Arizona!

So, we decided to get away and our fingers landed on the map of Arizona. I had heard rumors of Sedona being beautiful and between Traci hoping to find cooler temps with less humidity and me hoping for warmer temps, humidity irrelevant... we sealed the plan- Sedona it was! A girls trip was in order and it was perfect that we both would only have to fly a few hours to reach each other; a meet in the middle of sorts. We met at the airport and before long were zipping through the desert.

Off we went into red rocks country, stopping to shop here and there, but mostly enjoying the outdoor recreation of the area. We even had a rendezvous with the Grand Canyon, where we challenged ourselves to a good huff and puff hike and watched the sun as it set from the surreal vista.

One night we climbed up to a beautiful perch on Bell Rock and watched the sun set in Sedona. The red rocks quickly took on a orange, then pink tone and the beauty was just indescribable.

We had plenty of good laughs, healthy food, and enjoyed being young and crazy again. It's been a while since I've been in tears laughing- the kind where you can hardly breathe because one giant hysterical outburst comes right after the next.

Sadly at the end of the trip, we were cursed with food poisoning which came close to jinxing us from seeing our lifelong friend, Donna. Donna has been in both of our lives since childhood and was a bridesmaid in Traci's wedding. Since she lives only a couple hours from Phoenix, she drove up to meet us our last night of the trip. Both Traci and I were reeling from the effects of food poisoning but somehow seeing Donna made things better. After a little peppermint tea and some saltines, we were well enough to grab some 'light' dinner with her. It wasn't quite the evening we had originally planned, but seeing her was a great highlight and I feel so grateful for the opportunity. She still has her giggles and fun personality and it was refreshing to see her and realize that time has been no opponent.

As always, I put some good miles on the camera. Here are a few pics!

Truer words have never been written.

Hiking the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon.

Sedona was every bit as spectacular as I had heard!

This tiny birds nest was in a jumping cholla cactus, where the little peeps were well protected from predators.

Mountain biking in red rocks country!

The famous Sedona sunset

Donna!

You might remember these two explorers from a previous trip where they were spotted at Niagra Falls (see the second picture here). Lewis and Clark once again led the way in the Grand Canyon.