Weekend Update: Sedona & Flagstaff

Our friends Jeff and Lynn visited from Texas this past weekend. We hadn't seen the two of them since our wedding (however we have seen Jeff a couple times when he's had layovers here in town). They arrived in town Thursday, so we hit Oregano's for dinner:

Friday, they hiked Camelback with Jay while I squeezed some work in, then picked me up and we headed north. Check out the view from our hotel room patio:

In this photo you can see Coffee Pot Rock on the far right of the rock formation:
Saturday morning, we got up early, had breakfast, and then hiked the West Fork Trail through Oak Creek Canyon:

I just LOVED these beautiful ferns that almost glowed in the sunlight peeking through the trees:
There are a lot of creek-crossing points along the trail:
Jay had the camera for the way back and snapped this pic:
This is a Ponderosa Pine. We learned from a lady on the trail that these trees have a strong vanilla scent. If you smell the bark, you can easily identify it!

We took a rest on this rock after a few hours of hiking into the canyon:
What's a better way to end a hike then with delicious beer?! We enjoyed these brews, sandwiches, and some...um...interesting people watching at Oak Creek Brewery in Tlaquepaque:
Lynn and Jeff enjoying a rest at one of the galleries:
Quick snapshot of the view from our room before we checked out:
Sunday morning we got up early again and this time hiked Vista and Boynton Canyon Trails.
Jeff was the king of the spires at Boynton Canyon:
The views were amazing, and it was a great hike:
Later that afternoon, we headed to Flagstaff and got some lunch before checking into our hotel. We stayed at the Arizona Mountain Inn - a bed & breakfast that Jay and I stayed at for Valentine's Day back in 2004. We all were eager to shower and unwind before heading downtown for dinner:
Monday morning, yes, you guessed it, we got up early and went hiking! Jay picked Sandy's Canyon and Walnut Canyon trails which offered different terrain than we had the previous two days. Some of the leaves were starting to change, and the shade of the trees was welcomed!
There were open fields...
...and deep, dark caves. This cave was HUGE! It was definitely big enough for lions, tigers and bears (OH MY!), but all we saw were some bats. Here we are exiting said cave before something else came out of the shadows:

We headed back to Phoenix around 1:30 and got home early enough to relax, watch tv, and eat some pizza.

It was such a great weekend enjoying time with our friends, soaking up the fresh air, and making memories. Dare I say it, we might actually be in town this weekend!