Fall Getaway

This past weekend the kids had Thursday and Friday off for "Fall break". My husband took off Friday and we headed for cooler weather in search of the true "Fall". We spent our first night in Camp Verde but traveled up to Flagstaff Friday afternoon. We went to Locket Meadow, an absolutely beautiful area on the north side of Humphrey's Peak. The ride there was all dirt road and a bit on the edge with lots of bumps along the way. It was one of those trails for one vehicle, we were in our big truck so when we encountered another vehicle it was always interesting. We made it up and then down safely and enjoyed the adventure. We saw beautiful aspens that were yellow and with their white bark it was awesome. There was a little pond with an awesome view above it. I could picture our log cabin there with the smoke coming out of the chimney.... :) We made it down just before night fall. On Saturday morning we had tickets for the Verde Canyon railroad. That was a 4 hour train ride through some really pretty picturesque landscape. After we got off the train we headed up to Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon, in search of more fall leaves. Sedona is always beautiful, haven't ever been there when it wasn't. Oak Creek canyon is so awesome and there were so many tent campers. We headed back up to Flagstaff after going through Oak Creek Canyon. We spent the night at the same hotel we usually stay at, Innsuites. They have a wonderful breakfast, for a family of 4 it's a great deal. I was sad that the hotel hadn't progressed much with it's renovations though. Our room was pretty dated, but it was comfy and quiet, since the railroad isn't far away. Saturday night it got down to 19 degrees! After our yummy breakfast in the morning, they serve a wide variety, scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, Belgium waffles, yogurt, fruit, cereal... we headed back to Locket Meadow. Different time of day, different lighting and to our surprise different colors. The yellow leaves had already turned orange. The kids loved the adventure ride up again. They played near the pond and threw rocks at it, it was ice mostly. It was so nice to be in the fresh air and hear absolutely no sounds but the great outdoors! After visiting our new favorite spot in Flag, we went to Sunset Crater. We had taken our daughter there about almost 6 years ago just before our son was born. Our son had never been there, and our daughter was only 7 at the time and didn't remember being there. There hasn't been any volcanic activity in the area in 800-1000 years. It was amazing to see the life that was growing in all the black areas, it looked as if there it was the site of a great tragedy and new life rose through it all (I know that's pretty dramatic, it's been 800-1000 years after all) Once we left Sunset Crater, it was time to head back home. We got in early evening and it was good to once again be home. It's always a bonding experience to take a road trip with the family, to get away from all that pulls everyone in different directions and regroup and spend time together.