Girls Trip // Sedona 2019
Since 2016 two of my college girlfriends and I have been taking a trip together. There’s been Key West, Napa, and Siesta Key. We’ve missed a couple years here and there while we were busy having babies, but in those instances we’ve met up in each others respective towns.
This year we decided to change it up a bit with a more outdoorsy focus. After throwing out spots like Jackson Hole, Vail, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite we finally landed on Sedona, Arizona. None of us had been before so it was going to be a new adventure that we could all experience together.
We decided to set aside four nights for our stay with it being pretty far for most of us to travel and so much to see and do.
I arrived before the girls and rented the car in the cutest airport you’ve ever seen in Flagstaff, Arizona. Flagstaff is one of those tiny airports where there’s only so many employees and based on the timing of the flights, the same employee will check you in, go open the security lines, check your bags and then go scan your tickets when it’s time to board your flight.
Since I had some time to kill before picking Nicole up to head to Sedona (Michelle was on a much later flight and would Uber to us that evening) I headed down to downtown Flagstaff for some quick sightseeing and a bite to eat.
Flagstaff is a really cute picturesque town surrounded by beautiful mountains and at the time we visited, the last colorful leaves of Fall.
After some chips and queso and a little souvenir shopping for the kids, I headed back to the airport to pick up Nicole.
We headed to 89A Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Highway which would take us straight to Sedona. This is regularly dubbed one of the most beautiful drives in North America and it DID NOT disappoint. If you’re heading to Sedona and the conditions are good, I would highly recommend this route.
After stopping for groceries we headed straight to our AirBnb. We were lucky enough to get a spot right next to the famous Chapel of the Holy Cross, and the views were absolutely amazing.
View from behind the house
Front/Back Yard
The house was really cute and perfect for our needs. It was also pretty centrally located and with our rental car and the help of a very few amount of the Uber’s that run in town we had no issues getting around.
Nicole and I freshened up and headed out to dinner and a little exploring before Michelle showed up late that night.
The next morning after coffee and breakfast we stopped by one of many local hiking shops and got some last minute necessities before making our way to the Devils Bridge trailhead.
This is a really popular spot and since we weren’t there all that early we had to park pretty far and walk about 1.5 miles to the actual trailhead…
The views were absolutely stunning and the hike is very easy to moderate until the very end.
Michelle didn’t have hiking boots and opted to skip the climb up to the actual bridge. The photos don’t do the bridge justice… and while it looks a lot scarier than it was - I have to admit, I was stepping pretty gingerly while on it.
It was such a great hike and I totally recommend it for adults and kids alike if you ever find yourself in Sedona, Arizona.
By the time we were done we were ready for some refreshments and headed to Local Juciery to get a little more pep in our steps.
This was a popular spot that we hit up a few times throughout our trip.
Before we got back to our house we stopped by the Chapel and hiked the short way to the top and explored a little bit of the church that still holds regular masses.
After a short visit we made our way back down the hill to our rental and got ready for dinner and some shopping.
Waiting on our uber
We noticed earlier that something big was going on in town and were excited to find out that it was actually Dia de los Muertos. We had planned to go shopping before dinner and it turns out that’s where the big celebration was taking place.
The next morning we made our way over to Cathedral Rock for our next hike of the trip.
This hike was totally different from the day before. It was a lot shorter, but the elevation change was a lot greater. I found this hike a lot more strenuous than the Devils Bridge.
Michelle’s shoes didn't have nearly enough traction to get to the top so she waited a little further down to be safe.
This was another amazing hike that I would definitely recommend. There were also plenty of kids doing it, although we didn’t actually see any at the top. They offer yoga in the mornings on one of the flat areas, so that’s definitely something to look into if you’re heading to Sedona. Cathedral Rock is in one of the “vortex” areas of Sedona, which many people find to be healing and extremely spiritual.
All I can say is I felt very calm and at peace on this hike, but I think that tends to happen when you’re outdoors with beautiful weather in a beautiful spot anyway… so I’m not sure if I experienced a vortex sensation or simply an outdoor high ;).
We also planned an amazing spa day as well as a winery tour on this trip. Although I didn’t take many photos both were amazing and helped to round out the visit perfectly.
I just love these girls to death. Theres no-one I’d rather get my aura read with than you ladies (all the heart emojis)…