Next stop: New York City!

 

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