I was blessed to be able to spend the weekend with my little sister Heather. She lives in Scottsdale and is super busy with work and school. I am so proud of her, working hard to get her bachelor's from Arizona State. She only has two classes left and then she will be done! Hooray for Heather! However, with all of this stuff she is doing, it is hard for her to get away. So she asked me if I would come to her and spend the weekend. Uh...heck yeah!
I got there on Thursday, July 10. She picked me up at the airport and then we headed to dinner at Barrios, a neat, semi-fancy Mexican place in Phoenix.
Then on Friday we hit the road and headed up to Prescott. We did lots of window shopping and made her commune with nature and took her on a short hike just out of the city. We also went to see Maleficent at the movie theater. I haven't been to a movie in eons, so it was nice to do something different.
On Saturday we drove the back way to Sedona. The road was really windy and by the time we got to Jerome we were both ready to get the heck out of the car and get some fresh air. Jerome is a town slapped to the side of mountain. It reminds me a lot of Virginia City.
Sedona is breath-taking. We originally tried to go to Slide Rock, but the park was closed because of the wild fire in the area, which had caused the water to get contaminated with E. Coli. Therefore, we went to the Holy Cross Chapel east of town. It is a historic landmark and has amazing views of the different buttes in the area.
After that we attempted a hike, but it was hot, hot, hot. We only walked about a 1/2 mile and then retreated to our hotel. The Orchards was right in the thick of all the shops and restaurants. We did some more shopping and then relaxed at the hotel. But as evening came, it was time to get out and do something again.
I talked her into another hike. This one was a lot longer, to Devil's Bridge. It was a four mile excursion to a free standing rock bridge. We started at about 6 pm. And as we were getting near the bridge, the rain came.
It really started to pour. Heather was not too happy about that, but I was reveling in the moisture...and this double rainbow!!
We were able to find shelter in a rock depression. Heather was a lot happier once the rain was pounding her. Another sister couple stayed under the shelter with them. That was neat to be able to meet someone new. Finally, the rain stopped and we reached our destination at Devil's Bridge. On the way back it started to get dark quickly. I started to get concerned and really tried to pick up the pace to get back to the main road/trail. Heather didn't like the rain and I do not like to get lost. And getting lost in a wilderness was especially unappealing to me. We probably ran about a mile to get back to the main thoroughfare.
After our evening hike, we ate at another Mexican restaurant. We were kind of chilly because we were wet and the rain had really cooled down the entire city. It was nice and very unexpected. Then Heather splurged on a whole lot of fudge. Curse you, Heather!!!
We drove back to her place on Sunday. On the way, we stopped at Montezuma's Castle National Monument. It was a pleasant surprise. Plus, I could get us in free with my National Park Pass.
We had a lazy Sunday afternoon, eating Chinese food, watching the World Cup, and way too many episodes of the Real Housewives. It was nice to spend time with Heather and make some memories together. I look forward to many more trips together. Maybe next time, our other sisters can join us. It would be even more fun.
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