This is better than me putting it in my Christmas letter, you know?

The truth is that we went to Sedona FIRST, before we went to the Grand Canyon. There. I feel better now, not living a lie and all. It's just that I had so much I wanted to say about the Grand Canyon that it couldn't wait for me to describe our trip in the exact right order. And I know some of you don't really care about my Detailed Trip Report but I have to get it all down before I forget it and then NEXT week I will post my Emotional Impact Trip Report, which you might remember was the whole point of going out to Arizona for six days anyway.

As an aside, did you know it's a long flight to Arizona from Washington, DC? Especially if you go through Atlanta? Which is why I chose a window seat! For both flights! And it worked out PERFECTLY for the flight that was one hour and twenty minutes, but then we got on a flight that was FOUR hours and twenty minutes and the sign above our row said there was a window seat so WHERE, EXACTLY, IS MY WINDOW?

Anyway, Sedona was beautiful and relaxing and charming. We drove up from Phoenix and I remember saying to Dave that everyone had told me Sedona was so gorgeous and amazing and yet we were driving through this patchy desert-y cactus-filled landscape and I was starting to have serious doubts that we were going to just crest a hill and all the scenery was going to change from brown and dry and scraggly to MAGNIFICENT. But I was wrong! We turned off onto the two-lane road to Sedona, drove three-or-so-ish miles and suddenly we were in a freaking postcard.

We ate lunch and wandered around the uptown area for a bit, where Dave made a bunch of vortex jokes that made me think he had no idea what people believe vortexes even are, and a few about crystals and sweat lodges and then we decided to go MOUNTAIN BIKING. Oh yes, I am totally serious. Well, we didn't bike OVER a mountain. Just around one. Hardly the same thing.

I couldn't remember the last time I had ridden a bike, but it turns out riding a bike is just like (WAIT FOR IT) riding a bike! I didn't fall off and I didn't even struggle all that much and I even got to the point where the downhill parts were FUN and I didn't continually squeeze the brake to limit myself to .03 mph! It felt good to do something active and different.

There were a lot of old people in Sedona, too. At first, I couldn't tell if they lived there or were bused in on a tour, but we soon decided it was both, as we saw them swarming into the tourist shops and then we spotted this:

I suppose it's nice that there weren't any mass murders to report, but still...

Really, for the most part, we just took in the scenery and plodded around. There weren't any naptimes to make or mouths to wrangle food into or tantrums to intercept and it was amazing how... I don't want to say boring, but how... simple it felt. We spent one whole afternoon walking between three different ice cream shops, debating the pros and cons of each one before committing, and it felt like such a LUXURY. We had so much time, in fact, that we started running out of things to do, which meant we went to bed at 9:30 and got up (I am not even kidding) FOR THE SUNRISE. I TOTALLY understand why elderly people have dinner at four and get up when the rooster crows – THEY'RE BORED. And I don't mean that we were bored, because we were completely enjoying it, but if there's one thing to be said for children, it is that they make you appreciate every moment you can snatch to enjoy by yourself.

On our way out of Sedona (when we were driving up to the Canyon, which yes, I know I'm telling this in the wrong order but it's MY VACATION) we stopped and hiked a few miles of the West Fork Trail and it involved stream crossings on narrow footbridges made out of branches and rocks and it was WAY HARDER THAN IT LOOKED. Can I give you a tip? You know, in case you ever need to make a river crossing on narrow footbridges made out of branches and rocks? Get a stick. Use it for balance. Poke it into the water and lean on it. Wish I'd thought of such an easy fix about six stream crossings earlier. We could have made WAY better time. (Probably best that we didn't, because we would have gone to bed at 6:30.)

 

Comments

[Lisa]

Sounds fab! We did Sedona in November, when their leaves are all golden and gorgeous, and there's that canyon that you drive through to get to Flagstaff (on your way to the Grand Canyon) and it was SO BEAUTIFUL. That place is awesome and relaxing and wonderful. Perfect for a child-less vacation.

[Cara]

Seatguru.com is fantastic for this exact reason - it will tell you if the "window" seat doesn't actually have a window next to it. And other things too, like if a particular row is colder than another (I've had that, it's the drawback to exit rows), or if a seat won't recline, etc. I always check seatguru before I pick my seats.

[Amy --- Just A Titch]

That pic of you with "window face" is so classic Emily face I could die. It makes me miss you. Though, my world was rocked by the fact that you LIED ABOUT YOUR VACATION. Hee hee. You're adorable.

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

Now that I'm recovered from the fact that you MISLED us about where you were and when...

...looks amazing!! And wow I am so impressed you let your hair down and passed the .03 mph mark on that bike. I don't think I could do it.

[Megan]

I want to hear more about the ice cream shops! That sounds heavenly to have THREE so close to each other. Humor the preg-o lady, here!

[Katie]

Oh man, you sure are making me miss living in Flag!

[livlaugheat]

i was just there! and also had issues with the river crossings. i finally just started wading through each one because i couldn't trust myself not to fall off the rickety trees and break an ankle or something.

[Parsing Nonsense]

Before I had my baby, this post would not have made sense to me. Now, I can just imagine wandering around debating ice cream parlors and it sounds...*sigh* so nice...

[Carol]

Ok, so I am tired of all the negative comments about old people. I mean, seriously. Do you not even LIKE old people? Also, great look with the bike helmet. Love you so much, just wish for some time with you.

Aunt C

[Monica]

I love Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon even more than the Grand Canyon.

Before ever booking another ticket, use the website http://www.seatguru.com to pick out your seat. You would have known about that no-window thing in two clicks!

[Di]

Having lived in AZ for over 20 years I totally agree with you on your assessment of Sedona, in fact I love it more there than the Grand Canyon.

Love the pic of you. It's so totally what my reaction would have been to the window seat as well.

Di
The Blue Ridge Gal
(an old lady that enjoys sunrises)