We had such a wonderful visit with the Buskirk clan in Arizona. We were frankly a bit nervous about vacationing in the desert in the heat of summer, but Sedona is in this odd little pocket of cooler temperatures (elevation certainly has something to do with is as does a strange summer phenomenon they call "monsoon season" -- which consists of afternoon thunderstorms every day) around Flagstaff.
At the grand canyon before the thunderstorm started. We had about 5 minutes where the sky was threatening but not actually raining to go out to the main lookout point right by the parking lot. As soon as we sat down to plan our first hike, the skies let loose. When it was still raining after we'd inhaled our lunches in the car, we decided that it was better to hike wet than to drive all that way for nothing. So we set out on the Rim Trail. One big bonus was that there were very few others on the trail with us. You couldn't really see the spectacular colors with the skies so overcast, but it was worth it for the heady scent of wet pine trees.
And then drinking hot cocoa after hiking through torrential rain as we rode the shuttle through the park.
One morning we went for a little hike in Sedona to Bell Rock. It is amazing how much Sarah likes to hike and how Ella despises it. (She starts moaning "I want to go home NOW!" or "Piggyback ride!" before she's gone 10 feet). It will be interesting to see if they are still like this when they're a bit older. We hope it will grow on Ella, because we'd love to spend some time in the National Parks when they have a bit more endurance.
We went on a cool Hummer Tour of the Red Rock formations
We spent one day at Slide Rock State Park which is only 6 miles from Sedona.
Even Kate enjoyed playing on the slick rocks while everyone else went down the awesome natural waterslides.
On the way back home to Provo we stopped at Zion National Park -- what a wonderful place. Ella perked up somewhat after we had a yummy lunch at the Lodge restaurant where my mom used to work for the summers when she was a teenager.
Can you guess which daughter was most excited to start hiking?
The girls really loved Weeping Rock. Kate thought the puddles were just about the coolest thing ever and they all appreciated the cool dripping water since it was quite warm that day. We put our feet in the river for a little while before heading back to the shuttle
Oh I love your kids! They are so darling. I wish we could come kids in the National Parks with you guys. I just got back from my trip and it is so nice to be together with my cute little family again, but I wish we were closer to you guys too.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a fabulous time! I was excited to see your Slide Rock pictures. My mom graduated from high school in Flagstaff Arizona. We went to her 10-year high school reunion. She took us to slide rock and we had SOOOO much fun there. And since we were from Wyoming, that was the first time my sister saw an African American. She was probably 5 or something and she yelled "hey Mom, there's a chocolate kid." My parents wanted to die.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the pictures and journaling! So how do I get copies of some of those pictures? They are really great! I especially like the one of the three girls and the one of your whole family. Your kids are sorely missing from our bulletin board.
ReplyDeleteMom, you can click on the pictures and that will take you to the Picasa web album. From there you can order from Shutterfly or download and print (options are to the right of the photo). Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you guys had a really great time. Your family reminds me of our family because I could never figure out why some of us love hiking and others never wanted to come. It was only later that I figured out that Kim, at least, just longed for the peace and quiet of having us all out of the house.
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