Next stop, Sedona! With a quick visit to pickup Tater and grab lunch from one of the best sandwich places EVER, Proper Meats & Provisions (seriously, ahi tuna sandwich perfection. and William said the Muffalletta is amaze – all that deli meat + olive spread, mmmm ;). But most importantly – let’s get these feet into some real hiking shoes.

Welcome to Sedona – Drove in through Oak Creek canyon and felt like we entered a different world – years away (yet only an hour away) from Flagstaff.

Settled in our first day and walked from the house to an arts and shopping district, Tlaquepaque. The shopping area is gorgeous and very much decorated for the fall holidays. I could have wandered around the art galleries for acrull day! We grabbed a drink at a local favorite, Oak Creek Brewery (or according to William, they forgot to put up the Denny’s sign 😉

The tunnel picture looks like William is walking into a heavenly location.

Back to hiking the next day — We wanted to check-out the Devil’s Bridge Hike ~4.5 miles (start at the Mescal trailhead — much prettier start to the hike than the Devil’s Bridge trailhead which is along a road). Most of the hike was a slight incline with the end of the hike quite steep (hands required) up to the Devil’s Bridge. The lookout was absolutely beautiful and while the bridge itself was much wider than it appeared, William very kindly walked the boys to the center while I photographed. The boys have become troopers — no more grumbling starting a hike, but this one definitely stretched Rawls a bit. He counted down his leg energy from 30% to negative % on the last stetch of the hike. Shepherd could have kept going for a long while.

We cooked dinner at the house the prior two nights and opted for a treat this night — Dellepiane — an Argentianian burget spot. The elote was perfection and everyone was happy with the burgers. Rawls become a new person again after he got some food in his belly.

Opted for a chiller hike the next day, ~2 miles up to the Birthing Cave. As we approached I hear William “oh… I see why it’s the Birthing Cave” and Shepherd “it looks like a heart to me.” The temperature had warmed up a bunch and we didn’t realize that Rawls had put his jacket on and taken off his t-shirt before starting the hike. So the boys got comfortable!

The last stretch up to the birthing cave was pretty steep but definitely worth it. The cave had a “belly button” that Shepherd insisted on climbing into. After he came down, with some help, another hiker climbed up into and couldn’t get down — the step to get onto the ledge beneath it was just out of reach

After the hike, we recharged at the house – the outdoor setup here was great.

For dinner, we went to Creekside Bistro and sat on the patio outside — James Beard regional winner. Solid menu and we enjoyed all – especially the ahi nachos.

Of the places we’ve visited so far, Sedona is at the top of list to come back to!

Some video clips of the Devil’s Bridge hike (walking the bridge and playing with fire… I mean cactus) and Rawls narrating the Birthing Cave visit: