Sedona Family Vacation- Day 2 – Dec 29th
Sedona has over a hundred hiking trails and dozens that are extremely popular. Today was our adventure into our first hike with family members from age 3 to adults. Let’s see if it works!
Itinerary
We woke up to a gorgeous view of the Red Rocks out of the family room and all of our bedrooms!
Sedona is an International Dark Sky Community. This means the city has taken steps to reduce light pollution and preserve the night sky. We’ve noticed businesses use low or very little lighting and many homes utilize red lights for outdoor spaces. Lighting is only allowed to point downward, as light pollution can not only impair your ability to see stars, but also impacts animal behavior. Sedona was named the 8th International Dark Sky Community in the world in 2014. This means when you have the lights off in the house, it is pitch black! We couldn’t see past a few neighbors’ homes and assumed there would be some low hills in the distance. After arriving in the dark the night before, we each were amazed when we opened the blinds in the morning!
We prepared a hearty breakfast of eggs, hash browns, ham and coffee for an anticipated day of hiking
It took some effort to hit the trails today as we got a later start while sleeping in after a travel day and breakfast. By the time we got to Bell Rock Trail for our first hike the trailhead and parking lot was a mad house of traffic, congestion and no parking! We made the best of it and headed to Turkey Creek Trail where we hiked two different trails and hills and ate lunch on top of one of them. I was amazed as to how popular all the hiking is around Sedona. There appeared to be a lot of people that drove up from Phoenix for the day since it was a Sunday.
Enjoy the slide show below
The red line below outlines the trail we took from the beginning of Turkey Creek Parking Lot.
Thoughts On First Day in Sedona
Brittany: My favorite part of the day was when we had to pivot plans. When the first trail was full, we drove until we found a new trailhead. Hiking until we plopped down for lunch with a view, it feels whimsical to stumble across something that becomes an even better memory. These are the exact types of experiences I want to lead my kids in pursuing.
Thea: (While riding in a toddler hiking carrier the entire way,) “I love hiking mountains!”
Isaiah: I loved hiking down the mountain! (Probably because it looked steeper and more dangerous.)
Sara: Really loved seeing all the amazing views. Excited to see what’s in store for today.
Mark: Everyone was a trooper with a fun day of hiking. I was very impressed how Thea and Isaiah made it through the hike. I continue to be mesmerized by our view of the red rocks from the family room.
Brad: It is really beautiful here. The kids did much better than I thought they would on their first day of hiking.
Lauri: The stunning Sedona views are worth the planes, trains and automobiles that it took to arrive. Can’t stop thinking about how happy it makes me to be with the family-very little could top this experience.
Brandon: Looking forward to a more rigorous hike tomorrow.
