Day 44 - Sedona

We were up a bit earlier this morning to get things put together for our road trip adventure! Everyone was busy packing and loading up again. It was just after 9am when we got out the door and on our way. Almost at Sedona, we pulled off the highway at Oak Creek Canyon viewpoint. The temperature dropped dramatically and we were cold! We saw people with mitts & toques on and we were in capris and shorts! BRR! The top of the canyon was at about 6,000 feet and we had reached as high as 7,300 feet on the highway. We enjoyed climbing back into the warm van and cruised down a windy road (Joshua felt a bit woozy) and made another pullout stop at Slide Rock National Park. The red rocks were amazing to see, but also the pillar like formations were outstanding. We were all in awe at the red rock mountain landscape. We got to Sedona and drove around, pulling over regularly to snap photos of the impressive rocks! After a stop at the visitor’s center, maps and brochures in hand, we drove to the little strip of shops & did some window shopping. There were lots of handmade items: jewelry, pottery, decorations and a candle shop. We hung out at the candle shop & watched them carve and create these beautiful pieces of art. The candlemaker was great at showing the kids the process of making these dipped creations and we purchased the one we watched her make. We haven’t purchased many souvenirs and we thought this would be a neat one to buy. The sun began to set on the rocks as we loaded back into the van for a little scenic drive before leaving Sedona & heading to our hotel back in Williams. Arriving around 6:30ish we unloaded into our rooms and Grandpa slipped out to buy some dinner. We enjoyed our Kentucky Fried Chicken while watching Survivor. By the time it ended, we were all done and everyone was ready for bed. Funny how 8pm feels like 11pm! Megan hasn't been feeling quite herself yet, and I refuse to give in to the fact that my sinus' ache, my nose is runny & I'm sneezing.... probably allergies! (*wink*)

Tomorrow we will be heading to the Grand Canyon, what an amazing sight that will be!!

It was a very overcast day... a blue sky would make these look even more amazing! Photoshop Chad? :) You could probably make that sky blue!

The rock formation is so interesting and it looks different at every angle. David would like to go back and do some hiking around them.

A quick pullover so we could photograph the welcome sign :) Funny how they used apple trees instead of rock as their sign feature!! Apparently they do grow apples in the region. There are actually a lot of trees in Sedona, it is amazing how quickly the landscape and vegetation changes in Arizona.

As we drove in, we started to see the amazing Red Rocks.

We shopped a little downtown and Sarah thought these glowing pumpkins were very cute, and a picture was needed. :)

They had huge statues along the downtown street. Sarah is always happy to pose!

You'll note the long pants & hoodies, the temperature had really dropped the day we were visiting.

This is the downtown street, lined with the amazing background of mountains, now aglow with the setting sun.

It was quite something to drive down the street and see these rocky mountains all around the city.

The clouds broke for a little bit in the afternoon & we got a great view of some of the rock structures.

Apparently this is the most photographed set of mountains in Sedona. It is an incredibly beautiful city and surrounding area.