Sensational Sedona

Alan, Sue and I awoke relatively early for our last day.  At least it seemed that way considering how late we were up the night before!  The three of us had decided to take the two hour drive north to Sedona, which we had been told by many people was a "must see" during our time in Arizona.

Everyone was right - it was well worth the drive.  Just look at this view!

The Coconino National Forest encompasses part of Sedona.  Within the forest is Oak Creek Canyon known for its rich red rock with some formations dating back ten million years.  We decided to explore this canyon by taking a jeep tour.  Also well worth the money!

There were seven of us on the tour (us and some "hot" girls for Alan).  Our tour guide Ken was interesting, knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor.

We learned that lava once flowed through the canyon and later the movement of plates and fault lines created what exists today.  You can see one of the fault lines here crossing diagonally from the bottom right in this picture.

There are few words other than absolutely amazing to describe the rock formations.  The deep red contrasting with the green of the trees, bushes and cactus were absolutely breathtaking.

Our off-road jeep tour was not without its own adventure.  At times it was similar to a roller-coaster ride where we endured heart-stopping drops like this one.

Our guide Ken left us at one point and Alan had to save the day by driving the tour the rest of the way!

Ok, so maybe that's not exactly what happened, but I think Alan was ready and willing to take over in the event that became necessary.

We ended our trip to Sedona by buying a bottle of wine and heading up to Airport Road to an overlook to watch the sunset.  A perfect way to end this part of the trip.

Well, that and our final trip to a local brewery!

I hope to finish my last blog tomorrow.