Flagstaff is this small town in northern Arizona that is home to Northern Arizona University. The infamous Route 66 also passes through the city. I love the mom and pop stores and restaurants in Flagstaff. I always regretted not attending NAU so I could have experienced living in a small town. But what Flagstaff is most popular for is Snowbowl ski resort. Students spend their weekends there and it’s only a few hours from the Valley. I skied for the first time here as a kid and have brought my boys up here many times. We came up here for a fun few days after Christmas. We skied, boarded and did some sledding in some pretty cold and snowy weather.
Tonight I took my kids to Ski Pro’s Avalanche Sale at Phoenix Civic Center to pick up some gear. It’s this big sale they have every year where you can pick up ski/snowboard gear for dirt cheap. I love ski culture! I started when I was in jr. high and I’m glad I got my kids started at a young age too. They love it and I can’t wait to get a few trips in with them this year.
Our first snowboarding trip at Sunrise in ’07
My son Ty – 6 years old on his first snowboarding adverture
Ty hittin’ the powder
Snowbowl ’08
Jake tearing it up
Me on my board
Snowy day in Flagstaff – I love ski towns
Took a day off to do some sledding – we love the snow!
I started skiing when I was around 12 years old. I was blessed to have a youth pastor that took us on trips to Flagstaff. My mom was always big on making sure I got to experience fun stuff like this at a young age. She would always encouraged me to go on these trips. Once I got in high school, my Pastor Linn Winters would rent these Greyhound buses to take us to Colorado or Utah for a 3 day ski adventure. My very first out-of-state trip was to Telluride, Colorado. They would show Warren Miller ski flicks to get us pumped up for some fresh powder. Even though I was a Freshman, I was happy to make friends with some of the older guys in the group (even though I still went through a few initiations). My buddy Gary would join me on the trips and he and I would become die-hard ski partners for years all the way up to adulthood. About five years ago, I switched over to snowboarding and love that I can do both.
Bus trip to Utah – 1989
The crew – Utah ’89. Diggin’ the 80’s hair and outfits
Skiing with my friends – I was 15 years old in this picture
Typical skier’s room before a big day – Durango, CO in ’90. I’m eating the bowl of cereal on the right
As I got better at skiing, I started to get more flamboyant. I knew I was good and I liked to show off. I started spiking my hair, wearing bright colors and even tied red ribbon to my skis to make it look like flames were coming out. I would also started to get more risky. I would do more tricks and jumps and would ski in just t-shirts. I went though skis like crazy and even once got kicked out for jumping off a large hill. I dumped a lot of money into the sport and started to fly out-of-state a lot to places like Lake Tahoe to ski with the big boys. After I had kids, my ski life died off for a while. My ex and I did some skiing together, but raising kids took up most of our time. Now I am excited to be at a new phase of life and to experience ski/snowboard life with my boys. Even though I’m not as risky as I used to be, I have really learned to appreciate the sport. I’m thankful for the opportunities all these years to have been a part of this culture of skiing.
My flamboyant days – 1991 at Sunrise ski resort
Warren Miller is a filmmaker who has been making ski movies since 1950. He is very well-known to us in ski culture and I’ve seen many of his movies on my bus trips. Every year a new flick comes out and Warren Miller Entertainment does a movie tour just before ski season starts. They show it a ASU Gammage every December after the Avalanche sale. I went to quite a few shows in my college days and just recently started the tradition with my kids. We are going to see the newest film Flow State later this month. I’m excited to check it out and get pumped for ski season this year.
Last year’s snowboard trip – I broke a rib on this trip
Steve, Simon and I took a fun little 2 day guy trip up north. We spent the first day hanging out in Sedona sight-seeing and eating good food. The second day was spent in Flagstaff snowboarding. As I recap the trip, I thought I’d write a few reviews on some of the local eateries we dined at.
Our first stop was a Starbucks overlooking the beautiful Sedona mountains. We made it to Sedona on good time and didn’t have much of an agenda, so we were able to take our time relaxing and walking over town.
Relics restaurant and lounge
Pretty night sky at Relics
Next to our hotel was a restaurant called Relics. It was built in the early 1900’s and established as a restaurant in the 1940’s. Once a general store, the hostess gave us a personal tour of all the different antique furnitures, fixtures and decorations that were displayed on the walls. There was some old stuff and it was fun to here some of the stories behind some of the collectables, Even though we opt to not eat there, Relics serves up USDA choice steaks and slow cooked prime rib.
Sally’s BBQ
Ordering food at the window
Beef brisket and steak sandwich
Pink Jeep with Christmas lights
We spent the late evening walking around town looking for something to eat. We all had some recommendations of places that we have been to that were good and some not-so-great. We found this little hallway to a place called Sally’s BBQ. It was mainly an outdoor eating establishment with one little dining room. You order your food from a little window and the cook makes it on the spot and brings it out to you. Steve and I ordered the steak sandwich and Simon got the brisket. Our steak sandwiches were good, but not exactly how I envisioned it to look like. Simon seemed to enjoy his brisket. The fries were good as was their award-winning BBQ sauce. We took a walk afterwards to look at the Christmas lights. We stopped in at the Oak Creek Brewery Company for a finely crafted brew. It was pretty crowed, so we had to stand up most of the time at the bar. Simon and I enjoyed watching the cook staff prepare the meals as the bar is situated right next to the kitchen. We both observed some things that wouldn’t go well in a restaurant review.
Highlights from our trip
Here’s a short clip from my first time snowboarding
We had a fun day snowboarding and skiing at Snowbowl in Flagstaff. The weather was nice and the snow wasn’t too bad. I got pretty bang up and ended up fracturing a rib during a bad fall. We drove through the crowded traffic and found a restaurant that Steve’s wife Kim recommended. It was called Bun Huggers. It kind of reminded me of a Fuddruckers with decent prices. I got the chicken sandwich and fried zucchini and enjoyed my meal. Even though the place had a goofy name, it was a good last stop for us. I enjoyed this quick get-away and the fellowship with some good brothers in Christ.
Food, Art & Culture 