Where to Visit when Traveling to Arizona

For someone who lives in the over-populated northeast corner of the United States, traveling to scenic Arizona is an eye-opening experience. From the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona is loaded with a plethora of tourist attractions that can't be thoroughly enjoyed without an extended stay and even then, you're liable to have a must-see again list for your next visit.

On our most recent visit to Arizona, we spent a few days in Tucson before heading north to the majestic Grand Canyon. The Canyon will take your breathe away, no matter how many times you've visited and it was a thrill for me to watch my fiance and our boys attempt to drink in the scenery of this natural wonder for the first time. We were at the Canyon during a extremely windy couple of days and traveling with a 4 year old in these conditions is hardly easy. I had to carry him often through the sustained 20 mile per hour winds (gusting to 40+mph), I was really looking forward to a bit of rest at our next stop... Sedona.

I had heard all about the famous Red Rocks of Sedona, yet I had never been there before. I was expecting Sedona to be a bit of a let-down after the Grand Canyon and I looked forward to a bit of sight-seeing, a nice dinner (well as nice a dinner as one could have with a 10 & 4 yo along) and an early night to bed, before heading back to Tucson the following day. That was the game-plan and it didn't pan out as planned.

Before I go further into my love of the Red Rocks of Sedona (yes this is inspiration behind my user name on this site) I must add a quick disclaimer. I have a big-time love-hate thing about Sedona. In my opinion, the Red Rock of Sedona is at times, as beautiful as the Grand Canyon. However, the city of Sedona is like a tourist-trap from hell. If you are on a budget, Sedona is not the place to visit for an extended period of time. From the hotels to the restaurants and everything in between you will be reaching for your credit card or wallet at every turn. The tourist shops are very expensive and I can't emphasize the word very enough. Okay, with that being said, here's how my game-plan was quickly destroyed.

The Pink Jeep Tour. Yes, what I thought was going to be another of those expensive tourist-y- tours, turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip to Arizona! The Pink Jeep tours came highly recommended, but after seeing their prices, I wasn't sure "the juice would be worth the squeeze". Fortunately for us, we were gifted with a family tour by our kind relatives in Tucson and my game-plan of a little rest was steam-rolled by a Pink Jeep.

We were booked on a mid-afternoon Broken-Arrow tour and picked up promptly at 3 pm by our driver. After the usual chatter about the jeeps and the operation, our driver began giving us the expected banter about the Indians that once populated the area, the types of wildlife we may encounter, etc. We continued driving through residential areas and suddenly pulled off the road, heading down a long dirt path. Our driver, Ken, was very familiar with the history of both Sedona and sites to visit outside of Sedona. He never came across with a "canned" answer to our questions and his love of the outdoors and nature was genuine. We were impressed by his obvious love of the area and even more impressed with his ability to carry on a detailed conversation while steering his jeep up huge boulders as we climbed further up the Red Rocks.

Our driver stopped a few times, allowing us to get out and capture some of the incredible views on film before climbing back into the Jeep to move on to the next stop and another photo opportunity. A few times he led us right to the edge of a cliff to point out a rock formation or a great angle to take pictures from, while answering all our questions. For the longest time it seemed like we were the only ones on the rocks, but after an extended stop at one of the highest elevations of the tour, I could see Pink Jeep after Pink Jeep heading up towards the locations we had just visited. The solitude we briefly enjoyed was over and the reality of Sedona and it's commercialism began setting in. Despite the letdown, we still had to make the trip back down off the rocks and while I won't go into details, I will say that the trip down will most certainly get your heart pumping. Traveling down the "Devil's Staircase" is the grand-finale of the tour and an experience that won't soon be forgotten. In all, the 2 hour tour felt like it lasted about 30 minutes and it really would have been a shame to miss. It really was that good !

The tour was exhausting, we needed to get our boys some dinner as they both looked ready to fall asleep and unfortunately we missed much of Sedona's famous sunset. What we did get to see was an incredible light show as the setting sun and the Red Rocks changed colors right before our eyes. Not getting to witness the sunset in Sedona was one of the few disappointments we had on the trip.

In all, Sedona's scenery is beautiful and to really see it all, you need to spend a few days. The Pink Jeep tour is an absolute must and I really don't think my love for the Red Rocks of Sedona would be as deep if I didn't take the tour. To walk on the rocks with a guide explaining the history of the area, the individual rock formations and where their names came from was well worth the money and I wouldn't hesitate to take the tour again. If you are planning to travel south from the Grand Canyon or are in the vicinity of Sedona, I highly recommend stopping to see the Red Rocks and taking the Pink Jeep tour really is a wise investment. I know I'll be back again real soon and this time I'll remember to pass on the tourist shops that line the business district, just as I'll remember to make sure I have a fine view of that glorious sunset.