July 6 - Sedona AZ

It's been a great day in Sedona. The high temp today was about 91, but it felt like the low 80's all day. The resort we are staying at is a very beautiful place called Los Abrigados. My interesting fact for the day is, the reason why the rock in Sedona is red is because of the heavy rust deposits. That's it, rust in the Wild West! I was hoping for something more elaborate like, "it's the spilled blood of the many Cowboys and Indians." Nope, just rust. Do you see Snoopy sleeping? ---------------------------------->





This morning we slept in a little. It's not fun waking up at 4 a.m. here, because our bodies are still on Central time. Yesterday, I think we wore out hiking and playing, so we were pretty tired last night. This morning, we were able to stay in bed until.... the folks upstairs started moving tables, chairs, beds and an ELEPHANT (so it seemed). That all happened about 8:30 Pacific time. So, thank you, Lord, for the good night's rest and thank you for the earthquake that happened in the room upstairs from us :)

After tempting Jen with a do-nut, we left for Slide Rock State Park. It was a beautiful drive up the mountain. The glistening red of the Sedona Red Rock cliffs, the beautiful trees that line the valleys and the abundance of sunshine. Eight miles up the mountain and merging into the turn lane of the parking lot of the above mentioned park, we were met by a Park Ranger putting out a nice large sign that said, "Parking Lot Full". She kindly told us that we would be waiting until Jesus comes back in order to find parking. A little frustrated, we resolved to mend our wounds with Dairy Queen. The talkative older lady, who was serving us soft served delights, told us about Grasshopper Point, which was about 6 miles back down the mountain, where we originally started from. After getting to the Grasshopper, we had to walk about a 1/4 mile through large rocks and pitted terrain. At last, we made it to a beautiful creek with only about 40 people hanging out. We had the time of our life. (A reminder to self, catching minnows for 3 1/2 hours, with daughters, is not a waste of time. Do it often!) Bailee was our adventerous one...she is the spot in the middle of the photo jumping off a 10 foot high cliff. Way to go, Bailee!!!

























We really had a great and relaxing day hanging out at a creek bed.







Later in the evening, we went on the Lil' Wrangler Jeep tour of the canyons. Our host Joe was quite a guy. He is a retired geologist and obviously a fan of nature. He told us about bushes, trees, rock formations and history. At one point in the tour, I mentioned how odd it was that there were telephone poles out in the middle of the canyon and yet there were no lines on the poles. He told us that Elvis filmed a movie called, "Stay away Joe". Joe, our guide, said that Elvis was such a momma's boy that he wanted a telephone line ran out to the movie site so he can call his mom whenever he wanted. Joe loved to share stories and give us "pop quizzes". At one point in the tour, it got a little dicey. The jeep is nice and stout, but it was obvious at one rock cliff, Joe got himself into a pickle. We kindly offered to get out of the jeep and walk up the road while he backed down some rocks and evenutally back up the road to pick us up.
















Thanks again to everyone who is praying for us and keeping us in your thoughts. We love you all!