I'm a visual person. That being said, I plan on this post being
mostly pictures with captions. I feel that is the best way to describe our trip, so here we go!
We left Saturday after Michael got off work. We ate at Crown Burger, dropped off our sweet pup at my parents, (absolutely heartbreaking) & finally started out on our journey to Sedona, AZ.
It took us 10 hours with a minor incident. It was late at night & apparently Jack Rabbits are night time creatures because they were everywhere! We were going about 70 mph when a huge Rabbit ran out into the road & collided with the front of our car! It was terrifying! We immediately pulled over & learned that the Rabbit had taken out our fog light & nearly tore off our brand new bumper! Absolutely distraught, tired & extremely frustrated, we drove 20 minutes back into town, bought duct tape, ghetto repaired our vehicle & proceeded to our destination.
**S P E C I A L N O T E : Gorilla Tape is the way to go!
We taped it a month ago & it's still holding strong!**
We arrived at 3:00 in the morning, dropped our bags & collapsed on our bed. We were absolutely exhausted! We got in a bit of rest then woke to attend church on, & I kid you not, Mormon Hill. Clever name eh? It is always a different experience attending wards outside Utah, but Michael & try really hard to find a ward when we are on vacation!
Going on vacation with the Riding's is something I had to get used to. They are all very relaxed about planning things which is the exact opposite of how I am. At first, it really frustrated me, but I've learned to go with the flow a little bit more. Anyway, after a little discussion, we decided we wanted to hike to Cathedral Rock. A lot of people are drawn to Sedona for places like Cathedral Rock. It's considered a V O R T E X . I don't really understand much of it, but basically you are supposed to really feel the earths energy well here... Or something like that.
It really was beautiful, & this family makes everything fun!
After hiking Cathedral Rock, we decided to try & find a place to climb. Turns out, there are plenty of places to go, but finding one for beginners, like myself, proved to be more than difficult.
After much debate, we found one, but it was a difficult climb, even for those with us who had experience. It took a bit to get everything situated, but once we did, Dan headed up lead climbing. It was very scary to watch, but he did so well! We were all very impressed!
Mike & Brad both got to climb before sundown & both made it all the way to the top! I was so proud of Mike! He hasn't ever been outdoor climbing & he did one of the more difficult courses!
Day 2 was spent at the Out of Africa Animal Park! Basically, a lot of these animals are rescues or confiscated from people who attempted to keep them as pets illegally. I learned so much & was able to see these animals more intimately than you generally would at a Zoo! It was so amazing to see how these animals interacted with their keepers. They absolutely loved their humans!
One of the coolest things was getting to feed this little guy! Most of us fed him from our hands, but my brave man decided to give him a little smooch. #1 question asked me is if I kissed him after. OBVI! How could I not?
Day 3: We headed to Slide Rock Park. During the summer, this is a big attraction in Sedona. It's a natural water slide! People come from all over to see it, but with all the run off, we hiked around for a bit trying to find it, only to find out it was right where we started!
Even if we didn't get to take the slide, the boys ventured across the freezing cold river to the other side for some cliff jumping. We asked if the water was colder than the Provo Rock on New Years Eve & these boys all agreed this water was much colder. That didn't stop them though!
Michael & I had to come back early so he could go to drill,
but boy did we love having the time away!
X O X
Katie Goose
