Sedona

The drive from the Flagstaff to Sedona is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in the country, and it did not disappoint. The rocks are amazing and the road winds right beside Oak Creek. It's a little twisty, and I'm not sure Brian enjoyed it as much as I did!




















Once we arrived in Sedona, we immediately went out on a trail behind the hotel. We didn't know what to expect, but after a few hundred feet and a small climb, we got an amazing view. There were no other people out there, and it was pretty surreal!

After a nice dinner and a long swim in the pool the night before, we started off the next morning with a hike up Bell Rock. We knew the boys liked the climbing in Scottsdale, but this was really a whole new deal. We climbed up much further than Brian and I were comfortable with, but they were just having so much fun! We finally made our way back down and found a cool trail around the middle part of the rock. The whole climb really was one of the most amazing things we've ever done. 

After the climb, we made a quick stop by the church carved into the rock. It was neat, but a quick in and out was all we needed.

We had a Pink Jeep tour planned for the afternoon, so we walked around downtown Sedona and had lunch at the Cowboy Club. Then we boarded our jeep, and tour was amazing. We weren't sure what to expect, but our guide was great, and it really was very off-road! We stopped several places and saw some cool rock formations, a fault line and even learned a lot about the history and geology of Sedona.

 

 

 

We were sad to see our trip come to an end, but I think we may be back in Arizona again!

Grand Canyon

We were really, really sad to leave Scottsdale, but a trip to the Grand Canyon made it a little more bearable. The Grand Canyon is about three and a half hours north of Phoenix, so we set off before lunchtime to make it there in early afternoon. The drive was kind of crazy, and it was really cool to watch the desert scenery change to mountain landscape as we drove further up on to the Colorado Plateau. We had lunch in Flagstaff and were really surprised to see several inches of snow on the ground.

Once we arrived at the Grand Canyon Park, we checked into our hotel right on the rim of the canyon and set off exploring. Of course, we had to make a stop for ice cream and lots of pictures.

We decided to hop on the shuttle and head down to Hopi Point for the sunset. Apparently its a good place to watch, and it was really beautiful. It was also cold, and Brian and I were both very afraid that the boys would slip through the railing. Not the peaceful sunset you might hope for, but an experience anyway!

After sunset, we had dinner at one of the lodges and walked back to our hotel in the dark. I read several suggestions to bring a flashlight, and we really did need one! Unfortunately, ours was packed away safely in the hotel room. The really dark night made for an amazing view of the stars, so that was really cool.

Brian woke up early the next morning, and even though we hadn't planned on it, we were all up and ready to go out and see sunrise. We took just a few steps outside of our hotel, and the sunrise really was spectacular. We were really glad we got out in the cold morning to see it!

We were planning to do lots of trail walking, but the trails were covered in ice and snow. We made it down a few hundred feet on the Bright Angel trail and decided to turn back. Honestly, I'm not sure how far we would have made it without the ice and snow. The trail is pretty narrow and there are only tiny rocks between you and a 4,000 foot drop. We were really unprepared for how unsafe we would feel with the boys on the trail. So, we stayed safely on the rim trail and decided to go on to Sedona a day early.

The Grand Canyon was really beautiful, and I'm so glad we were able to share one of the most amazing places in the world with the boys!