Our Summer Trip 2014 - Part V

I loved our entire trip but the Grand Canyon and Sedona were magical! I have been to the Grand Canyon twice, once when I was a kid and the other shortly after graduating college, however I have only been to Sedona once and this trip was my second.  There is just something about this place that I LOVE!! The beauty, the people, the air, I love it!  So I couldn't wait to share this with Don, Justin and Ryan! I had planned a flight over the Grand Canyon for us, really the only way to get a vast view of the beauty.

SO of course it was the windiest day ever! I thought they would cancel the flight...NO WAY.  We were all nervous with the 45 mph gusts of wind and when we checked in they told us that the use of air sick bags had been heavy that day.  Didnt make me feel too great!

 

But the flight was amazing. We had a few drops in the plane, one so large I thought we were going into the canyon, we literally came out of our seats from the drop, thank goodness for seatbelts!  The man next to me got sick... :(  The boys loved it, Don not so much!

We took a hike with a park ranger and did some hiking on our own. They had refill stations for your water. It was cool drinking water from the Grand Canyon.

Onward to Sedona, AZ...another adventure awaits.  Eating of rattlesnake, bison burgers and cactus fries! All of these were a must.  The hotel we stayed in had the most incredible view. 

The town of Sedona was great to walk.  We decided to take a Jeep tour through through Sedona to get up close and personal and go off-roading.  Our guide was great and we had our own personal tour.

I have so many incredible memories and pictures from Sedona.  One day we went to a watering hole to swim.  Just the most incredible feeling listening to the sounds.

And of course you have to see a sunset in Sedona...it is a must!

 

Oh I forgot to mention on the way to the airport we stopped because I really wanted to climb a vortex and feel the energy!

I'll be back again some day Sedona!

Our Summer Trip 2014 - Part IV

We went to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National park. I went there with my parents when I was 9 years old, I loved being able to show this to Justin and Ryan and see it as an adult. It was still as amazing and beautiful as I remembered and as hot as I remembered, but you know me I dont mind the heat.  I loved that there was no humidity!

Driving through the national park we were on route 66.  Ryan got such a kick out of this and even bought a sign for his room.  We were able to see petroglphs and an ancient village.  They couldnt get over the petrified wood!

From there we headed to Flagstaff, AZ for the night and then onward to the Grand Canyon.

Our Summer Trip 2014 - Part III

We left Denver and headed towards Arizona.  Decided to split-up the 12 hour trip and stay a night in New Mexico.  It was just a stop, eat and sleep kinda stop.  The rest of our time was going to be spend at the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Petrified Forest, Painted Desert. The drive through New Mexico was long and flat but the skies were amazing and the weather can change on a dime.

Boredom was setting in......this was the view I saw out the window and this was the view I saw in the back seat of our rental car.

We stopped for the night and found a great place to eat with the most amazing sopapillas!!  They were warm and so pillowy, they gave us honey to drizzle over them...wow they were good!

There was a nice breeze and we sat outside and enjoyed the patio.  It was nice to get out of the car.  Only 5 more hours to our destination but that was for tomorrow.

Our Summer Trip 2014 - Part II

While in Denver we were able to do 2 awesome things all in one day!  Craig works for a place called 1UP which is a bar/arcade.  They have old video games and pinball machines, like Donkey Kong, PacMan, Tetris, Galaga. They had a large PacMan machine that 4 people play.  Aunt Rebecca was the winner! I forgot to mention that Craig also has a Donkey Kong machine in his living room. Justin and Ryan think they have the coolest aunt and uncle ever!

 

Outside the bar they have a huge Jenka set up.  We ate some lunch there, typical bar food EXCEPT for the burger Justin got...It was a bacon cheeseburger served on a donut that had been split and fried.  He said it was good?! We headed to the Colorado Rockies baseball game afterwards.  It was fun to go to a major league game and you can't beat the view from inside the stadium!

You know I cant even remember but I think CO lost, but I do remember that it was good competitive game.