Grand Canyon- South Rim

When my mom and I realized that Sedona is only a few hours away from the Grand Canyon South Rim we decided that we needed to take a day trip.  We took the scenic Highway through Oak Creek Canyon and that drive was already worth it.  We made a quick stop in Williams, AZ along historic Route 66.  It felt like time has stood still and John Wayne is going to ride around the corner any minute.

We made it to the Visitor center and took a shuttle right away to the South Kaibab trailhead.  

The first views of the Canyon are just breathtaking.  

We started our descend down......I kept thinking about how we have to make it back up again later. It was a cold morning out, but all the people coming back had shed their layers and were in T-shirts.

Pictures just don't do it justice.

It is so beautiful and you have to see it to believe it.

Around every corner the views changed.....

It was such a special day to share with my mom.  Mother Nature is truly spectacular.  

We had to make a quick stop to let these Mules pass.  They needed a little rest, so we sat there and talked to the guy for a bit.  It takes these Mules about 4 hours to come up from base camp.  

Do you see how close the Mule is to the edge?  It went straight down from there (Hannah added the red arrow to the picture).  It made me really nervous.  For this guy it was just another day at the office.

See why I was nervous?

We made it about a mile down to the Ooh-Aah Point, which had spectacular views.

The Ooh-Aah Point is a 1,200ft elevation change, 600 ft down and 600ft up.   My mom decided to stay at this point and then make her way back up.  I went a little further down to the next point called Cedar Ridge.  It was another half mile down.

At that point I turned around too and the hike back up wasn't bad at all.  I thought it would be. lot harder.  I did shed my jacket too, because I was finally getting hot.

From the top we took the Rim Trail back to the Visitor Center.  It was a beautiful walk with lots of great views and good conversations.

What an awesome day and we were back in Sedona by 6pm.  I can't wait to go back and being the kids.  We may need a few more years, the thought of Evan hiking those narrow trails is a little nerve wracking.  

On our last day in Sedona we hiked Soldiers Pass.  I had read that parking is very limited at the trailhead, but that you can park on the street a little further away.  There were No Parking signs everywhere, but we did find the one street that did not have the No Parking signs.  I was still very nervous about parking there, I did not want to get towed.  Fortunately all was good.

The red rocks are so different compared to the Grand Canyon, but also breathtaking.  It was a beautiful day out and we enjoyed our last hike in Sedona.  There was a little bit of climbing involved on this hike......

We stopped in Uptown Sedona for lunch and looked for souvenirs for the kids, but I could not find anything.  Then we decided that we would just take the kids to the Five and Dime in Bentonville and they can pick out a little something for themselves.  

On the way out of town back to Phoenix we stopped at the Chapel of the Holy Cross.  It was a perfect ending to our trip.

We spent the night and Phoenix and flew out early the next morning.  

I missed the family and it was great to be back home.  My mom spent another week with us in Bentonville and we enjoyed her company a lot.