Adventures in Arizona

Okay, I admit it. I never thought .... anything .... about the state of Arizona at all. Now I must admit, that's only because I had never been. After taking a 6 day trip to the Grand Canyon and Sedona, AZ, I have completely fallen in love with the state! My mom and I decided to take a mother daughter trip to Arizona to get in some good hiking before I leave, and we were both blown away.

To be honest, we spent 90% of our time hiking and eating... for good reasons! The red rocks in that area of the country are breathtaking, especially for someone who is used to flat, brown fields, and we found some great restaurants that seem to have escaped the typical tourist traps.

Instead of boring ya'll with all the details, I'm going to write and post pictures about 3 of the most interesting parts of the trip:
1. Grand Canyon
2. Devil's Bridge Hike
3. Airport Mesa Sunset

The Grand Canyon

When I first saw the canyon, it was surreal. It literally seems to go on, and on, and on, and on, and ... okay you get the picture.. The thing is HUGE! Also, it's crawling with tourists, especially with the fabulous weather they're having right now. I wanted to get down and actually see some of the canyon and get away from the tourists, so I woke up at the crack of dawn and took a hiking trail down the canyon. It's amazing how it rose from 30 degrees to 85 in the first 30 minutes of my hike (thank God for layering)! I hiked 4 miles down into the canyon, then decided to come back up because I heard that the ascent is much harder than the descent. Surprise, surprise, at the end of 8 miles I was EXHAUSTED! Coming up took me nearly twice as long, and I felt like an old decrepit woman afterwards, but it was totally worth it. If you ever find yourself at the Grand Canyon, head down one of the hiking trails to really see what's down there - I saw elk, mule deer, chipmunks, minks, and eagles. And don't forget to eat at El Tovar!

Devil's Bridge Hike

See that tiny blob of color out there over that huge natural arch thing? That's me! When my mom and I first planned this trip to Sedona and I (naturally) Googled everything I could about the place, it was clear that Devil's Bridge was one of the top things to see. The road to get to the trail head of this hike isn't suitable for most vehicles (like the little Camry we were renting), so we had to walk down a mile long rocky dirt road just to get to the trail head. But it was SO worth it! Now, I have to admit... when we got to the actual bridge, I was terrified. I sat down like a child, refusing to go out over the arch. I even sat and took pictures while my mom walked out there, all smiles and confidence. I finally got up the courage to walk out there - and thank goodness I did! The bridge wasn't as narrow as it looks - maybe 5 or 6 feet - and I didn't feel like I was standing on an arch. Talk about a rush! I definitely recommend this hike to anyone in the area. The last quarter mile of the ascent is more like a scramble up rocks and it was really fun.

Airport Mesa Sunset

I didn't know sunsets actually got this color in real life! In Texas, sunsets are all sorts of pink and yellow and purple, but none are truly ORANGE. In Arizona, however, I guess things like this happen, so my mom and I went out to Airport Mesa, a large mesa that overlooks Sedona, to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, over 200 other tourists had the same idea as us, so the place was swamped with cameras and fanny packs from all end of the earth. But once that sun hit the horizon of those red rocks, it was worth it.


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