Day 12 - hike Sedona, Arizona - drive to Los Alamos, NM

After eating breakfast and loading the car up with our suitcases we headed out for hike. In order to park anywhere of interest in Sedona one needs a Red Rock pass. They are only 5 bucks for the day pass but, it took us three stops to find somewhere that had them in stock. After much debate I decided we all should try a hike up Doe Mountain.

Trail head marker #60 - Doe Mtn Trail


The girls before the hike begins

A nice macro of a prickly pear cactus


The ascent begins


Still climbing


Some of the view going up

This trail was a bit too much for the girls. Although it was short, 0.8 miles each way, the elevation change going up was 450 ft.

The girls and I are at the top

Dianna and the girls at the top

The marker in the background would prove difficult to find later. Doe Mountain is a large mesa, with 1.5 miles worth of trails that zig-zag across the top, providing a 360 degree view of the area. I have to admit we actually 'lost' this marker when we were ready to go back down and had to resort to the GPS I was carrying. Luckily, I had marked the top as a waypoint on the GPS unit.

Here's the payoff at the top


Another shot from the top



A couple pans from the top

Heading back down


Still coming down


Here's A. a little worried about my precarious position


Almost back at the trail head

I highly recommend this trail, just not for children under 12.

After the hike we headed toward Los Alamos, New Mexico. On the way out we we stopped at Dairy Queen for lunch and everyone enjoyed dipped cones for dessert. We also got a chance to see Oak Creek Canyon in the daytime (this is the drive we made the night before to Flagstaff).

This part of Arizona was beautiful...after seeing Sedona and the Oak Creek Canyon area we did not regret missing out on visiting the Grand Canyon. We finally arrived in Los Alamos, New Mexico around 10:15pm. We got to bed right away because we had another hike in the morning.