West Trip - Day 6

Location start/finish: Sedona
Activities: jeep tour, pool-hang out day

Today was our second 'nothing planned' day on this trip, but we still ended up doing one planned thing: a jeep tour. We had to get up early so that we could eat and make our early jeep time. With a B&B though, you are at the mercy of their breakfast hours (meaning we were late), so we literally boarded the jeep as soon as we arrived.

The jeep tour was wild...way more intense than we'd expected. We drove off-road to two separate locations to get out, covering plenty of twisty and steep, rocky terrain along the way.

The first section had me and all of the kids in the back, and Lehr in the passenger seat. It was all I could do to hang on to a strap above me, brace my foot against Eli's seat across from me, and use my arm as a shoulder belt for Ruby...the ride was so rough that I was sure we would pop out of the jeep at any moment (even though we were wearing tight lap belts).

The first stop gave us some spectacular views. (Lehr called the bottom photo's rock structure 'toes', which always grossed Maddux out.)

After the first stop, Lehr offered to trade places with me and I took him up on it. The ride in the front seat was a completely different experience (so much smoother!).

And I felt better with Lehr holding onto Ruby as he wasn't getting thrown around as much as I was in the back. The things this jeep was capable of were mind-boggling. We went up (and down) the steepest of hills, all covered in rocks bigger than anything we've come even close to encountering on anything off-road around here.

The only wildlife we saw was a few lizards (small), but the tour guide assured me he saw snakes at least once each week. We did see some great vegetation the entire trip, but on the tour we learned about some of the specifics and how/when they grew.

After we grabbed a Whole Foods lunch, we went back to our place so that we could hang at the pool all afternoon. It was so nice outside! Lehr took Ruby to a playground and spray ground right across the street from our place while I took the big kids to the pool.

After about an hour, the kids and I moved over to the outdoor day beds to read and relax.

Eventually Lehr and Ruby returned and we returned to the pool for a bit. Eventually the kids and I took up residence in a hammock. (I think we would have stayed there all night if we didn't need to eat dinner.)

For dinner we found a low-key (for real this time!) mexican restaurant and had churros for dessert. The kids LOVED that. And on the way home we came across a sign that we tried to decipher the meaning of. (Cowboys lasso-ing, or lasso crossing?)

Finally, we stopped back by the playground Lehr and Ruby visited earlier. We had a blast making up 'obstacle courses', American Ninja Warrior style, and racing against each other's times. Ruby really loved this!