One of the other things we did in Sedona was to take the locally famous Pink Jeep Tour through the rock land. It’s pretty impressive what these Jeeps can do—up and down 45 degree slopes with a full seven people loaded inside.

Our first hike of the trip was in the Oak Creek Canyon, on the West Fork Trail where it was shaded and cooler than the more exposed trails. It was fairly easy, and we even got some cooling rain. Feeling confident, I took my dad up the Cathedral Rock Trail, which is a pretty challenging scamper up some steep rock faces. We made it halfway up before deciding to break for dinner on the rocks, which is when this scary giant desert centipede appeared (Scolopendra heros). My dad felt a tingly sensation on his arm and as he turned his arm over he found it crawling on him. I was pretty spooked out, but amazingly my dad stayed calm and didn’t move lest he startle the centipede and get bitten. Eventually the critter made it’s way to the outside of my dad’s shorts where we slapped it off and then proceeded to stone it down the trail. Pretty hairy stuff.

I still had to act like a kid and do some cliff jumping at Slide Rock State Park.