Walnut Canyon is nice, great cliff dwellings outside of Flagstaff.
Thanks for all the great suggestions. folk. And keep them coming.
Yes, we are aware that it will be VERY HOT, and are making plans to carry copious amounts of water. No, we are not camping, but the mules will carry whatever we need to stay at the ranch, so basically all the weight we’ll be carrying will be water (and some food).
I really appreciate the suggestions for specific hikes - such as Phantom Creek at the bottom. And my wife has long been involved in astronomy, so Lowell Observatory would be a great call. Specific restaurants/hotels recs are appreciated.
Yesterday I stopped off at the library and picked up maybe 7 maps and 5 or so books on the area, so we have plenty to pore over as we look forward to this.
We are not big on shopping. We are pretty fit for being in our late 50s, but won’t be mountain biking or rock climbing. Day-hikes - with the occasional scrambling over rocks - are pretty much our preferred speed.
(We’ll see just HOW fit I am by next winter. We are going skiing in SLC the end of this month. Then we intend to hike the canyon in August, and in Sept, my sister and I plan on biking a century. ;))
We don’t like our travel to be too crowded - rushing from sight to sight. But we would like to have a couple of neat things to do before and after the main event, rather than just chilling at a pool.
Yeah, I sense that as well. But given the type of stuff I find interesting and like to read about - geology, earth history and such - I’m stricken by how often meteor impacts are mentioned, with this one mentioned as one of the most accessible. Like I said, 35 yrs ago we decided not to take a short side trip to see it, and I’ve regretted that decision more than a handful of times since. Just sorta seems like I oughta take a peek for myself if I’m in the neighborhood.
Great suggestion. We laugh about when we visited a “cliff dwelling” south of Denver, only to realize partway through that the entire thing was an artificial construct! 
We still laugh about that pretty much whenever we see some historic restoration/recreation. Would be nice to contrast it to “the real thing!”
^^^ This, and also the Painted Desert as long as you’re basically there.
My suggestions:
Thursday - From the rim, head south on 64, but instead of staying on 64 to I-40, take 180 to Flagstaff. Continue through Flagstaff to visit the Meteor Crater. This will take a couple hours - you can take an easy hike along the rim to get nice views.
Continue on to Winslow. Stand on The Corner (just to say you did it ;-).
Spend the night at La Posada in Winslow (you may need to book now - it is popular). This is a converted train station now a hotel. Very cool, very quirky.
Depending on time (if you left really early that morning, and whizzed through Meteor Crater), you could go see the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. Both are very cool. But are another couple hours (out and back) from Winslow.
Friday - A LOT depends on what time your flight is that day.
If earlier flight: head back to Flagstaff, then I-17 south. Quick stop at Montezuma’s Castle (cliff dwelling), then on to Phoenix.
If not so early flight: from Winslow take 87 down through Payson. Very scenic, nice wooded area. 87 will also take you to Phoenix.
If really late flight: head back to Flagstaff. Take 89A through Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona. Then 179 back to I-17 to continue south to Phoenix. 89A is beautiful and very scenic, but may be slow going due to the summer crowds. Getting through Sedona may also be slow.
As to your Grand Canyon hike. You’ve heard enough about the heat, so I won’t re-iterate that. But I will mention this caution: on the hike down, GO SLOW. Because it’s downhill and easier, there is a tendency to go a bit faster than a normal hiking pace. This will take its toll on your legs (quads). Be mindful of your pace.
Also, in case you weren’t already planning on them, I’d highly recommend hiking poles. There are a LOT of steps and step-overs (put there to help with erosion). Some of the steps are kind of big. Particularly on the way down, hiking poles will help offset your weight from your legs as you make those big steps.
If it’s on your list of things so see then go it; just realize that you are going to lose 3-4 hours of your day (if staging out of Flag) to see a big hole in the ground from rim level and visit a small museum and large gift shop. (Visitors are not permitted in the crater, bit they sometimes lead hikes around part of the circumference.) Flying over Meteor Crater is actually more visually impressive, but it’s your time and dime.
Stranger
I want to back up Meteor Crater. It’s easily as impressive as the canyon. As least it was to me.
Yeah, another vote in favor of Meteor Crater. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The OP already said he’s interested in geology & earth history, and regrets missing it on a previous trip. So I say go for it.
Just wanted to let those who answered know what we did. Had a great trip. But why didn’t any of you warn me it would be warm at the bottom? 
DAY 1 Flew into Phx, drove up to Winslow. Stayed at La Posada - in the Howard Hughes suite no less! Pretty amazing hotel (from someone not impressed by many hotels.)
DAY 2 Drove over to Meteor Crater. We both were very impressed. Sure, just a hole in the ground, but a pretty damned impressive hole!
Then to Lowell Observatory for lunch. Took a guided tour of the Pluto scope. Brief stop, but very nice. Added a couple of birds to my life list. Then drove to the S Rim. Walked along the rim, dinner at El Tovar.
DAY 3 Took the 6 a.m. Hiker’s shuttle to S Kaibab. 6:45 down to Phantom Ranch. Our only mistake was not dousing ourselves and refilling water AT THE BOTTOM after the bridge. That last mile was pretty rough. That p.m. it was 138 in the sun. Stayed in bunkhouses. Laid in the creek, took a nap, excellent meal, 2 ranger programs.
Next day, took an early walk up Bright Angel Creek. Then walked down to the river, and laid around in the creek. Took it easy. Couple more ranger programs. Moved into a private cabin, which was nice. So much good food.
DAY 4 - woke at 5, bkfst, then 8:20 slog up Bright Angel. Was a shock to get back into society after only 2 days away from cellphones and obese people. Got ice cream, early dinner at El Tovar, and to bed early.
DAY 5 - watched sunrise from the rim, then drove to Sedona. Drove to the Cathedral, checked out some galleries, drove/hikes around some of the rocks, then spent a couple of hours at the pool and on the deck.
DAY 6 - did a 2 hr hike, then drove to Phx and home.
Thanks for the ideas folk. Made for a very enjoyable trip.
Now I’m jealous! As I said in March I’m a Mary Colter geek* and La Posada is one of hers. The timing from Phoenix is such that we don’t stay in Winslow overnight very often and an attempt to hit LP a few years ago fell through. Hmmm, brother and I are discussing a trip to De Chelly in a couple months. I should start scheming now…
*When we stayed at Bright Angel Lodge last June I bought in the El Tovar giftshop a Mimbreno salad plate, just to look at.
Dang, didn’t see this thread until too late. I would have recommended taking the short drive from the canyon over to the town of Page, AZ. You can get a tour from there to Antelope Canyon, which is really cool.
