Vacation Recreation: Escape the Ordinary for the Extraordinary - at least for a few days (Part II)

One of the most exciting things to do on a trip is vacation recreation.  I can’t remember a single vacation I have ever taken that did not involve some type of sport, particularly one that is specific to the locale.  While in the Outer Banks, we kite surfed, jet-skied, and surfed (well I didn’t surf, the kids did), while in Destin, we snorkeled, in Cabo we went scuba-diving and horseback riding on the beach, and in Puerto Vallarta, we did the obvious-zip-lining.  Vacation recreation always makes the trip memorable and unique.  In fact, I guess it’s safe to say that when choosing a destination, we always look at available activities.  

The activity of choice in Sedona?  Hands down, it was hiking.  There are close to 100 different hiking trails in Sedona, with a variety of ability levels from easy to difficult.  The great thing about hiking is that you make it what you want.  If you're hiking a 4 mile loop and you start getting tired, just turn around and go back.  Turn the 4 mile loop into a 1 or 2 mile hike.  The main thing is that you STAY ON THE TRAIL.  Although it’s kind of fun to challenge yourself and try to do some climbing (like we did), safety is very important.  

We were only going to be in Sedona for 5 days with days 1 and 5 partially used as travel days.  Since day 4 was our Spa day, we only had days 2 and 3 to beat up our bodies executing “Xtreme" activities (at least Xtreme for us).  We had seen images online of hikers standing on an incredible arch, which we later learned is called “Devil’s Bridge,” so that was definitely on our radar.  To get to the trailhead for Devil’s Bridge, we needed to walk close to 2 miles one-way down a “road” that’s only accessible to off road jeeps (so you can only imagine how rough THAT road is).  After getting to the trailhead, the hike was a gradual incline until we got closer to the bridge.  After getting close to the bridge, be ready to walk up a very steep, natural “spiral staircase” to the bridge.  Challenging, but worth every step!  If you are scared of heights (or should I say scared of falling) walking out onto the bridge can definitely be intimidating.  Once we got out on the bridge, it wasn’t that bad.  This group of spa warriors did the entire hike -  “photo shoot” and all - in approximately 3 hours.    

The Devil’s Bridge hike and the climb to the top of Bell Rock offered plenty of recreation during our Sedona Getaway.   Now that we are all grown up and our kids are all grown up, it’s fun to explore, discover, and try new activities.  Do’s and Dont’s?  Any activity we can do is beneficial so Do what you enjoy but Do take precautions.  Don’t let fear get in the way of physical activity and Don’t limit yourself to only “senior-type” activities.