Visiting Sedona Arizona
It has been a little longer than I'd like since my last blog post, but I'm ready to do some catching up! So many exciting things have been happening and a LOT of exciting photos I can't wait to share.
Let's start with visiting Sedona, Arizona!
The last time I was in Arizona I was stuffed in the family suburban at the age of 16 barely surviving as we hit week #3 of our ultimate family road trip! Let's just say It's hard to enjoy even the Grand Canyon when you're surrounded by your three puberty stricken brothers. Lucky for me, this time around I'm a little older and ready to truly take it all in.
Our first night we drove to Superstition Mountain and took in an amazing sunset. The key is to wait until the sun is completely gone behind the horizon and watch the rocks turn purplish/pink. Besides the 108 degree heat, I could have enjoyed that for hours!
The next day we met up with some good friends from college and started our road trip to Sedona, Arizona. The drive wasn't suppose to be more than like three hours, but with additional photo stops, (I turned Tiffany into my FreePeople Model) Mexican food and hiking breaks we didn't make it until sundown.
We also learned it was Monsoon season, (which seems weird since it's a desert) but each day we experienced a crazy thunderstorm and hard rain at some point. You can see the storm rolling in from SUPER far away and with this one, it kept getting closer and closer as we approached Sedona. I was in love with these hills though and I wanted to run to the top of one before the storm hit, so we crawled under a barbed wire fence and bolted to the top. Despite thinking I'd be the one to get struck by lighting with my metal camera to my face...it was worth it!
I literally only snapped like 20 shots before the storm hit and we were running down the hill back to the car!
It rained the rest of our first night in Sedona and you couldn't see any of the rocks, so I had decided to get up early to experience a sunrise in Sedona!
I recruited Tiffany to join me, (the boys slept) and we drove to a path that was empty towards the beginning of the park. I had no idea if we'd picked a good spot or not, but it was going to have to work because sunrise was on it's way!
We sat and took in the beautiful red rock view, also the 80 degree weather. After about 45 minutes of watching the sky brighten and the rocks shift to a lighter shade from the sun, we were given the perfect sun beams rising behind the Sedona Rocks.
Our trip to Sedona was short, but maybe next time it'll be us taking our kids there packed together in the back seat?! Probably not, but if that's the case they're going to think I'm the worst parent in the world as I make them get up at 5am to watch a sunrise in Sedona, Arizona!
-Tara
TARA SHUPE
Tara Shupe is a Humanitarian Photographer and Video Storyteller, constantly traveling with a camera attached to the hip and a notebook in her pocket. With over 10 years of experience in the field, Tara approaches each story intimately with a hope for inspiring others to think beyond their comfort zone.
