Destination: Flagstaff & the Petrified Forest National Park

Over Labor Day weekend, we eagerly headed North to Flagstaff to stay with our dear friends Sam and Kirsten for the weekend. Not even an hour after we arrived, Nick and Sam had started playing video games haha

After happily sleeping in Saturday morning, we went to a nearby park to play Frisbee golf. In our brief time there, that is one thing that we dearly loved about Flagstaff that we wish we had in Phoenix--parks, and good ones! We all had a great time playing frisbee golf, although I don't think any of us will go pro haha

Over a delicious lunch of hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes, we planned out the rest of our day. Again, Flagstaff wowed us with a free Rec Center that housed pool tables, basketball, and raquetball. We had a blast going crazy with the raquetball! We enjoyed some down time before heading to our final activity for the evening, an Escape Room! The room was Castle themed-we acted like Robin Hood trying to break into the castle to return the treasure back to the peasants haha We were really struggling with time when we finally broke into the castle at the center of the room. The guy working was kind enough to give us an extra hint that led us to victory...with 1 minute to spare :D We promptly returned to play a riveting game of Mario Party!

Sunday was peaceful and relaxing==we went to church with Sam and Kirsten and then returned home to play games, read, play video games, and nap. Kirsten prepared a delicious Sunday roast, and we laughed and talked that evening. 

Monday, we headed about an hour east to Petrified Forest National Park. I had forgotten our guide at home, so we started at the Visitor's Center, where a ranger planned our day for us! We drove all the way to the other end of the park, and worked our way back! 

We are pleased to announce that Sam and Kirsten purchased their first home, an ancient structure of petrified wood with great breezes :D Just kidding! 

There were definitely some hikes that we were wowed by, and definitely some that we could have done without. Overall, we are very pleased that we went! I mean, look at the picture above--doesn't it almost look like we're on Mars?!? 

As we were leaving, it had just started to rain and we said goodbye, for Nick and I to drive 3.5 hours to Phoenix!

We had such a blast, and are very grateful to have Sam and Kirsten to call friends!