Girls Vacation to Sedona: Day Six

After spending the night in a hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona, we made our way to Walnut Canyon just outside of town.  The girls and I were determined to descend 240 stairs to see the cliff dwellings at the bottom of the stairs.  This is at the start of our journey into the canyon:

This is after about 40 stairs: 

She's still going strong!  We took a break after a few more steps (by this time Nicole was getting irritated at all the pictures!):

But Amanda was enjoying the attention :)  Shade was in short supply on this hike.

 

There were cliff dwellings all along the cliff on the other side of the canyon.  If you look carefully to the right of Amanda in this picture, you'll see some of them:



 

This was the first cliff structure we saw. 

After hiking down in the canyon, we finally found the actual cliff dwellings:

And yes, I was actually there too!  This is for you, Sis!

This was inside the cliff dwellings:

Making our way back out of the cliff dwellings.  It was a long, hot, hike back up to the top!

Amanda is pointing to the visitor's center at the top of the steep set of stairs:

Back up the stairs we go!

Resting on the way back up:

We finally made up back up!  After we cooled down a little, we went to the Museum of Northern Alabama to see some of the pueblo artifacts that would have been used in the cliff dwellings.  We are TIRED today, but it was such a great experience for all of us!

Girls Vacation to Sedona, Arizona: Day Five

We woke up early on Wednesday morning to make our way to Flagstaff, Arizona.  We went through Oak Creek Canyon, where we observed the scenery:

And shopped a little:

 

We made our way to the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff.  This observatory found Pluto back in 1930 after many years of searching the night skies for it.  The girls got to move an old telescope:

Notice the 1950's tires up at the top of the picture?  They had one of those tires every few feet and that's how they moved the telescope.  The tour guide says they'll be in trouble if they have a blowout!

This is the actual equipment used to find Pluto! 

 

 

 

We toured the compound of the Lowell Observatory, where there were many different buildings that used to house telescopes.  One of them had a sliding roof, and another had a roof that opened at the peak.  It was so interesting!  I'd definitely recommend the tour to other people.

 

My girl Nicole likes her green!

You can see Flagstaff in the distance behind her.

 

We went out to dinner and then went swimming at the hotel.  We had a great time exploring Flagstaff, Arizona!

Girls Vacation to Sedona, Arizona: Day Four

Our day started today with a hike up to Bell Rock with the girls.  It was already pretty hot when we left the house at 8:00 am, but we really wanted to get up close to the rock.

 This is as close as we got.  We were WAY too overheated by the time we got there:

We spent the rest of the day exploring downtown Sedona, eating lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, admiring the plants, and touring the area to see the different red rocks. 

Nicole liked this one because it's our favorite college football team's (University of Washington Huskies) colors :)

Tomorrow we'll be off on another adventure!

Girls Vacation to Sedona, Arizona: Day Three

Today we woke up bright and early and traveled to Montezuma's Well.  There wasn't really much to see here, other than a couple of rock houses built into the side of the cliff overlooking the water.  The girls really enjoyed reading about the ancient civilization that occupied that area.

 

 

Then we traveled to Montezuma's Castle:

 By this time the girls were starting to get a little tired and hot :)

 

 

But we still had more things to see!  Next was the Tuzigoot Pueblo Ruin:

We made our way to Jerome, Arizona after this to see the town that clings to the side of the cliffs, before going swimming in Cottonwood.  It was an amazing and full day of adventure!

 



Girls Vacation in Sedona, Arizona: Day Two

Today we took a little tour of the Forest Station down the street from Grandma's and Geri's house. 

The girls are taller than their Grandma!

We had lunch outside at a hotel just a couple of blocks from their house and this was our view:

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and playing games with Grandma and Geri. 

Girls Vacation to Sedona, Arizona!

The girls and I traveled to Sedona, Arizona for our first vacation of the summer.  The first day, we didn't arrive into Phoenix until dinner time, so we stayed the night at a hotel in Phoenix.  We took advantage of the pool the next morning and had an amazing time!



On the way to Grandma's and Geri's house after swimming, we stopped at the Phoenix Art Museum.  On the walls leading to the museum, there were millions of paper butterflies that would flutter in the breeze.  It was breathtaking!

By the time we got to Sedona we were really tired but so excited to visit with Grandma, Geri, and Sassy :)

Gulf Shore Vacation for the Fortner Family!

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted!  We have had a busy year.  We have moved across the country (from Seattle to the Alabama Gulf Coast) into a rental house, and then bought a house near that one and moved again, all in the space of just six months!  The kids are enjoying the new school district, the wonderful sunshine, and meeting new Alabama friends.  Our new house is nestled in a smaller neighborhood with a swimming pool, tennis courts, and common area where the kids can safely play.  Our street is a secluded cul-de-sac with lots of wonderful neighbors and friends surrounding us.  Even Buddy, our dog, has made a new best friend :) 

On the down side, the kids really miss John's family and all of their old friends that they left behind in Washington.  John and I miss our family and friends, and many other things about the Seattle area that we took for granted when we lived there.  This hasn't been an easy transition for us by any means, but we have worked through the stress, obstacles, and challenges we have faced along the way.    

We have traveled a lot in the year since we moved here - with trips to Orlando, Tampa, Oklahoma, Sedona, Pensacola, and Gulf Shores.  At Gulf Shores, we explored the beach with John's mom:

And stayed in a condo on the 20th floor of a building overlooking the beach: 

We just got back today from a week-long vacation at the beach.  We're spending the New Year in our new house and loving every moment of it!