There is no shortage of things to do in the Sedona Arizona area.  If you love to over-indulge in your favorite guilty pleasure, Sedona is happy to be your co-dependant source.  Shopaholics can choose from clothes to traditional Indian goods, jewelry to crystals and never get their fill of variety.  Foodaholics will be satisfied with dishes that include Mexican, BBQ, fine dining and fast food.  Chocaholics can sample fudge and other confectionaries at the many candy shops in the downtown area.  Adventure junkies and backcountry hikers can tour the desert on foot or off road vehicle and flirt with the Diamondbacks.  Sedona can even handle my addiction, the I-want-to-see-and-do-everything-possible-in-a-short-period-of-time-aholic, while minimizing our spend, of course.

We were up and out early on desert morning two.  Granted, after 2 ½ weeks of vacation, our early mornings have been pushed back from our original 5am start to the new 8am rise and shine.  Donning our bathing suits and towels, we headed about 10 miles north to Slide Rock National Park.  A consistent “You’ve got to go there!” from our friends put this on the top of our stops for the day.  Our campground host recommended an early start because the parking lot fills up quickly and she was right.  Fascinated by the rising red rock that surrounded our every perspective, we became more and more intrigued the closer we got to the swim area.  The park was clean and well marked and starting to fill up with curious families like us ready to enjoy nature’s playground.   

Finding the ideal stop near the mouth of the slide and semi-high up to see all the fun, Dennis and the boys watched, plotting their strategy.  I was still on the fence about whether or not I was going to partake, but once my men hit the water, my decision was clear.

The guys worked their way to the mouth of the slide to patiently wait their turn down the rocks.  Luke was the first one to hit the water, literally.  Slippery rocks were not limited to the slide!  Down again and again he went, each time getting up in triumph that nothing was broken!  It was actually Cam who was the first one down the slide.  There was a slight look of pain on his face from the extremely cold water. 

Already wet from falling a couple times, Luke ventured down the slide but the water temperature still took him by surprise when he was fully immersed.  Finally Dennis made his way down the slide, each new splash offered a continuous reminder of just how cold the water was against his flesh.  Yeah, I didn’t go in.  In hind sight I regret the decision.  I was assured by the boys that the cold dissipated quickly and only the fun remained.   The boys returned down the slide dozens of times, trying new angles each time – front, back, bum, belly – enjoying every inch of this unique mountain stream natural water park. 

Cam’s adventurous side started to show through.  He located an area where folks were cliff jumping into a deep area of the river.  It was about 20 feet in the air and kids half his age and size emerged without a scratch so it must be safe. 

On his third jump, he convinced Dennis to join him.  Not one to back down from a challenge from his kids, Dennis jumped in perfectly straight like an old pro. The kids teased him that he flapped his arms like a bird on the way down, but that’s not how I saw it. 

After a couple hours of sliding, laughing, swimming and picture taking, we headed back to the RV to change into dry clothes for a little hiking.

With a tip from our campground friend Joanie, we took the back roads to Cathedral Rock after a quick stop at the Chapel of the Holy Cross.  Cathedral Rock is a beautiful structure on the west side of Sedona.  We parked only .8 miles from the heart of mountain.  We geared up and grabbed the water bottles and headed up the path to climb Cathedral Rock.  We were probably about .0001 miles away from the RV when it started…”It’s so hot!”, “do we really need to hike?”, “why do we have to do this?  It’s 100 degrees!”  It was actually 116 degrees that day and quite honestly I didn’t want to be all kinds of sweaty for the rest of our day sightseeing. 

We made it up .5 miles, right before the steep climbing was required, we waved hello to Arizona and turned back around for the RV.  Semi-disappointing to cut it short but in the long run, it saved us lots of unpleasant odors to deal with as we made our way to Jerome AZ for a very late lunch.

South of Sedona, Jerome was an old miners’ town that, back in its hay day in the early 1900s, sold $1,000,000 of cooper per month.  It was known as the toughest town in America, filled with miners, ladies of the evening, saloons and gun shops.  In the 1940s, everything changed and with only 150 residents Jerome couldn’t survive.  Several decades later, local artists bought out much of the town, turning the historical buildings into galleries, restaurants and gift shops.  It is widely believed that Jerome is haunted, a theory supported by most of the 400 plus residents of today.  Four different people recommended the “Haunted Hamburger” for a delicious lunch with tasty beverages and it delivered.  My Prickly Pear Margarita hit the spot! Perched on the highest of the mountain side roads, our outside table offered views clear across the state, ranging well into Flagstaff and beyond until our favorite black cloud rolled in again! 

We finished our yummy meals without any signs of the paranormal and decided to head out before the storm hit.  It’s more me than Den, but being  in an over-sided beast on narrow, twisty-turning mountain road in down pouring rain with thunder and lightning is not how I wanted to end my day!  As always (or most of the time, at least) Dennis obliged and we headed for the comforts of our campsite.

