After the family trip to Acadia National Park, the travel to Sedona and the Grand Canyon was relatively easy – a nonstop flight to Phoenix followed by a two hour and 30 minute car ride to Sedona where we moved into a rental house with a amazing views of the red rock formations and a pool that quickly became a playground of mischief.
Our target destination for this family trip was the Grand Canyon. Rather than having several cars make the four hour round trip in a single day we opted to hire a driver with a large van. It was fun to have us all traveling together and we made stops periodically to see sights of interest along the way which helped to break up the trip for the Grands. After viewing the vast canyon from several vantage points followed by ice cream, we loaded back into our van for the return trip to Sedona after stopping for photo ops with Smokey the Bear.
Instead of riding in the van, the family with the youngest children took the Grand Canyon Railway return trip and had a delightful time together as they made the journey back to Sedona.
Late one afternoon we decided to do an off-road Pink Jeep Tour within the Coconino National Forest over and around the famous red-rock landscape. In order to get everyone into a jeep we had to load up in two vehicles which provided a wonderful opportunity to compete for who had the fastest and most daring jeep. The backdrop of the red rock was stunning in the golden light of late afternoon. We had several opportunities to take a family photo capturing this unforgettable moment of adventure and discovery.
On our next to the last day we rented ATVs from Sedona ATV. They led us out into the desert where, with maps in hand, we were turned loose in the desert where the trails were not all that well marked to have an off road experience that the Grands are still talking about.
But the moments that we cherished most were in the evenings after the Grands burned off the last remaining ounce of energy in the pool and dinner had been consumed. These were the quiet hours when we simply sat around the table and shared our unforgettable moments with one another.
Mary Beth I have a passion for creating and experiencing unforgettable moments and sharing those with others. I hope that this story has helped you experience one of those moments.