Hi there! After long months of work, what is something that you always look forward to?
Could it be the yearly bonus to shop and save? Maybe a most awaited celebration with the family? Well, for us teachers here in the USA, it’s always the quarterly break. With that all said, I wanted to take you back to one of the most memorable fall break that I’ve ever had.
Join me as I reminisce the wonderful experiences I spent with my hubby during our 3-day vacation in the picturesque town of Sedona. These are just few of the many places you can visit in this favorite town of mine.
Sedona is one of the highly visited places in the state of Arizona, USA. It is 2 and half hours drive from where we live. Within the town, I can hardly took my eyes away from the exquisite scenic view offered by the landscape of red rocks and mountains. Last fall break, October 10-12, 2023 , we were given the chance to have our first ever roadtrip vacation with my hubby. We rented a car , which is the best option to get to every place we wanted to visit efficiently. I truly appreciated the experience of planning our own accommodations and itineraries. It was truly a meaningful learning experience. Before, we went on roadtrips too but with bigger groups of people .
Tlaquepaque art and shopping village
Tlaquepaque is a small community village in the center of this beautiful town called Sedona. It is not a common village. It’s a village that depicts the culture of similar name of town in Mexico that offers rich display of various forms of arts such as paintings, sculptures , wood carvings and even the architectural styles. Moreover, within it are art galleries, little boutiques of crafts, clothings and art collections. You can also find here the famous Chai spot which they said offers one of the best Chai tea. However, we are not into tea so we just look for a place for lunch. Luckily, there are also restaurants around the area. Our visit became even more memorable when one generous man paid for all the orders of the people dining on the patio including us. We wanted to say thanks to him yet he requested to keep his identity private. After having our lunch we decided to stroll around the place and enjoy the very calming and intricate view of it. We then headed to our hotel and had the rest. Later that afternoon, we went to the red rocks spot to enjoy the sunset. I was indeed mesmerized by its beauty. We later on went to the downtown and had dinner.
These are pictures taken in one of the art galleries we visited.
Hubby couldn’t contain his happiness after we finished our free lunch and had a quick stroll along the streets outside the Tlaquepaque village.
Most people parked alongside the road and enjoyed the sunset. But we chose to go to the higher spot for better view.
The Devil’s bridge
The following day, we started our adventure early. 7 minutes from our hotel is the very popular Devil’s bridge. According to my research prior to the trip, getting to the venue and the peak itself as early as 7 a.m. is much favorable as there is lesser tourist and the hike will be accompanied by amazing sunrise. So we decided to leave the hotel before sunrise. Indeed, after 45 mins of hike and enjoying the flora while taking the Mescal Mountain Trail, lies the Devil’s bridge. The exhaustion was ohhh so worth it. We took the Mescal trail. It was the longer path yet the less dusty and less busy side of the trail as cars are not allowed. We were amazed to see people of different ages and genders who really took the courage of taking the trail . The hike was mostly easy until you get to climb and crawl up to the peak of the mountain. Luckily, we arrived at the bridge early so we had enough time for ourselves to take beautiful pictures without rushing. Half an hour passed and people just suddenly came altogether making the place so crowded and people had to line up for their turn to take good pictures.
We went out early but we can still see the wonderful red mountains surrounding the town.
It amazes me from time to time how they showed importance on displaying informative maps and bulletin of reminders about the trail.
These twin trees greet everyone who starts the trail to the famous Devil’s bridge.
The jaw dropping view on top of the Devil’s bridge is worth every sweat and struggle we’ve encountered. Descending took us longer time as some areas of the most difficult path caters to only one way and more people starts to show up,
Crescent Moon Ranch
We then went back to our hotel to have our breakfast at around 8:45 a.m. We took 2 hours of rest then went on to our next destination. Around 12:10 noon, we arrived at the Crescent Moon Ranch where people can enjoy several activities such as hiking, picnic and even swimming on the lake. As soon as I dip my foot on the lake water, It feels like my toes get numb as it was so cold. Despite it, a lot of kids enjoyed it. So we laid our mat, took out the food we bring and enjoyed our lunch by the cold lake. Afterwards, hubby decided to take a plunge in the cold water, which I didn’t do because I can’t take so much cold. Instead, I just dip my feet in it.
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Later that afternoon, we visited the most well known Chapel of the Holy Cross. A one of a kind chapel situated on top of a red rock and have the best 360 degrees view of the surrounding red mountains. I felt really blessed as my wish during my first visit in 2022 was granted and has been with me already. I prayed for His guidance in allowing my hubby to be with me after he decided to take a pause on his career as a seafarer. Truly , there is no better plan than His. We just have to pray and believe that he will grant whatever we deserve in His time.
The turquoise McDonald
The last day of our stay was just a quick stroll around the area and specifically drop by at the only turquoise McDonald store in the world. We can never really have enough of the picturesque scenery of this town. Truly magnificent and captivating. As I always say, a piece of my heart will perpetually feel and desire to stay in this peaceful town.
Thank you for hanging out in my blog and hope you enjoyed it! 😊
See you on the next one!