Vultee Arch

One day Diana suggested we go to see Vultee Arch north of Sedona.  This necessitated driving about five miles on a really rocky road.  Luckily, she volunteered Phil to drive us in his 4-wheel drive SUV.

The road was much worse than Schnebly Hill and the Forest Service ensured you were up to the challenge by placing rocks across the road at the beginning.  If you could get over the rocks, you were good to go.

After those five endless miles (although I think Phil actually enjoyed himself,) we arrived at the trailhead.  It's about 1 1/2 miles to the arch with a gradual elevation gain up the canyon.

 
Along the way we admired these happy orange flowers.

And in one area we were surprised by a garden of lupine.

I liked the way the dappled sunlight hit this clump of grass.

Suddenly the trail left the woods and entered a clearing.  We looked up and there was Vultee Arch in all its glory.

Should we climb up to it?  Nope, let's just zoom and see the people who did.

(You probably can't see the people unless you click on the picture.  The arch is larger than it appears.)

Looking back the way we came, the cliffs reminded us of Zion.

And it just wouldn't be a hike if Ron didn't find us an unusual rock.  He said this one was a head in danger of rolling down the hill.

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