Our beautiful cabin on our Grand Canyon trip for Leah’s college graduation

Where you stay on a vacation can be just as important as where you go and what you do. Originally  I had booked a hotel near the Grand Canyon when I planned a trip there with my husband Ray and our daughter Leah, to celebrate her college graduation with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Graphic Design.

But Leah searched online and found a big, beautiful cabin in a remote area near the airport in Flagstaff, Arizona  for us to stay at, and I’m so glad she did! Initially, I was concerned that it might be in the middle of dark, deep, scary woods and we might encounter grizzly bears and cougars at our cabin’s front door, LOL. Ray and Leah rolled their eyes at this!

It was remote, not not too remote—several vacation rental and residential houses were nearby, as well as a Dollar General store and a Shell gas station, which proved to be quite convenient for our water and snack needs and refilling the gas tank in our rented SUV, prior to returning it at the airport the early morning of our departure. Ray filled up the gas tank the evening before we left.

It was perfect for our vacation trip! The cabin was big, rustic, quiet, with cute nooks and crannies, and so comfortable with pretty decorations, like this pic below: “Not all who wander are lost.” I highly recommend this cabin, which can sleep up to 12 people.  The vacation rental agency has many more properties to rent, also. You can find out more here: https://www.kdprimevacationrentals.com/vacation-rental-home.asp?PageDataID=172699

The driveway which led to the cabin was dirt and on a little hill. The cabin is surrounded by tall pine trees. I loved the red door to the cabin and to its garage, reminding me that we are covered daily in the blood of Jesus. There was also cute art work of colored trees by the front door. 

Leah and I had arranged everything online for renting the cabin, which was extremely convenient. Matthew with the agency emailed us the address and directions to the cabin from the airport, as well as instructions and tips about visiting the area. This was so helpful since we’d never been to Arizona before.

As we entered the cabin, there was a living room area with a wraparound couch, comfortable pillows and afghans, and an open kitchen with all the amenities we needed for our vacation trip: plates, cups, bowls, eating utensils, towels, wash cloths, shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, Q-tips, pots and pans, a washing machine and dryer, detergent, starch, iron and ironing board, and cleaning supplies.

One requirement for renting the property was to leave it as clean as we found it. I was very impressed with how immaculately clean it was!

You could see part of the upstairs loft, with soft twinkle lights hanging down. There was a pretty painting of trees above the fireplace. 

The cabin had cute signs hanging on the walls, such as the “Choose Happy” one. I also liked the “Family” rug in the open kitchen. There were even heart napkins in the cupboard—I love hearts! We immediately felt relaxed and at peace at the cabin. I knew it had been the right choice for a place to stay!

There was a laundry room by the kitchen with a washer and a dryer. This was quite convenient! It was decorated quite cute and had cabinets to store detergent, fabric softener, and trash bags inside.

The cabin had three bedrooms, but could sleep up to 12 people. I let Leah decide which bedroom she wanted, and she chose the upstairs loft (which actually had 3 beds). It was private, comfortable, and cozy.

There was a cool salt lamp in her bedroom, but she said they are toxic to cats, so I can’t get one with my cat Natalya.

I also liked the sign on her bedroom dresser, “Go explore the great outdoors.” Amen!

The only problem we had at the cabin was that there were 2 wasps in Leah’s upstairs bathroom! We don’t know how they got in. Ray quickly got rid of them. We did tell the agency’s staff, who is checking into it. This is not surprising, considering it is located in the woods, though. Thankfully, they didn’t sting Leah or us!

Her bathroom was beautifully decorated and so clean, like the rest of the cabin. It even had an (artificial) orchid in it, and Leah loves orchids!

I had the downstairs bedroom, which included a dressing room with a closet and a master bathroom. Again, the decorations were so pretty! The comforter, sheets, and pillows were so comfortable. I felt like Queen Latifah’s character Georgia Byrd hugging them in the movie, Last Holiday, haha! I slept so good there!

The cabin had several soft bear rugs on the floor (not real!).  Green plants and flowers, though not real, gave it such a nice touch.

I was thankful for the large bathroom, where I could put my makeup and other toiletries on the counter, and the dressing room with the closet to put my luggage in. This cabin was so spacious—much better than a hotel room!

I found a delightful little nook upstairs on the other side of the cabin, with a desk and computer, pens, and a very comfortable daybed  with soft pillows and afghans, where I sat to journal, think, and pray.  The desk area had shelves with an artist notebook and pencils. The daybed and opposite wall had large wolf and owl paintings.

There was also a bookcase with a lot of games in it. We played the game Life the night before we left, at Leah’s request, which made her really happy.

I had Ray go to buy me a Starbucks coffee one afternoon for some good coffee (though coffee and dry cream were provided at the cabin), to drink as I journaled on the daybed. 

Directly below this upstairs loft on the main floor was a recreation area, with a couch and a large t.v. and a pool table. We played pool the first night we stayed there. Leah and I had only played a couple of times before, but Ray  had played many times, so of course he won!  He began acting like Paul Newman’s character Fast Eddie Felson in the movie, The Color of Movie. It was fun to play. 

The outside of the cabin had hammocks, but we didn’t lay in them. I was looking forward to having coffee on the deck in the mornings. There were bird feeders and hummingbird feeders. I watched the wrens feeding and loved hearing them chirp.

Ray joined me there for coffee the second day and Leah joined us both on the third day. The pic below of Ray with his coffee is one of my and my sister Maria’s fave pics of Ray on the trip.

This was such a fun, amazing trip. Our daughter Leah was thankful we did this and said she had fun, which was my prayer for her.  In my next post in this blog series about the Grand Canyon, I’ll share about some good places we ate and some of the fun things we did, so stay tuned!

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