Weekend Family Getaway to Sedona Arizona - Day 1

Day 1 started out at 7am in Phoenix, after arriving at midnight. 

We had breakfast at Seed Café (read about the Sedona restaurants here) and headed straight to Montezuma Castle outside Sedona.

Montezuma Castle has a nice little hiking trail to see the cliff dwellings, and a small indoor museum with artifacts and historical information about the Sanaqua (pronounced Sanawa) people who lived here. Sanaqua means "without water" and I love that kids are learning these things.

Advice from a Cliff Dwelling 1. Find Your Niche 2. Be Constructive 3. Stick Together 4. Rise to the Occasion 5. Stay Close to the Earth 6. Build Upon Strong Foundations 7. Don't Go Down in Ruins

We spent a long time in their gift shop. I'm such a sucker for souvenirs.
After Montezuma Castle, we drove through Sedona, ate lunch, and stopped a couple hiking trails along the road. The main hike we did was the Cathedral Hike; The scenery was amazing. We hiked down to the river, and then turned and headed back. Poor Tim could have hiked this trail all day, but the kids (and ok, me too) were hot and hungry and ready for a little rest. 

Next stop, Chapel of the Holy Cross, built right into the rocks. This place was serene and beautiful, but the courtyard scared me. I'd say it's plenty safe, with a stone bench outlining the perimeter, but I'm already nervous of heights, and having a 2 year old running around, and climbing on the ledge just about did me in. If only I was less afraid of heights, and Grady was more afraid...

 

I love little touches like these signs.

"Please don't pick us [flowers], we're smiling at God."

 



 

"And He shall give his angels charge over you to keep you in all ways."

 

 

One thing I absolutely love about this vacation spot is the plethora of activities within short proximity to the downtown area with shopping and restaurants. This meant that we could hike, stop and let the kids rest in air conditioning (eat, drink, be merry), and then take off on another adventure. And we did very little driving in between.  

After dinner we headed to our hotel fairly early, so that we could relax and swim. Swimming is one of the best free vacation activities! We stayed at the Sedona Pines Resort in what was called a one bedroom cabin, but looked like a brand new manufactured home. So clean and so cute. We loved it. It almost felt like we could hitch it to the back of our car and take it home with us!
  The pool at the Sedona Pines Resort was huge, and mostly shallow which allowed for a lot of easy playing. And it was my first time in a salt water pool without chlorine; It felt good and clean. The best part of swimming were the bats. There were bats everywhere and 3 swarming around the top of the pool. At first Gracie was nervous, but then it was just too funny. Once or twice the bats dropped onto the surface of the pool to eat a June bug. It was so fast that if you were not watching them, you seriously would not have seen it happen.

We'll definitely be back to Sedona for more hiking, and maybe even camping.

What's your favorite trail in the Sedona area for family friendly hiking?