March 20 - Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon Dam & Antelope Canyon

More adventures! We left Sedona early on Thursday in the drizzling rain. We drove through a small snow storm in Flagstaff and I loved the beautiful snow dusted pines. As we got closer to the Grand Canyon, the weather cleared and the sun started shining. 

Horseshoe Bend
Our first stop was Horseshoe Bend. Horseshoe Bend is about 2.5h north of Sedona. Visitors walk about half a mile down a path to a horseshoe shaped bend in the Colorado River and is also considered the east rim of the Grand Canyon. Elevation is 4.2k feet. It was a beautiful day and the views were just stunning. I also met a couple from the Carolinas with two golden retrievers there, so petting those cuties made my day!

Glen Canyon Dam

Glen Canyon Dam was our next stop. It is the 2nd highest concrete damn in the US (Hoover is the highest) and it forms Lake Powell. JD is always happy to see an engineering marvel! We were so high up, we saw people boating in Lake Powell and they looked so tiny from our viewpoint near the dam. Very cool place for a quit stop. 

Antelope Canyon

Last but not least, Antelope Canyon. It's a slot canyon on the Navajo Reservation and only assessable via Navajo guided tour. We boarded a small bus and took a very bumpy ride via dirt road (felt like an amusement park ride haha).  The canyon was absolutely gorgeous. The pictures are incredible but still don't do it justice. It doesn't even look real. Also fun-there were two Russian "Instagram models" in our group taking pictures inside the canyon and we all had some laughs watching them pose. At one point they were taking selfies and Jillian was doing a little dance in front of them (kind of dancing and kicking dirt). Hilarious! 

Another wonderful day in Arizona!

Horseshoe Bend

Antelope Canyon

Cute Western Lunch

March 17 - Sunset Crater, Wupatki & Grand Canyon

On day 3 we had a big day, visiting two national monuments and the Grand Canyon. It was a chilly day, with gusting winds, rain and fog but we still had a great time. The rain started the night before and with record snow in the mountains, Oak Creek (the creek that runs through the national forest and Sedona) was flooding. Water normally passes through the creek at 100-130 cubic feet per second and was going through at 7k cubic feet per second. People staying on one side of Oak Creek were (are?) stuck as all the bridges are covered with water. When we were driving back there were a couple rock slides on the main highway, one of which was so large the DOT was there directing traffic. It was crazy but we did see a lot of waterfalls due to all the rain. 

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Our first stop was Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. I honestly didn't even know there was a volcano field in Arizona so this was a really unique place to visit. It was freezing and there was a lot of snow on the ground but we all enjoyed it.

Wupatki National Monument

Our second stop was Wupatki National Monument. It is a 900 year old Puebloan site with over 100 rooms and a blow hole. Jillian was designated a 'Junior Ranger' by the Park Ranger there and she was very excited. In fact, she loves the hat so much she doesn't want to take it off. "I'm a junior ranger and have a badge!". Luke and Julia are old enough to appreciate the history of the site and we all enjoyed the beautiful views. 

Grand Canyon National Park

Our third stop was the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We learned the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long and the south rim is the highest point elevation wise. It was a mile down from most of our viewpoints, incredible! Luke heard someone say if a person jumped, it would take 17 seconds to hit the bottom. The weather was cold, foggy and super windy at times, but we still have a few clear (ish) views. Simply incredible!

Sunset Crater

Wupatki

Grand Canyon

March 16 - Bear Mountain & a Scavenger Hunt

Sedona day 2. JD and the big kids took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went hiking in the Coconino National Forest. They climbed Bear Mountain, 6.7k elevation and about 6 miles roundtrip. It was a challenging hike (terrain-wise) but the kids did great. They saw hot air balloons and had some amazing views. 

Jillian and I stayed back and did a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood. Our list:

*flower
*American Flag
*cactus
*red rock
*dog
*waterfall
*something pink
*mountain
*rainbow
*someone to say hello to

Can you guess what was the most challenging to find? The American Flag and a waterfall! We ended up walking 4 miles until we found everything. At one point Jillian looked at me and asked "Did you plan this just so we could take a long walk?" Haha Jillian, you are too wise for your young age. She did end up finding everything and had fun. 

When JD and the big kids came back, we ate lunch, spent some time in the hot tub, played more ping pong and spent some quality time together. A great day with gorgeous weather!

Bear Mountain

Top of the mountain

Love her

March 14 - Welcome to Sedona

morning view

Spring break 2023. We were super late planning a trip this year and were initially planning on San Fran, but decided last minute to go to Sedona, AZ (may have had something to do with a certain someone (*cough*cough*me*) never booking flights. We heard great things about Sedona and it's drivable from Houston, so we booked a VRBO and headed out. We left Houston Saturday and stayed overnight in Amarillo and arrived here on Sunday. The drive through New Mexico and most of Arizona was as you expect-desert with brush.

Then we exited I-40 towards Flagstaff and drove through Coconino National Forest and guys, let me tell you, it was absolutely beautiful. I almost felt like we were in Colorado with the winding mountain roads, rivers and trees.  I can see why Northern Arizona University (in Flagstaff) is such a popular school. It is in a valley with a ski mountain next to it. Fabulous location!

We are currently in a house near Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona (in the same neighborhood). Yesterday morning, JD went for a long walk while I went for a job and it was simply breathtaking. The pictures don't do it justice. I normally am not the biggest fan of desert landscape but the combination of trees, hills and red rocks/mountains is so peaceful here. We went shopping in Tlaquepaque Shopping Village and then headed back to the house for dinner, hot tub fun and did s'mores in the fire pit. It was a great first day!

Beautiful Drive

Tlaquepaque Village

S'mores fun