I went to Sedona for Thanksgiving, mainly to see my grandpa who is 90 years old and still works out twice a week. I'm hoping those genes carried over.
Since Shasta had never been to Arizona we stopped a few sights along the way. Including Montezuma's Well.
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Cool house formations in the rock.
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We figured we had only one day, maybe two, to climb and Shasta had never been up a desert tower! So we headed out to climb near the Teapot.
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We wanted some easy so we settled on Queen Victoria. A casual three pitch 5.7 up the formation on the right.
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Apparently this is the Popes Dick.
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Beautiful sandstone and the bridge. Traffic was terrible during Thanksgiving.
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We were surprised to find another two parties on the route but they headed off quickly and we were able to get started on the first pitch. Reminded me a bit of Ancient Art on the first pitch.
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And with a few quick pitches later and we were on top. I opted out of the wide crack that takes a #4 or #5 as I only had up to a 3 but you can easily head right into a fun crack section that takes smaller gear fine. Shasta on her first tower!
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Bell Rock and the sights.
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The tower doesn't look as appetizing from this side but most of the rock was solid.
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Pope's Dick only showing a half moon.
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The city of Sedona has a light ordinance so you can see lots of stars at night. We wanted to get some star trails but ended up too tired to stay out too late.
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We also took a visit by the Church of the Rock. Gotta admit they know how to pick good real estate.
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Is that the Mace out there I see?
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This guy knows how to role.
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This guy does too.
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We also made a quick trip to the Fire Wall to get in a quick afternoon of climbing before we had to head back home.
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The routes are short but pretty fun.
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Another good Sedona climbing spot.
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There is a 5.13 that goes up the left side of this big arch called the Center of Singularity.
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On the drive back we stopped by Tonto Natural Bridge and it was pretty awesome. I didn't even know this thing existed!
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The great part about having a girlfriend with you is all the poses that shes willing to do.
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This is a huge cave!
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We said goodbye to Arizona and headed home. A three day trip sure can pack a lot in sometimes...
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Photo for the Thumbnail:
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 Credit: Prezwoodz |
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