Now that we’ve spent our month in Kanab, we’ve visited all the national parks that were on our list, and we confirmed that this baby is still as healthy as can be…well, we’ve accomplished our goals for this trip. So now what? We have no agenda anymore, we can go wherever we want to go.

Weirdly enough, when we left the Grand Canyon, we went right back to where we had been: Verde Valley area. We wanted to camp in Sedona, but there are only two campgrounds. One was full, and the other didn’t return our calls. We ended up in Cottonwood, AZ. It’s a good town to stock our pantry and get some RV parts, our campground had good internet for catching up on work things, and it’s about half an hour from Sedona. It is also the place where we spotted another southwest enigma: the road runner. One of those things that you kind of know is real, but never really considered what it may look like beyond the cartoon renderings.

Kyle had to buy an entire new faucet assembly to fix the hot water at the kitchen sink, which was previously broken when we stayed at a campground with crazy high water pressure. I spent an afternoon doing one of my favorite things: getting to know a local area through their thrift stores. Then later we went to Tuzigoot National Monument, which is the most interesting pueblo ruins we’ve seen. This one had actual rooms intact and we could go inside and explore!

We planned one day for hiking in Sedona. Based on my research, many of the hikes were either too long or too strenuous for a toddler and a pregnant woman, so we had to leave a lot of hikes on our “someday” list. Fortunately, Bell Rock is an easy hike that can be as long or short as you want it to be.

Lately we’ve only gone to national parks, so it’s a little bit weird that I am allowed to fly the drone here. Drones are not allowed in national parks. I made sure to get some aerial shots of Bell Rock. Atlas did not really care for the loud drone noise.

For lunch / nap, we stopped at Crescent Moon park, which supposedly had some good views of Cathedral Rock. The views were okay, I guess. I watched some people climb a butte high above the park and realized that’s where the best views would be. Unfortunately I was in no shape to do that hike, so I stayed in the truck with a napping kiddo and Kyle clambered up the rocky hill to capture this:

By then we were running out of time, so we stopped at a couple scenic overlooks made our way back home. We’d only planned one day of Sedona hiking, but we only made it to one hike today. We decided to come back again to see a different area.

The following day we started at the Chapel of the Holy Cross for a quick drone flight, hoping to arrive ahead of the crowd.

After that we took advantage of an amazing service that the city of Sedona provides: free shuttles to major trailheads, thereby reducing parking problems at these incredibly popular locations. We arrived at the parking hub and looked at the shuttle schedule, where we realized we’d made some miscalculations (okay, it was just me – I messed up!). We could either wait half an hour for the shuttle, or we could walk a mile to the trailhead of Soldier Pass. It takes us about 30 minutes to walk a mile, so the real deciding factor was that hiking would keep Atlas entertained. Otherwise he’d be running around a busy parking lot.

The first landmark on our trail was a giant sinkhole. The trail was tough and the scenery rugged and beautiful.

We continued on to the Seven Sacred Pools, which were…not as advertised. I think you need very specific weather for these pools to be a) full, b) not muddy, and c) good for reflection photography. However, beggars can’t be choosers.

Time got away from us a little bit, we realized we’d have to hustle to make it in time for the next shuttle pickup. If we missed the shuttle, the hike to the parking lot would be all uphill, so we were motivated.

Our total distance hiking ended up at 2.5 miles, and we felt so invigorated afterwards. I’m halfway through my pregnancy, so when I say “tough,” I mean a normal, able-bodied person would probably not find it that tough.

We got home and gave Atlas a cup of apples for a snack. He promptly dumped the whole cup into Kyle’s shoe.

The next day was Saturday, and also the day of Sedona’s Festival of Lights. We made a third drive to Sedona, arriving plenty early because we weren’t sure what the parking situation would be. Sedona is insanely busy most of the year, and even though December is their slowest month, it is by no means slow. By some miracle we snagged a free parking space at Tlaquepaque, the location for the event.

The temps grew colder and colder. We hoped to stay long enough to see the lanterns lit up, but darkness in the desert makes the cold creep in. As soon as they started lighting lanterns, I was ready to bail out and head home. Close enough!

We made a quick stop at a Yavapai Vista Overlook because the sunset was turning the red rocks pink.

And then I captured an iconic sight in Arizona – the soft glow all the way across the horizon that happens every night after sunset. I didn’t quite do it justice, but I think this sight is pretty unique to desert climes.

Sedona was gorgeous and like I said, I’d love to return someday when we’re capable of hiking the more difficult terrain. Until I started researching the local hikes, I had never heard of the Sedona Vortexes. If you aren’t familiar either, buckle up. From visitsedona.com, vortexes are “thought to be swirling centers of energy that are conducive to healing, meditation and self-exploration. These are places where the earth seems especially alive with energy. Many people feel inspired, recharged or uplifted after visiting a vortex.” Strenuous hikes are invigorating, which is my main understanding of this phenomenon. We stopped at one of the four strongest vortexes, Bell Rock, where the energy flows upward “to uplift you and give you a sense of joy and rejuvenation.“

And then I remembered that Sedona is known for healing crystals and similar spiritual practices. You can stop at Coffee and Crystals, where you can get aura photos taken while you wait for your matcha. I’ve got to admit, this is where they lose me a bit. But regardless of how or why, the vibe in Sedona is certainly a bit different! Whether the healing energy comes from the rocks or the hikes, we truly enjoyed our time exploring the incredible Sedona landscape.

That said, it’s still too cold for us. We need to keep moving south.