My sisters came to town and of course, we had to go check out Sedona.

From the minute I set foot in that place (back HERE with Dave), I knew the Eyre sisters must come visit as well (which means we will “have” to go again when we can get my little sister Charity with us, and of course all my sister-in-laws would adore this place, and we can’t forget my mother, who would drink it in as well). I mean, stuff like energy vortexes have a magnetic power to lure us in.

I think there are a whole slew of Sedona visits in my future, which I’m not mad about.

But let’s back up for a second first, because Those sisters of mine overlapped for a night while Max and Abby were here.

Loved having them all together in our kitchen trying our hand at juicing a bunch of veggies from our neighbor’s garden and talking and talking some more.

Josh was here too, and it was fun to have these four oldest Eyre “kids” reunited:

The next day we packed up the car and headed on our little road trip.

How to explore Sedona in one day

First up, we hit Bear Mountain.

Hiking Bear Mountain in Sedona:

BEAR MOUNTAIN

We trudged up natural off-kilter stairs made from sandstone and over boulders to reach the top of Bear Mountain, breathtaking vistas through the whole thing.

It was a long, steep, tough one, so this sign was welcome at the top of the top!

Hiking to Cathedral Rock at sunest

CATHEDRAL ROCK

I hustled everyone on over to Cathedral Rock hike to catch the sunset there. 

This is the only one I duplicated from the trip Dave and I went on…and it’s my new “thin place” so I was filled up to the brim with adrenaline to share it, especially as I saw that light beckoning us up that climb:

It was made that much more beautiful at the top by a woman playing the pan drum which felt like it deserved hushed sacred silence as we took in the beauty.

I was filled up with the beauty not only of the surroundings, but of that row of hikers, strangers from all over gathered on the edge of the ridge, united in the holiness of that beauty that surrounded us. 

Couldn’t get enough of that light.

…and we stayed until there were only drops of color left in the sky before we started the descent.

That night we sat in the hot tub talk, talk, talking and dared ourselves in and out of the cold pool three times. Something has lured me to this polar plunge idea lately, mostly for the health benefits but also that night to keep me awake. I was deliriously tired despite the vortexes, beauty, and sisterhood, but I didn’t want a minute to go by where we could be having deep conversations so that cold water sure helped.

Exploring the Church of the Holy Cross

THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS

The next day we stopped for a little impromptu visit to the Church of the Holy Cross that was mesmerizing to us.

From the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired architecture to the statue of Christ on a tree looming up in the middle of the gorgeous framed backdrop. I love exploring things like this with my sisters. We sat in hushed awe as we looked for symbolism.

We did three smaller hikes after that:

Bell Rock hike with vortexes

BELL ROCK

Bell Rock first, it’s grandeur filling up the sky ahead of us, a little yoga en route to a vista lookout way up high.

Hiking to the Birthing Cave

BIRTHING CAVE

Then to the Birthing Cave (one I had wanted to get to last time and didn’t). Here’s the view almost there:

Loved how this cave framed the red rock in front of us, although the camera couldn’t really handle the contrast from the cave to those mountains…

Hiking to the cave in Fay Canyon

FAY CANYON

And then to chase the sunset to Fay Canyon where we huffed and puffed to find the arch up in the side of the rock, the golden hour light cradling us in it’s goodness and our conversations carrying us along the way.

We drove home filled right up with the energy of Sedona.

The next day we did another hike in the middle of the big city.

Such a different landscape from Sedona but satisfying and beautiful in it’s own way, cubes of granite creating blocks and never-ending stairs to get to the top.

We rushed from there to get to the airport and had a joyous reunion with our glowing mother, and ate on the porch of one of my favorite spots to get caught up. SO good to get to hug that lady and add her wisdom to our conversations.

We only got my mom for a day so we used it well…went on a long walk appreciating beauty the whole way:

One more lunch on a sun-drenched porch:

And then it was over.

One of my favorite things about my sisters and mom is how much love my kids feel when they’re around.

They take time to ask questions and be genuinely interested in their lives and that is the most beautiful gift to me and to them.

Yes, natural “energy vortexes” right there.

I love them.

They left my girls with hugs and goodness, and then we headed to the airport. I tried to let them all go gracefully, but I still felt hollow as I drove away from the airport. I am the luckiest to have these people who fill me up in my life.

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5 Comments

  1. Beautiful!
    As a Canadian living near Banff … all I can think of are the rattlesnakes. I know they go into a hibernation-type state for a number of months. When do you start to see/worry about them?

    We have to think about bears and cougars, but a snake … eeek!

    1. This is one of the most common hiking questions I get, and it’s funny because I’ve only seen a rattlesnake once in all my almost-twenty years of hiking in the desert. So I really don’t worry at all. Those bears and cougars? Now that’s scary!
      xoxo

  2. These pictures are FABULOUS Shawni, even though the jumping ones on the ledges make me woozy! That was moment in time to remember! Thanks so much for documenting our precious time together so splendidly!

  3. Are you still taking pictures with your DLSR or have you figured out how to take amazing pictures with your phone?

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