Today tested my limits.

There are trails everywhere in Sedona. Literally everywhere. What there *isn’t* is any place to park. We tried 3 different trailheads this morning at 6:30am, and they were all full. Had to get creative with a parking space.

Update: Ken got me a sporty walking stick. It helps with balance, but doesn’t make my legs hurt any less when I’m done.

Started out on a hike that turned dicey for me. Was hiking along just fine until we got to a giant rock face that *someone* thought I should just scurry up on my hands and toes – like some kind of ninja spider. My sporty stick ain’t gonna help me here. Every single kind of nope. I know my limits, and I’m no rock climber. I wish I was the girl who climbs rocks, but I’m the girl who takes pictures of people who climb rocks. Sent Ken along his free climbing journey and I retreated to safer ground. He caught up with me later. And we did another hike that did not have a significant potential for me to die in Arizona.

Was hoping to see some wildlife on our hike. We almost saw a coyote. A lady with two off-leash dogs was ahead of us, and we heard a ruckus. Turns out, one of her dogs tried to chase the coyote, which we could no longer see. Bummer. I’m sure I would have handled coming face to face with a coyote like a boss.

Zillions of prickly pears along the trail. They’re actually really pretty. And prickly. Ask Ken how he knows.

I get why people come to Sedona. *We* came to Sedona. Everywhere you look, the scenery is spectacular. But there are *entirely* too many people here. The traffic is a nightmare, parking is a cluster, and trying to find a place to eat that doesn’t have a 2 hour wait is impossible. We’re leaving for Phoenix tomorrow, which will help the people situation by -2.

Sidebar: yesterday, I learned from our guide that there are 13 different types of rattlesnakes in Arizona. Did not need to know that. Bc I spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about rattlesnakes lying in wait to kill me on our hike. Was also thinking about pancakes.

Ken’s going to get up before dawn and do another hike tomorrow morning. I’m going to hike down the street to the coffee shop.