Jeeping in Sedona

It's a beautiful Sunday morning in Verde Valley.  We've been here since Friday evening with Jeremy & Brandon next to us.  The weather has been absolutely perfect!  Yesterday, we headed to Sedona to find some Jeep trails.  After stopping at Barlow Jeep Rentals for some advice, maps and to let air out of our tires, we headed to the first trail.  Soldier Pass was a pretty easy trail, less than a mile long.  But we still managed to find some mud.  There's nothing more beautiful than red mud on the side of a green Jeep!

After enjoying the scenery, we headed across town to the Broken Arrow trail.  This one is just over 4 miles and was a little more challenging - especially on the way out.  This one is heavily used by the local Jeep tour companies and we saw no less than 5 Pink Jeeps while we were at the end of the trail, or Chicken Point as it's called.  While there, we enjoyed the scrumptious lunch that Jeremy made for us.  The ride back was the best part as there's a part of the trail called "The Steps" which were extremely challenging.  We scraped bottom in a few places!  On the way out of town, we stopped back at Barlow to air our tires back up.  They were so friendly and helpful there.  If you are ever in the mood to rent a Jeep in Sedona, I highly recommend using them.

Our Jeep performed very well and we had a great time.  When we got back to camp, the puppies were SO excited to see us.  We left them at home so that they could sleep and we could enjoy the Jeep ride!  In the morning, I had put a pot roast with potatoes, carrots and onions in the crock pot, and it smelled delicious when we got back.  We hung out outside until it got too chilly, then we moved inside and had dinner.  It was a great end to a fantastic day!  Today, Jeremy and Brandon are leaving us, but we are planning to stay until tomorrow.

I've posted some of our pictures from yesterday.  There are a few more on my Facebook page.  As soon as I figure out the most efficient way to get my pictures from my phone to the computer, I'll put them in a Picasa album.  Have a great week!!

Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We left Friday after work. Our friends Jim and Greg went to Clint's Well as well as Brandon and Jeremy. Jim and Greg weren't towing a vehicle, so we asked them to tow our Polaris and trailer, which they graciously did. It was great to finally get it up there! It rained most of the way up there, and rained all night Friday. When we arrived at camp, we noticed that a truck and travel trailer were stuck in the mud in the meadow across from the camp sites. Genius!

Saturday we went for a Buggy ride and the other guys came in Brandon and Jeremy's Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. It's lifted and ready for off-road. They had fun in the mud just like us! We only had one spot that was scary and they were at risk of sliding off a hill into a watering hole. Fortunately, Brandon's expert driving got them through without drowning the Jeep!

It started raining again Saturday afternoon and rained all night. Sunday it was clear when we woke up, and was gorgeous all day. We took a buggy and Jeep ride and the trails were surprisingly dry - except for the occasional mud hole. I took the picture above of Dennis and the puppies overlooking a cliff into a canyon. It was so cool. The boys enjoyed the ride, since they didn't get to go Saturday.

Sunday night we had a nice dinner to celebrate my birthday. Greg and Jeremy had made cupcakes earlier in the day and lit candles and sang Happy Birthday to me. It was awesome. After dinner, Jim and Greg went home and Jeremy and Brandon came over and we played Sequence Dice. It was fun.

It was beautiful today when we got up. In the spirit of "planning your next meal while having the current one" we decided at dinner last night that we would have pancakes for breakfast this morning. Jim and Greg made pancakes and sausage/bacon. We also had some fruit. It was delightful to sit outside around the table having breakfast. It was great until the storm clouds opened up and dropped rain on us. We cleaned up quickly and went back to our own motor homes.

It was a nice drive home. We didn't encounter any traffic until Pioneer Rd, which is between Anthem and Carefree Highway. Traffic was stop and go all the way to Dixileta, where there was a 3 car pile up in the left lane. We had to pull over twice for emergency vehicles to get through. We saw one lady on the ground on a board and several other adults and children standing on near the cars. It was probably one stupid driver who messed up the last 10 miles of our trip home! The rest of our day was spent relaxing. The dogs were exhausted from the weekend. They slept solid for about 3 hours when we got home. Poor babies!

We each took time today to remember our men and women who have and continue to fight and die for the freedoms we enjoy. Their sacrifice shall not be forgotten. We hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Summer is here!!