Arizona has my heart. There is really no other way to describe it. I was completely unprepared for what awaited me when we arrived to the “Grand Canyon State”. Massive red rock formations, saguaro cactus standing 16 feet tall, the desert terrain and of course, the Grand Canyon. Our trip to the desert came at the perfect time. Earlier this spring, amidst some trying family circumstances, we happened upon inexpensive airfare during the week of spring break. That never happens! We took it as a sign that we were meant to take this trip.

Our adventure took us to Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Tucson and Tombstone. Our flight arrived to Phoenix after 11pm and we had plans to drive the two hours that night to our hotel in Sedona. Exhausted, we rolled in to Sedona around 1:30am (really 4:30am for us!). Driving into town that night, the moon was full and it cast just enough light that we could see the changing terrain. It went from dry and drab mountains to towering red rock. The sight at night was breathtaking!

In Sedona, we had the chance to visit a few of the infamous Sedona Vortexes. From our perspective, the energy in this part of the country is no joke. While we can’t claim any otherworldly experiences, we did feel an unexplainable surge of energy as we spent time at each vortex site. Definitely an interesting experience! These images from Sedona highlight the vortex sites (especially what the energy does to the trees in that area) and Bell Rock, one of the largest red rock structures that we were able to climb.

In Tucson, we visited Saguaro National Park. Do you know saguaro cactus? They are the cactus that you see in pictures where they look like they have arms. They are about 16 feet tall and about 150 years old. And did you know that they are all wood inside? Crazy! The images below are from the national park where that’s all you can see for miles. I also got an education on all the different types of cactus that could be found in this park – prickly pear, barrel, fishhook and more. This was such a fun thing for this east coast girl to experience up close!

Since we were in Tucson, we were only about an hour away from Tombstone. And let’s face it, you need to have an authentic Wild West experience when you visit Arizona! So we ventured out to the town that was – had lunch in a Saloon and chatted it up with the townsfolk as we ventured in and out of shops, dodging covered wagons and gun fights in the streets.

Friends, if you are still reading, you will now learn why Arizona has my heart. I was fortunate enough to experience the Grand Canyon for the very first time on this trip. Since Frank had been there before, he was able to give me a wonderful gift. He walked me up to the edge of the south rim with my eyes closed so that I could experience the canyon in all its wonder all at once. As soon as I opened my eyes, they filled up with tears at the beauty and massiveness of what I saw in front of me. I stood in complete awe of God’s creation all around me and was immediately filled with a sense of peace. This image on Instagram was taken right after that moment.

We chose to hike the majority of the south rim, from the visitor’s center to the Bright Angel trailhead, stopping every few feet in absolute wonder of all that surrounded us. We had lunch on a rock ledge overlooking the canyon and then hiked down the Bright Angel trail for a 3-mile roundtrip canyon trek. We probably could have used some of the vortex energy by the end of that hike, but were so overcome with the experience that it kept us going! It was seriously one of my favorite days and I was so grateful for the experience and to be able to share that experience with Frank made it that much better! We literally cannot wait to go back and hike more of the canyon and hopefully, get to raft the Colorado River below. We spent most of the day ‘in the moment’ that we hardly took any pictures (imagine that)! So until next time, we hope you enjoy these few images from the canyon.

Have you been to Arizona? Comment below with some of your favorite Arizona memories.