Sedona - Arizona's Hidden Gem
One of the best parts of having Tuesdays and Wednesdays off is that I can adventure during a time where most people are working. It means fewer crowds, shorter lines, and fewer crowds (did I mention fewer crowds? I hate people). When it comes to places like Sedona during a pandemic, the less people the better.I knew all the technical details of Sedona before I went. There were three different hikes I wanted to do, Thedita and I got an Airbnb for the night so we could stay for two days instead of a day trip, we planned out food so that we wouldn’t have to spend money on restaurants.Then I forgot the peanut butter for our sandwiches and it all went downhill from there.I’m kidding, of course. The hikes were uphill.Today, I want to tell you a little bit about Sedona, what we did, where we stayed, and just how BEAUTIFUL this place is.
Sedona Itself
When you’re driving to Sedona, much like the rest of Arizona, it’s mostly desert. I spent most of the drive focusing on the road and listening to music while Thedita worked on her newest crochet project (for yours truly, I’m honored).Pretty uneventful.All of a sudden, Thedita hears me gasp.Because, as soon as the winding road turned the corner, I witnessed with one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen.The beige tones of the desert abruptly gave way to these massive red rock formations (they are not mountains, I was corrected repeatedly). These not-mountains honestly brought me to a halt.Not literally. Because driving. But figuratively.Whenever you go hiking in Sedona, you need to get a day pass to park. It’s $5.00 per day, and sometimes you can get them at the site. However, we didn’t want to risk it, so we stopped at a tourist center.Not only did it give us a little break, it also gave my brain a chance to process what was right in front of me. I stared for about two minutes. I don’t think I even blinked.When you’re a kid experiencing everything for the first time, you’re so young that you don’t really have a chance to admire the novelty of it all. As I get older, the firsts start to dwindle. Almost everything reminds me of something else.This time, I was truly breathless. Even as we hiked, I just kept stopping with no warning to look around and take it in.
What We Did
Sedona might be best known for its incredible hikes, and we definitely partook in those. However, it is also a great place to just explore. The downtown area has so many cute shops and restaurants, and I definitely recommend dedicating at least a few hours to just walking around and exploring.On Day One, Thedita and I went hiking at Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. Even stopping to take pictures, the whole loop took us less than three hours. The hike itself was pretty easy, and we had a guidebook we used to help us keep tabs on where we were and what we wanted to do next. After that, we ended the day with a nature walk by Cathedral Rock. The views were beautiful and the trail, though rocky, was pretty easy to navigate.
Day Two was going to be a breeze. Right?Wrong.My little Boston self naively thought that hikes here would be just like the “hikes” I had done back home. Turns out, I’d grown up leisurely strolling through the woods because Day Two kicked my butt.We started the day at Devil’s Bridge where we saw a truly incredible landscape and I learned just how out of shape I am. The whole climb was a little over 300 feet in elevation. By the time we got back to the car, I needed a more than a few minutes to recover.So we decided to do a 650 foot tall hike next.Let me tell you all a little bit about Cathedral Rock. It’s 652 feet in elevation (which I feel the need to re-establish), there are no steps (you’re literally climbing rocks), and apparently young children can do it without having an anxiety attack.I had three.I’m not kidding. I cried for about five minutes when we reached the top from sheer relief.
It was one of the most physically grueling experiences of my life. But Thedita didn’t let me give up, even when I kept asking to turn around and go back to the car. There were so many “are you kidding me”’s and even more “I’m literally going to fall off and die”’s, and every time she told me to maybe say that second part a little quieter.Eventually, we reached the end of the trail. If it had just been me, I would have turned around. But with my best friend to help me, I got to the top.And if that’s not a metaphor for life then I don’t know what is.
Where We Stayed
We stayed in the cutest little Airbnb that was really centrally located to everything we wanted to do. It was a great place to base ourselves out of for our little getaway and I would definitely consider staying there again! Because I don’t want to get in trouble with Airbnb, I won’t say too much more, but here a photo I took around the room (because it was too cute not to!)
Overall, I freaking LOVED Sedona and I can’t wait to go back :)