James 40th in Sedona

James and I ended 2018 in Sedona, AZ to celebrate his 40th birthday. I wanted it to be a surprise trip but I'm not very good at keeping secrets, so he's known about it for a few months. We had such an amazing trip to Red Rock Country. It's been a really long time since just the two of us have gotten away and we really enjoyed every minute. We hiked until our legs nearly fell off and we stuffed our bellies with yummy food! 

view from the plane flying somewhere east of Phoenix

We flew into Phoenix and rented a car. It was about on hour and 45 min. drive to our hotel. Upon arrival in Sedona, it started to snow! Thankfully the snow didn't last more than about an hour. So after layering up, we hit our first trail. 

Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock via the Big Park Loop
4.2 miles

Still a little dusting of snow upon the start of the trail.

Spaceship or Pancake rock

Stunning views of Courthouse Butte

Bell Rock

We were running out of daylight by the time we got to Bell Rock so the hike to the top will have to wait until next time.

Bell Rock

The next day we got some great views of Bell Rock in the Sun on our drive to our next trailhead.

Day 2 

Brins Mesa/Soldier's Pass Loop

5-6 Miles

If we had to pick a favorite (and that's really hard), it would probably be the day we combined two of Sedona's most popular trails into one big loop trail. 

Made it to the top and rewarded with some spectacular views

Now we are on to the Soldier's Pass trail ... 

7 Sacred Pools

Giant Sinkhole

This sinkhole was enormous and had a giant tree growing in the middle of it. The collapse happened back in the 1800s

Day 2/Hike 2
Little Horse Trail
3.4 miles

Great views of Courthouse and Bell Rock on our way

Good views of "The Two Nuns"

We made it to Chicken Point ... see those tiny people up on the flat rock? Now to climb up ... 

We were surprised how great the payoff was on this hike. We loved the views from atop Chicken Point. Such diverse things to see in any and all directions you looked ... 

   

We had hiked all day and were ready for some good Mexican food. The 1.5 hour wait to eat at Elote Cafe was worth it. This place is famous for a reason. Yummy!

At the end of day 2 my FitBit had counted up 28,907 steps, 173 floors, and 12.75 miles. Whew! Our legs were tired!

Day 3
Devil's Bridge via Chuckwagon Trail
5.6 miles

Devil's Bride is one of the most iconic trails in Sedona and we were there on a holiday weekend ... which meant there was a larger crowd than we normally like. But it really was worth it.

View of the bridge from a lookout below

The bridge was in the shade which didn't make for the best pictures, but we've officially documented that we were there. And as busy as the trail was, the line at the top to get out on the bridge wasn't long at all. We were surprised ... and thrilled! Battling the crowds was worth it.

Here's what it looks like in the sun ... 

We hiked up past the bridge to get away from the crowd for a bit.

Going down was a bit trickier than going up

James had arranged for us to have a couples massage while we were there. Merry Christmas to me!
It was just what we needed after three days of hiking.

A nice italian dinner to cap off the night. Had some of the best pasta I've ever tasted! 

Our last day in Sedona (and James' official birthday) didn't turn out quite the way we had planned. The forecast was calling for 1-3" of snow but we didn't think that would stop us from getting in one last hike. Boy were we wrong ...

About to leave the hotel

Bell Rock on our drive toward the trail

We quickly realized that the road conditions were getting much worse than we had anticipated so we decided we better go on and head back to Phoenix and maybe do something fun there instead. But the road conditions were so bad that they had to close the roads (in both directions out) until they could get the wrecks cleared and the snow plows through. So we sat in the car for three hours not moving.
Fortunately, we had good cell service and streamed Narcos on Netflix. It kept us entertained the whole time.

I was having to drive because James' driver's license expired on his birthday so we couldn't rent the car in his name.

Finally ... we were off to Phoenix in a winter wonderland! 

Due to our unexpected delay, we didn't get to Phoenix early enough to do anything fun, but we did find this amazing mexican restaurant to officially celebrate the birthday boy! It was some of the best mexican food we've ever had. Then we just went back to the room and watched a few more episodes of Narcos to ring in the new year!

Heading out early the next morning and taking a quick pic with a cactus at the airport. 

Upon our arrival home, we spotted a welcome home sign on our door made by our sweet girl! We were super excited to see the kiddos. And we are super appreciative of James' parents who kept them entertained and alive while we were gone. 

Sedona was good to us! We are constantly amazed at the diverse beauty of this country!