So long, Sedona (week 6)

When we were planning this leg of our #2021LemonadeTour, we all agreed that five weeks in Sedona would be more than enough time. Ohh, foolish family. When will we learn that when we land in a beautiful spot, no time will ever be enough?

I sound like a broken record when I say that it feels like we just got here. You’ve read this before: I can’t imagine any place more beautiful than this. How on earth will our next location measure up?

Sedona deserves her own special mention, though. I don’t know whether it’s the energy vortexes here, the medicine woman with whom I’ve been practicing yoga or just the stunning, sheer beauty of the red rock cliffs at every turn. But I’m feeling a deep sense of sadness and loss at departing from this magnificent place, and we haven’t even left yet!!

Fortunately, driving brings me clarity, and my “aha” moment arrived when I was coming back from yoga the other day. I thought back to the beginning of our journey and the reason we are embarking on this adventure as a family. We didn’t leave Wisconsin to sit and stay—we left to explore and discover. While Sedona is amazing and a piece of my heart will remain, there’s much more world to see! The girls are ready to move on—they’ve never been to Texas—so I need to be ready to let our Arizona chapter close and the next one begin. Sniff. I will for sure have a cry in my eye when we leave for the airport!

Before packing up, we had to get some souvenirs, so the girls and I went shopping on Friday in uptown while Tony went fishing in Oak Creek Canyon. (Sadly for him, we had more luck in our endeavors!) Then Saturday morning, we packed up and hit the road for some adventures in northern Arizona; we wanted to show the girls the cool landscapes and rock formations of the Petrified National Forest, and they agreed to humor us and make a stop at the Meteor Crater Natural Landmark near Winslow. (To quote Alayna: “Not to be rude, Mom. But it’s really just a big hole in the ground, right?” Um, yep—pretty much!) Interesting, though, the crater is the best preserved location of a meteor strike anywhere on Earth. It’s big enough to hold 20 football stadiums and as deep as the Washington Monument is tall. So cool that we have a frame of reference now, since we went to the top of the monument in October.

A fun dinner in at an Irish pub capped off our night in downtown Flagstaff. I think we were all surprised at how much bigger and more vibrant Flagstaff is than sleepy Sedona. And those mountains! Looks more like Colorado!

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This week, to avoid thinking about packing, Tony and I have taken some longer walks along the Mystic Trail near our house. On Wednesday afternoon, we dragged the girls on a hike up Doe Mountain. (Stunning! Highly recommend.) The one restaurant in Sedona I really wanted to try is by reservation only, and I finally got us a table for Wednesday night. Since we will be traveling on Valentine’s Day, Tony surprised me by taking me out for a glass of wine at a sunset spot before dinner. The Elote Cafe was definitely worth the wait. Highly recommend that, too!

For his birthday this week, Tony said he just wanted to go fishing all day, and I’m going with him as my gift to him (which is also an excuse to sit in the sun and read my book). Looks like he’ll be ready to go shortly, so I’d best sign off for now. Thanks for following along, everyone. We miss you all!