Our Jeep Tour

Still our 3rd day in Sedona, and still trying to take it all in! It was recommended to us that we take a jeep tour to get a real red rock country experience, so after we had a short rest from our 6 mile hike, we met our "tour guide" Jennifer, in the lobby of our hotel and loaded the fam up for a rockin', non-stop action packed 4 wheel tour of Red Rock Country!

Our tour was over Soldier's Pass, and is supposedly the #1 tour offered between all the jeep companies out there. Not only that, but the jeep company we toured with is the only one permitted on this trail. It is the same one traveled by General George Cook during the Apache Campaign in the 1870's. It took us to some amazing sites!

OK, check out this picture. It's my favorite! It's a picture of Coffee Pot Rock. Coffee Pot Rock's unique sculptured shape simulates a percolator style coffee pot complete with a spout. It is the formation on the far left of the photo. Next, look at the 3 other formations, they are called the GUARDIANS. Starting with the one on the far right, they are called the CHIEF (notice how it looks like an Indian Chief with his headdress falling down behind him) the MOTHER (she appears to have a papoose on her back) and the Coyote. I like this picture because you can not see the Guardians from town... when you look at Coffee Pot Rock, all you see is the percolator. If you take the hike over Soldier's Pass, or the jeep tour, you will see the Guardians. I love how the Guardians appear to be saluting the sun in the photo.

Another neat stop we made was at the Seven Sacred Pools. They are natural dips in the rocks that collect and hold water year round. It is said to be a gathering place for animals. Some of the smaller pools dry up in the peak of summer, but pool #5 is over 8 feet deep and is always full. Each of the pools represent chakras in our bodies. Another spiritual and sacred place in Sedona.

This is the 5th and deepest pool. Robert is showing the kids the frogs that live in the cracks on the rocks. If you look closely you will see them. They are white.

As well as experiencing the pools, we got to see the Devil's Kitchen. It is a 60 foot deep sinkhole that got it's name after it collapsed sending huge billows of red dust into the sky for hours. the natives living on the land then named it such because they were wondering what the Devil was cooking... The hole is still expanding with more pieces falling in over time. The big piano shaped one is called PIANO rock, and you'll see in the 2nd picture the big crack... it's predicted to be the next piece to fall into Devil's Kitchen... needless to say, we stayed off that edge!

Our tour guide took some time to go over a lot of the vegetation in the area, as well as the reasons behind the coloration in the rocks in Sedona. It was not only informative, but a beautiful tour over Soldier's Pass. Here are some more pictures!