This pic is my absolute fave of the day—on account of its hilarity, and its accurate representation of our family vibe. :)
Needless to say, we’re all super pumped to be somewhere new, shaking up our routine, and enjoying some quality time together while the kiddos are off school.
I think I’ve mentioned in the past that we tend to select our family excursions based on nature and majesty and adventure, versus some of the major metropolitan areas we used to try and knock off the list.
Basically, we love some beauuuuutiful scenery—bonus points if it’s different from our own South Texas vibe—and we love being outdoors and doing something physical, at least for a portion of the trip.
So when researching places we might be able to reasonably go (meaning: decent prices, lots to do, and solid weather this time of year), Sedona really rose to the top.
One final selling point: the hubby and I have both been to Arizona in the past, but never Sedona, so someplace new for all five of us was an excellent and easy choice!
For ease of travel, we flew direct to Phoenix, and then, after a not-so-brief-but-eventually-remedied rental car situation, we made the two hour drive to Sedona and arrived after 9 p.m. Needless to say, we saw nothing of the area along the drive. Just giant shadows of buttes and mesas in the dark, dark, darkness. So waking up this morning was a real treat, ha.
As luck would have it, I had us scheduled for a much-in-demand (read: I was lucky to get reservations at all and didn’t really have a choice about day/time) excursion doing…
On an off-road Jeep tour. Woohoo!
So this was us, after going to bed realllly late and waking up at 6:15 a.m. so we could be dressed, fed and on site for check-in at 7:30 a.m.
All that said, it turned out to be an absolute blast and the PERFECT time of day for our two-hour tour. Most of the prime locations were empty, save for us, and it felt so peaceful and beauuuutiful in the early morning light.
And talk about a freaking fantastic way to get an up-close, adventurous lay of the Sedona land! A 10/10 introduction, for sure!
I highly recommend for anybody interested in this kind kind of thing. :)
Our particular tour was called the Broken Arrow, and it’s considered one of the bumpier and livelier rides. But I never felt in danger, and considering I’m incredibly afraid of heights, I handled this one suuuper well, as much of the trail kept us away from any steep ravines. Thank heavens!
This was us at one point, basically in a complete nose dive headed down a hill. It’s hard to tell from the pic, but it was extreme, ha.
That was a partial view of the trail behind us after we’d bumped our way down, tehe.
But seriously…unparalleled views. Especially feeling like you were right there in the middle of things. It was stunning.
Many thanks to our tour guide for suggesting the jumping family pic and capturing the hilarity.
In addition to providing amazing views, the tour was really educational. In fact, Chicklet claimed that was her favorite part of it!
Our particular tour was called the Broken Arrow, and it’s considered one of the bumpier and livelier rides. But I never felt in danger, and considering I’m incredibly afraid of heights, I handled this one suuuper well, as much of the trail kept us away from any steep ravines. Thank heavens!
This was us at one point, basically in a complete nose dive headed down a hill. It’s hard to tell from the pic, but it was extreme, ha.
That was a partial view of the trail behind us after we’d bumped our way down, tehe.
But seriously…unparalleled views. Especially feeling like you were right there in the middle of things. It was stunning.
Many thanks to our tour guide for suggesting the jumping family pic and capturing the hilarity.
In addition to providing amazing views, the tour was really educational. In fact, Chicklet claimed that was her favorite part of it!
It was really coolio to get to this particular spot where you can see an ancient fault line going straight through the rock…
And at some point, millions of years ago, there was a seismic event that shifted the earth so much, you can see how this white spot (an area without the same iron in the earth to turn it red) split and shifted. So amazing to see the evidence, plain as day.
We had a lovely brunch after our tour, on the scenic patio of Creekside American Bistro, and then recharged with some massive desserts in Uptown Sedona.
It’s insane how lovely this main stretch of the road is. Gorgeous, every which way you look.
At this point, we had a brief, one-hour “intermission” to our day. Some time to recharge back at the hotel before our next adventure, which was…hiking along a scenic trail!
I have a handful of trails on my list, but this one was at the top, and it was just perfect for our crew today. About an hour to an hour-and-a-half of moderate hiking and stunning views (are you sensing the scenery theme, here?).
Our crew was pretty proud to make it to the “summit.” This is all part of what they call the Airport Lookout, though I’m not sure why, as you can’t even see an airport from the trail, though I know it’s somewhere close by, and occasionally, you get to witness insane flyovers that seem so low.
Again, I handled almost of these heights better than our recent Colorado trips, ha. Perhaps because of some of the gentler drop-offs.
After all that rigorous, physical activity, we were a bit of a stinky bunch, headed into a really nice meal at Shorebird (again, please note the view out those windows!).
Then, at long last, back to our hotelfor showers and sleeeeep.
We’ll be downshifting a bit tomorrow.
And at some point, millions of years ago, there was a seismic event that shifted the earth so much, you can see how this white spot (an area without the same iron in the earth to turn it red) split and shifted. So amazing to see the evidence, plain as day.
We had a lovely brunch after our tour, on the scenic patio of Creekside American Bistro, and then recharged with some massive desserts in Uptown Sedona.
It’s insane how lovely this main stretch of the road is. Gorgeous, every which way you look.
At this point, we had a brief, one-hour “intermission” to our day. Some time to recharge back at the hotel before our next adventure, which was…hiking along a scenic trail!
I have a handful of trails on my list, but this one was at the top, and it was just perfect for our crew today. About an hour to an hour-and-a-half of moderate hiking and stunning views (are you sensing the scenery theme, here?).
Our crew was pretty proud to make it to the “summit.” This is all part of what they call the Airport Lookout, though I’m not sure why, as you can’t even see an airport from the trail, though I know it’s somewhere close by, and occasionally, you get to witness insane flyovers that seem so low.
Again, I handled almost of these heights better than our recent Colorado trips, ha. Perhaps because of some of the gentler drop-offs.
After all that rigorous, physical activity, we were a bit of a stinky bunch, headed into a really nice meal at Shorebird (again, please note the view out those windows!).
Then, at long last, back to our hotelfor showers and sleeeeep.
We’ll be downshifting a bit tomorrow.
Adventure is still on our horizon, but with a more relaxed schedule.
Looking forward to Day 2!
Happy Spring Break, peeps!
Over and out.
No comments:
Post a Comment