Hiking in Phoenix/Sedona (lots of pictures)

So most of you know I just go back from a 10 day trip to San Diego, Phoenix, and Sedona. And OMG, I had an amazing time. I recapped my San Diego Rock n Roll half marathon experience HERE. So I wanted to tell you about my Phoenix and Sedona hiking trip.

Melanie's husband Ali, told us about a mountain hike called Pinnacle Peak, so we set out to find it...

It was amazing. We started out on the mountain and hiked up for close to a mile and half. We only had a couple hours. It was a great hike and it was great to see all of the people utilizing this great mountain. People of all ages were going up and down, I was slightly jealous of all the locals that get to use that trail daily.

I learned something really cool about the Saguaro cactus. They don't start growing arms until they are between 60-80 years old. It is kind of surreal to see how old these plants are. It is amazing.

Here is the view at the top of Pinnacle Peak

It is breathtaking!

The next day we decided we were going to go to Sedona and see the red rock country. On the way we decided to stop at a couple places. First stop Montezuma Castle

If you are ever near Phoenix, you need to stop here. Its right off the interstate and worth seeing.

Its unbelievable that people actually built and lived in these mountain sides. Montezuma Castle dates back 800 yrs and was home to the Sinagua Indians who mysteriously disappeared in the the late 1400's.

After leaving the castle we decided to go see Montezuma Well

You can hike down in to the well

They also have a trail that leads you to the other side of the mountain where the water flows under the mountain.

After leaving the well we were told about the V-bar-V heritage site where the Petra glyphs dated back to the Between AD 1150 and 1300 are located. It was about a 1/2 mile walk to the red rock petra glyphs.

It is interesting to listen to the rangers tell you the history of the what they think the Sinauga
Indians were drawing based on the way the sun hits the wall during the different months.

We headed to the Red Rock Trails in Sedona next.

The trail was an easy hike to Bell Rock.

We were here the day before Heidi from BananaBuzzbomb was there on her A-MAZING Columbia trip. I know she had a blast.

We went into Sedona next to visit my daughters great aunt who works at this gorgeous glass shop called Kuivato, if your in Sedona go check it out.

she also suggested the Westside Deli for lunch, and OMG, it was the best sandwiches we have ever had.

On the way back to Phoenix, we decided to take a detour to the Tuzigoot National Monument

We had a great time hiking up to the top. This is the view from the top.

It was a great place to end our hiking adventure.

Then we headed back to Phoenix for dinner with the family.

Thanks to Melanie, my partner in crime for putting up with me for 10 days:)

Mandy for joining us for a couple of days in San Diego.

My sister-n-law and her husband Hannah and Tom for putting up with us taking over there house and cars for a week.

And last but not least my husband Donald who supports me in all my crazy running adventures.

I love you all and I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post.

QOTD: Have you ever visited any of these places? If not, where is your favorite places to hike?

Please comment below:) I would love to hear from you guys!