Sunny in Sedona

After having our vehicle trouble and being re-routed to Flagstaff without the boys, we were overjoyed to be reunited with the boys and the Hamilton’s… and have our wheels again. The Hamiltons had taken the boys to Slide Rock with the Mattsons before saying goodbye to them as the headed back east,

then continued on to Sedona. They spent the next day taking a couple hikes, one to Chapel of the Holy Cross,

and the other to Soldier Pass, a 4-5 mile hike.

Even though the boys were invited into the Hamilton abode, they chose to pitch their tent out back in the Hamilton campsite.

After our car was finally fixed, we arrived at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in the heat of the day – a major shock to the system after the cool Flagstaff climate. We were thankful for electric sites, and wonderful bathrooms with showers. There were hardly any sites taken here, so we had the place almost to ourselves.

We cooked dinner under our canopies and waited anxiously to meet up with the David family, who would be joining us the next day.

The only company we had were several skunks, who must have been lonely, as they spent most of the evening hanging out under our chairs or picnic table!

The next morning, we hiked Cathedral Rock. While we didn’t start nearly as early as the Grand Canyon, the earlier you hike in the summer, the better. It was HOT!

At the summit, Chuck happened to run into fellow North Central alum Tyler…. of all the places!

The way down is always harder than the way up, as witnessed here as we slid down the rocks to get back to our car!

We did one more short trail before throwing in the towel and deciding it was too hot to continue hiking.

From there, we knew a swim was the only way to pass the day in the hot Arizona heat, so we headed over to Grasshopper Point to cool off. Our second tow truck driver recommended it as a favorite of the locals. While the parking lot was full, we waited just a few minutes and were granted entrance. Yay!

We started out with the lower cliff, and the boys quickly moved on to the higher one.

While the rest of the crew was either cliff jumping or watching, Brian found the most comfortable bed of rocks in all the land.

One of the best parts at Dead Horse State Park was the amazing park. I think the dads enjoyed the zip line even more than the kids!

Our final day in Sedona was spent at Red Rock Crossing, a great park with lots of waterfront picnic sites… with one of the best views of Cathedral Rock.