North, south, east and west, we certainly did get a good sampling of this scenic Arizona setting in our three short days.  Many people told us Sedona was the worth the stop and now we will tell you, too, Sedona is well worth the stop, no matter what type of vacation junkie you may be.

To see all our photos from Slide Rock or sightseeing in Sedona, visit Snapfish.

There were two ways to reach the North Rim of the Grand Canyon from Zion National Park.  You could exit the park at Springdale and back track about an hour to the last main road junction and then take a left onto 89A or you could pay a $15 fee and take the 1920’s built 89A bridge out of the canyon and save yourself about 90 minutes of driving.  With more than 2100 miles under our belt and countless hours behind the wheel, the $15 seemed like money well spent.  Pardon my Boston accent but it was wicked cool!  The tunnel fees covered the cost of an escort to make sure no one was coming in the opposite direction so large vehicles like our beast could drive in the middle of the road in order to fit through the tunnel.  Not getting stuck in a tunnel or hit by oncoming traffic was worth the money right there but when we saw the views from yet another perspective, Zion was even more breathtaking.  Just another reminder that going off the beaten trail has big rewards. 

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon was only 3 hours away and we relished in the idea of getting to a destination by lunch time.  I was so happy that I even let Dennis listen to country music again.  As we cruised along, a song that quickly became his new favorite came over the radio.  We had to listen carefully to make sure we heard it correctly.  It was a love song from the perspective of a starry eyed man praising his new love.  It was called “She was Rocking the Beer Gut.”  I’m not lying.

The rest of the ride to the North Rim was mostly forest.  We saw the remainder of a fire that we later learned happened about 3 years ago.  It started as a lightning fire that the Park officials watched carefully but a strong wind spread the fire too quickly and 60,000 acres were lost. 

Everything about the North Rim was welcoming – friendly and informed Rangers, hot showers, General Store with cold beer and large clean campsites.   Before we even unpacked, we rushed to get our first glimpse of the canyon.  We had the boys cover their eyes and walked them toward the edge.  On the count of three, they opened their eyes to the most famous natural phenomenon in the United States!  Their reaction was priceless.  After seeing   nothing but rocks and trees for days we weren’t sure how they’d feel about a hole in the ground but the surprise element was just the trick! 

We went down to the lodge and followed the path to Bright Angel Point to get the best view from the north.  Den and the boys loved the adventure and the incredible views.  I hugged the inside, ready to drop to my knees at any moment.  Granted I don’t like heights but never did I expect my legs to wobble so much.  Trying to be brave I would say “be right there” and wave.  I never made it all the way out but they tell me it was amazing.  A few days later, we drove to the South Rim after visiting Arizona.  I wanted to see if it was much different.  They were as different as my twins – you know they were created at the same time but it’s hard to find the similarities.  The North view gave you more crevasses and turns where the South Rim gave you a much broader scope of the size. 

If you have the time to see both, it’s worth the drive.

Luke and I were happy to find free WiFi at the General Store.  Dennis was so kind and offered to finish the laundry so we could blog.  After everything was posted, supplies and firewood loaded we settled in for the rest of our stay.  A very lovely English couple stopped by to ask Den how to build a “proper fire” since it was their first time camping.  They were on a 6 month world-wide tour and the States was their last stop.  He helped them out and told them if it didn’t work out to join us.  I was thrilled when they popped over and joined us for wine and s’mores and told us about adventures around the Globe.  There was no shortage of conversation and the kids enjoyed getting to know someone from the UK.   At the end of our visit, we gave them our contact information to keep in touch.  Hello, Adrian and Louise.  Hope you are safe!

There are moments that remind us why we fall in love with our significant others.  My latest reminder came at 5:10 AM.  I heard the sunrise over the canyon was not to be missed.  I woke up and looked at the clock with every intention of sneaking out to greet the morning. 

With one eye open, Dennis said “Are you really going to go?  I’ll go with you” and without hesitation he got out of bed, put on his shoes and we were out the door.  Why he indulges my crazy whims is beyond me but I’m so lucky he does.  I wasn’t sure which way was east so we got to the edge of the canyon and followed the trail looking for the sun which was due to rise at 5:40.  It took me a bit to figure out we were facing south and missing the sunrise but we kept walking anyway in hopes of seeing something.  It was beautiful and peaceful but no sunrise.  Ultimately, we took the wrong path back to camp but luckily it ended up on the east side of the canyon where the sun was just coming up.  I learned the next day, my clock was set to the wrong time zone and we were actually right on time to see one incredible sunrise.  I wouldn’t have wanted to share it with anyone else.

 We had almost reached our threshold of rocks and trees, the timing was perfect for our next destination – VEGAS BABY!