In mid November we were visiting sunny Scottsdale at the McCormick Ranch Resort, our getaway for the final quarter of the year. What a view of the place as you enter and from our room! Ok, this is not exactly Sedona but we did visit for a day so keep reading.
Why we booked this getaway
We booked this getaway package because we wanted to visit Sedona and see what it was all about and didn’t want to spend the time doing all the research when someone else had already done it for us.
On this trip we checked in on Friday afternoon, way before check-in time and we were in luck as a room was available. As I mentioned the view was great from here. We were able to unpack, check in with our DreamTrips Host to get our breakfast vouchers for our stay and then had time to search for a place to have dinner before our “Welcome reception” gathering.
[PHOTO] Pool View from our room.
What is the welcome reception
A welcome reception is where we get to meet with other people from around the world that came for this specific trip with cocktail and appetizers in hand (included). This trip had people from the United States: Seattle, Southern California, Las Vegas, Kansas City and a pair from Vancouver Canada.
[PHOTO] Sedona DreamTrip Group 2018
The excursion into Sedona
As mentioned, we stayed in Scottsdale which was fine because our package included our pick up from the hotel into Sedona. That alone was well worth it because Scottsdale is about 1.5 hours to 2 hours away (approx 100 miles) when traffic is good. Since we went prior to the Thanksgiving holiday traffic was light.
We were picked up at 7am with to-go breakfast bags in hand. The weather at this time was cold, it may have been in the low 60s but felt like 50s, it was cold and I wasn’t really prepared. Our first stop was at Montezuma Castle National Monument, it was great to see face-to-face and not just on a website or travel magazine. It’s small, like really small with some light hiking, which we did not do due to time limits with the tour.
[PHOTO] Montezuma Castle National Monument – Dwellings built and used by the Sinagua people.
We then headed to Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. This section was BEAUTIFUL and the vibrancy of the rocks was great. This area has more to hike and more beautiful views. This area also has a vortex that you can climb to and meditate, admire or whatever you want to do. We didn’t hike, again time constraint and by this time the weather was starting to warm up, my sweater was enough but I think I took it off.
[PHOTO] Sean, Dublin and I at Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte
From there we headed up to Chapel of the Holy Cross, yes it’s a church above the hill. Parking here is NUTS and depending where you park there is a climb up the road or you can take a golf cart up, I believe they are free but we were shuttled up there on our tour shuttle.
[PHOTO] This is the view from Chapel Hill
From this view you’ll see various rock formations that were given common ever day names: Mother and child rock, the two nuns, Schroeder playing his piano and an eagle.
[PHOTO] Mother and child rock formation
We then toured down heading to Airport Mesa, however we detoured just a tad to go see the only McDonald’s in the universe with turquoise arches and not golden arches.
[PHOTO] Only McDonald’s with turquoise arches
Once at Airport Mesa, the views were breathtaking as you could see all of the valley and the red rocks. If you did this trip on your own you could do a bit of hiking down to a vortex from here. There are 5 total vortexes in Sedona and we’ll definitely be back to do some hiking to these. Dublin already expressed his concerns about these as he doesn’t want us to get sucked up into the void. Yeah, we did tell him that the Aliens use these fields as navigation to earth.
[PHOTO] Breath taking views from Airport Mesa
From here it was off to lunch and some shopping before we headed back to Scottsdale to enjoy the rest of our evening. Of course we couldn’t leave without buying something that showed we were here.
[PHOTO] Eating and Shopping in Sedona
The next day
The next day we were left to do our own thing, so much so that we almost missed the time to use our breakfast vouchers, we didn’t miss it on the last day though. On our free day, we slept in, used the pool and pretty much relaxed as much as we could. We were able to de-stress from our everyday routines and try to rejuvenate our bodies and minds.
All in all it was a great trip and glad we went with this package since we saved over $400 than if we would have pieced it all together ourselves and paid for everything separately.
When are you going next?
When and if you decide to take this trip check out the full details of what was included on our trip. Like I mentioned we saved $400 this included 2 adults and 1 child (7 years old)
If you want something to do on your free day and can’t decide check out these links for some helpful ideas.
If you are staying in Scottsdale – Top 10 things to see and do in Scottsdale
If you opt to staying in Sedona itself there is a lot to do here so check out what Sedona offers on their website.
Are you intrigued?
Want to learn more about how we save on our travel? Shoot me an below and I’ll be happy to share with you how we do it.
