Resetting in Sedona

Sedona is simply breathtaking. The vibrant colors and laid back vibe make it the perfect spot for a weekend away to reset and recharge. I felt new when we left.

Our itinerary
Day 1:
2 hour drive from Scottsdale
A stop at the Red Rock Ranger District Visitor Center
Lunch at Wildflower Bread Company
Shopping in the downtown area
Pink Jeep Scenic Rim 2.0 Tour
Shopping at the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village
Sunset views at the airport scenic lookout spot
Dinner at Elote Cafe
Overnight stay at an adorable Airbnb Casita

Day 2:
2 hour drive to the Grand Canyon
A scenic stop at Oak Creek Vista with Native American crafts
Shopping downtown
Dinner at The Hudson
Almost went stargazing

Day 3:
Breakfast at Local Juicery
Drove back to Phoenix to fly home with a stop at the Montezuma Castle

Wish we would have:
Hiked
Went stargazing

After our two night stay in Scottsdale, Kyle and I made the two hour trek up to Sedona. The drive was scenic and entertaining, and short in the grand scheme of things. As we approached Sedona we were amazed by the scenery even from far away, and the stop at the Red Rock Ranger Visitor Center was a warm welcome. Here, we had views of the city from afar. As we continued into Sedona, we quickly grew accustom to the traffic. We learned later this was “light” traffic, but it took a good while to get into town.

Driving to Sedona

Lunch at Wildflower Bread Company was a great local spot, plenty of choices and just enough to fill up before our scenic tour. I would highly recommend going light on the food if you’re doing a Pink Jeep Tour, because it is the equivalent of putting your body in a washing machine. Don’t get me wrong, it was drop dead gorgeous and it was the best way to quickly see the best views in Sedona with top notch hospitality and insider info. I would 100% recommend it. It sounded like cheesy tourist trap, but it really wasn’t. Hiking is great, but wouldn’t you rather get a ride to the best spots while sipping ice water?

Pink Jeep Tour

After the tour, we knew we had plans to watch the sunset somewhere (a few spots were highly recommended by our jeep tour guide) and we knew we needed dinner eventually. We killed some time at the Tlaquepacque shopping village (not much of interest for me there, lots of high end art - but interesting nonetheless!). After checking in to the Casita, we made our way the Airport lookout because it was close by. Our tour guide did warn us about the crowds, which was accurate, but we weren’t in the mood for finding another spot. We also went against his recommendation to skip Elote for dinner only because several other friends told us we must go there. And they were right! Elote was amazing. We did wait about 90 minutes for a table, so I would recommend either arriving right when they open or later on as we did, around 8pm. While we waited we ate their yummy popcorn and got drinks at their walk-up bar. The food was literally the best Mexican food we’ve ever had. Go there. Wait in line. And enjoy.

Sunset views from the airport lookout

After our jaunt on day 2 to the Grand Canyon, we headed back into town to pick up some souvenirs. En route, we noticed the Oak Creek Vista was open (closed on our way out) and took in the views. There were also authentic Native American goodies to shop for (and they were actually authentic despite many that we saw during this trip without the same explanation and credibility as these.) Once we were back in town, I needed to stop back at this cute shop to pick up a dreamcatcher type treasure that I bought. After some relaxing at the Casita, we found dinner at The Hudson. It was delish! I booked a stargazing session for that evening but it was unfortunately cancelled due to clouds. Next time!

We felt like we had just enough time in Sedona staying two nights.

On the way back, we had breakfast at Local Juicery, honestly a highlight the whole trip. It came highly recommended by my dear friend Angela with The Better Have blog (the best!) and it was honestly the best healthy food I’ve ever. eaten.

We stopped at the Montezuma Castle National Monument (honestly, for the passport stamp, but also, because it’s a super old pueblo). I’d be lying if I said I looked at it for longer than a short moment because the “beware of snake” signs had me shook, but the stop was worth it, and the museum had some awesome items in it. A Native American Studies class I took in college was by far one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taken, so I found these artifacts to be really intriguing and very well preserved.

Two days seemed like enough time in Sedona, although the wish list has this city on our list to visit again.