Sedona

I'd never been to Sedona. It was always on my list of "must see before I die" so when I was planning a girlfriend trip with my college roommates Sheli Riggs and Tanya Fischbeck, who live in Mesa, AZ and we needed a quick get away, Sedona fit the bill.

Cathedral Rock

Nothing is as fun and cathartic as being with friends that are at the same place in life (full throttle with kids) and can appreciate an escape for a few days here and there over the years.

We lived with each other during such a transitional time in life, trying to discover who we were, while trying to make something of ourselves, balancing school, dating, and what felt like a sleep- over every night, having so much fun. We have some great memories and love to reminisce and can get down right giddy, who knew a forty-one year old can still be embarrassed by the thought of some memories. We know things about each other that would be meaningless to others but we keep those memories alive and basically between us only, so much fun in a couple of years.


Tanya and Sheli on a hike


I am so inspired by these gals; Sheli has 5 children, her two youngest are twin girls; Tanya has 6 and her youngest is just one year old. When I feel like whining about the demands of motherhood, they are an inspiration for pushing ahead and hanging in there.

I keep telling my kids that college will be with you forever, some serious bonding goes on there. It's been 20 years, but when we get together it feels like yesterday, just a few co-eds looking for fun and looking out for each other .

Tanya channeling the ancients

Sedona is absolutely gorgeous and until you are in the presence of the red rocks you can't fully appreciate it. It is very reminiscent of the beautiful red rocks in Capital Reef National Park in Utah, where Derik's family Ranch is. There are so many things to see and hike; we met a volunteer park ranger who told us all the hikes she had done and that were a "must see". Since we barely scratched the surface we all decided this would be a great place to come back and bring our families. We have already talked about our next trip, hiking into the Grand Canyon and taking a surf trip were our two interests. I think the surf trip won out. By the end of our stay in Sedona the Grand Canyon seemed a bit daunting, maybe we'll do the helicopter.