Arizona Day 3 - Sedona, Arizona (4/16/05)

I didn't plan on it but I guess my subconscious decides to get up at 5am (again) for some sunrise pics.
It's a little too early when we're done taking pics so I take a nap before we get some hotel breakfast. Next, we drive back up winding Rt 89 (it's far less scary in the daytime) to West Fork trailhead. The trail is a mostly flat 8mi round-trip hike into a canyon following a creek with about 11 creek crossings each way. The first time I crossed the creek on the logs, I almost had to go on all fours on the logs because I was scared of falling off, but by the end of the hike, I was just bounding through the rock crossings. Fun!
The hike is really nice, we stop for lunch at a secluded little area on the creek. People coming through probably thought we were weird, having a curry rice lunch with chopsticks, hehe. We rest a little bit, I wade into the creek and take some pics:
At the 4mi mark, the canyon becomes filled with water for a little ways. Other people go on for many more miles wading and swimming. But our trail ends here, so we turn around and walk back the way we came. We walk a lot faster than on our way in, hoping to make it back to Sedona for the sunset. Of course, because we're in a hurry, we make a few mistakes like getting turned around (hey! is there another Rock Slide on the trail??) and losing the trail (hey! why are those people way over there??). :-D

We do make it back to Sedona by 5pm and drive to Red Rock Crossing to take pictures of Cathedral Rock. It's a wonderful site for sunset pictures, as evidenced by the number of photographers we found there. You'll see what I mean from the pics we took...


And so, another eventful day ends when we shower and change for an excellent steak dinner at Redstone Cabin.

Continue to Day 4.