Hiking Up Cathedral Rock and Other Views in Sedona!

John and I decided to do some hiking in Sedona today.  We chose one of the shorter distance trails (1.8 miles each way), but we were a bit nervous because of all the warnings about how steep the trail was.  It was very, VERY steep, especially for an inexperienced hiker like myself!  I had a slight panic attack half-way up the climb and needed to take a breather for a few, because I was extremely nervous about how we were going to get back down!  But John, being the ever-caring boyfriend that he is, assured me that we could stop, or keep going, but that we would be able to get back down.  Considering I have an OCD about finishing things I start, I decided that we had already made it about halfway up the trail, so we may as well finish it.

Thank goodness we did!  It was AMAZING when we got to the top!!  You could see for miles and there were places to sit on the rocks and just absorb the unbelievable views in all directions.  It was truly breathtaking.   It took us about an hour and a half to climb to the top, and we took about thirty minutes to enjoy the scenery once we arrived at the top.  Although the decent was treacherous in some areas, we made it down safely and it took about an hour.  It was a fantastic experience and so worth the hike!  I was so happy to muster up enough courage to continue the climb after my moment of fear! (The pictures that we took are marvelous!  If you are on a mobile device and not a desktop, I suggest you take a look later on a computer so you can click the pics and see them blown up!)

The three-hour hike definitely gave John and I a hefty appetite, and by the time we arrived back at the car we were starving!  We decided to go to a place called the Cowboy Club, where we had a variety of delicious items!  We started off with the appetizer sampler, which included Cactus Fries (yes, real cactus and it was scrumptious!), Tempura Rattlesnake (also good, but not a wow item), Sweet Barbequed Buffalo Bites, and a Cilantro Flatbread.  For lunch John got a really yummy hamburger and I got a great mac and cheese dish. 

Post-lunch the sun began peeking through the clouds, so we headed back to the Chapel of the Holy Cross to take advantage of the sunlight and snap some pictures!  We were able to get some really great ones, because today has been overcast again, so it was awesome to get some pictures with the sun shining!  We then went to airport mesa to see the view there.  It was a great second day in Sedona and tomorrow we are off to Flagstaff and then the Grand Canyon!