Sedona: Little Horse Trail

This was probably my favorite Sedona hike to date.

I wanted to find a hike that wasn't too challenging, but that would give us some great views.

Little Horse trail definitely didn't disappoint.

It was a four mile out and back trail that would take us to the Church of the Holy Cross, a beautiful building built into the rocks.

Evan was in a great mood, and happy to be riding along with his daddy. 

In less than a mile, we got our first view of the church, which I was happy to see wasn't too far up the rock face. For some reason my recollection was that the church was up pretty high, so I was glad that there wouldn't be too much elevation gain in our future.

Predictably, the little boy fell asleep about halfway through the outbound journey. 

We really enjoyed the views - the rock formations were just spectacular.

Sometimes hiking in Sedona makes you feel like you're on another planet.

Soon the trail brought us right up against the rocks, and the church suddenly felt a lot closer.

Once we arrived at the church, we "hiked" up the church pathway to the building itself.

And after a little over an hour, we were there!

The church was much small than I'd always imagined, but it was pretty special to finally see the inside. And the views couldn't be beat.

We stopped for a quick snack break,

After which we had a much happier little boy :)

We took a few last moments to soak in the amazing view.

And, Ed humored me asking someone to take a family picture of all of us.

And then it was time to head back down again. Evan slept the whole way back, and Ed and I got to enjoy a wonderful hike, talking just like we used to, but with the added happiness of having our sweet little boy along for the ride.

Perfect end to a perfect birthday celebration. Happy 34th, honey!