Family road trip from Ohio to Grand Canyon

[Crescent]

We are interested in taking our six children on a family road trip from Ohio to the Grand Canyon in December. Please let me know of any nice hotels and/or great attractions along the way.

[Robert Schaller]

For hotels, I think the Little America Motel/Hotel at Flagstaff Arizona is very nice. It's pretty large, and has many amenities. I'm absolutely certain you can find them on the web.

At Grand Canyon, I recommend Maswik Lodge, in the Park. It is off the Rim, so is a bit cheaper, but is within a short walk of the edge.

My favorite attractions on this route are the Lincoln sites at Springfield, IL, the Gateway Arch and Westward Expansion Museum at St Louis, Daniel Boone's home near Defiance, MO. If you look, you can find free or inexpensive ferry crossings across the Mississippi River north of St Louis -- great fun for the kids. Who needs a stinkin' old bridge! In AZ, Petrified Forest National Park, Meteor Crater, and Wupatki National Monument. Play in the snow, if you like, at the Snow Bowl, one of Arizona's oldest ski resorts near Flagstaff. If you have time, include the Riordan Mansion State Park in Flagstaff (take the tour of the house), and the Lowell Observatory above the downtown area on Mars Hill -- where Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto (a fascinating story for your kids and they can still look at the photographic plates that Tombaugh used with the "blink comparator" to "discover" the planet!

Sedona might be fun for you also -- check out the magnificent holiday light displays at Los Abrigados Resort and Talaquepaque (all for charity). That ought to get you started. Bob