There are a lot of visitors to the Grand Canyon that never make the short drive south to Sedona, and miss out on a unique experience. The drive itself is also filled with a great variety of landscapes and pieces of history worth stopping for. Whether it’s the ruins at Wupatki National Monument that interests you, the stark volcanic landscape of XXX National Monument with the San Francisco Mountains as its backdrop, or the spectacular and family-friendly Slide Rock State Park near Sedona, you can spend a solid day sightseeing on your way south. Between Flagstaff and Sedona, if you have time and the road is passable (it may be iffy after a winter storm), make sure to take 89A, not 89.