A year ago, a past mother of a bride called to inquire about a date for her third daughter's wedding day. She shared that she had just returned from Sedona, one of her favorite places to visit, and asked if we had ever been. We had not been, and prior to that conversation didn't have plans to go. She assured us that is was AMAZING and that we had to visit. We took her word for it and that phone call inspired our recent trip out west.
Our first day in Sedona we were pretty exhausted after all the hiking we had done in Zion and the Grand Canyon, BUT we couldn't let that keep us from getting out and exploring Sedona - the location that inspired the whole entire trip! We had no actual plans in store upon our arrival, but thanks to a past bride who recommend the Devil's Bridge Hike - we set out to our destination.
It was HOT. And there were two paths that we could take to the trailhead: One that was a straight shot on a sandy, dirt road, but was also more crowded and less scenic, or a much more roundabout path that was far less crowded and much more scenic. Naz did NOT want the scenic path, sooooo we compromised and did the scenic path one way, and the straightforward (lame) path the other ;)
While we strolled through the roundabout path en route to Devil's Bridge and were mesmerized by the greenery, florals, trees, and cacti sprinkled across the land around us. Given the heat, we were SURE we were hiking through the desert (and feeling really proud of ourselves). Naz even perked up a bit! His only disappoinment? Up to this point, Nazari had yet to see the saguaro cactus his heart dreamed of finding.
It wasn't until Day 2 that we took the Pink Jeep Tours (Sedona, AZ) that we learned that we were not in fact in the desert. To be a desert, you have to get less than 10 inches of rain annually. Sedona gets 20 inches annually! (It even snows there occasionaly!) Due to the climate, the saguaro cactus cannot survive there. Thus, we didn't find those guys until we got closer to Pheonix, where Nazari ecstatically took a detour from the highway to see them up close.
We were surprised by how much smaller Sedona was than the other canyons we had ventured through. But boy were we blown away by the food! This place has so much to offer, so it is no wonder they get millions of tourists visiting each year (almost as many as The Grand Canyon!) Just as we learned last year, if you haven't been, you have to go!