On Wednesday morning, we packed the 4 runner to the brim...
...said goodbye to Sarah, Caleb, Bella, Tank and their home...
and drove 90 miles north to Sedona, where we checked in here at Manzanita Campground!We purchased an "America the Beautiful" year pass ($80) which gets us into all National parks for free AND gives us 1/2 price at most campsites! SCORE, right?!
So, this is our site, which is 50 feet from this creek, and it was only $9.00 a night! I thought that was only possible in South East Asia! I'm loving this whole camping thing!
We also picked up a 5 days fishing license, so we could fish on said creek (Oak Creek)! The first day in Sedona, we found a couple worms under the rocks, but the hook kept getting stuck on fallen trees...
So, we drove a couple miles over to Indian Gardens, a darling general store where we picked up some worms...
bought a couple treats, and spent the next 3 mornings having fresh muffins from their bakery!
When we got back to the campsite, we walked along the creek, exploring the area, gawking at the stunning red rock mountains on either side, and finding good fishing holes along the way!
The sky here is sooooo blue, and the air is sooo clean! I'm in heaven!
We also found this GIGANTIC Blue Heron (3-4 feet tall), and by found, I guess I mean more of, almost killed by! The thing flew right over our heads! It looks like a dinosaur bird and sounded like a tree falling over! I'd never seen one before and was completely mesmerized!
When the sun began to go down, Aaron grabbed a beer and went out into the woods to collect some firewood... He found this gigantic log and took an axe to it by the fire. I told him I thought it was really sexy to watch him chop the wood, so now I think he'll do it more often! lol
...while I chopped some veggies for dinner, not quite as sexy!
Dinner is served!
On Thursday, we were up with the sun and headed to Indian Gardens for a breakfast muffin and some coffee! Then we drove over to another fishing spot down the road. This was my favorite, because there was a giant rock right in the middle of the creek, where I could spot the fish for Aaron! Sadly, I only spotted 2 and we didn't catch either.
We headed back to the campsite for some peanut butter sandwiches...
... and then drove down south to Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock for a little 5 mile hike!
As you can see, we had the place to ourselves! :)
We jumped back to the car after the hike and headed back to the campsite for some dinner, before heading back out to catch the sunset at Red Rock Crossing and the reflection of Cathedral rock in the water!
It's Friday morning here now and we were up with the sun again, did a little fishing in the creek and are now, over at Indian Gardens for a muffin and some coffee again! Not sure what today will bring, but I'm sure it'll be filled with stunning views, hiking trails, camp food, a campfire, and hopefully, please God, a fish!