Jung Family Vacation in Arizona, Day 2: Montezuma Castle and Bell Rock

November 23, 2014

On our second day, we headed out to Montezuma Castle – a 20 room cliff dwelling, situated inside a limestone cliff.

Some of the structure, at the base.

Mom, pointing up to a few areas (you can see some birds’ nests and beehives if you look closely).

Another view of the cliffs.

We ran into a park ranger, who gave a great overview of some of the things found in the area. She also showed a device that was used to create holes.

Both Jasmine and Jahnu were pretty good at this thing, right off the bat.

Next stop: Bell Rock.

Originally, I thought we were just going to hike in a little bit – but we ended up trekking the wohle way in…

and up. Next thing I knew, Liz, Shane, Jasmine, and Jahnu had scrambled up a nearby slope.

It was all fairly climbable, as some parts were steep… but still allowed enough traction so it was more like an aggressive stair step.

My dad, edging up slightly to take a photo.

As I started to follow, Shane, Jasmine, and Jahnu just kept on going up and up.

Liz and I kind of stopped halfway, and hung out enjoying the view.

In a bit, my dad popped up: he had found a way up to us that involved a winding path (and didn’t require any climbing).

Liz, hanging out on the ledge.

Looking up, where a few other hikers continued to press on.

Some cacti.

Luckily for us, we were here near sunset.

Selfie!

Walking back to the car took longer than expected, as every few moments… the light and colors were just too stunning, and almost demanded we take photographs.

Is there any doubt that I married the right woman?

Looking back – hard to believe we actually climbed a good portion of this.

Driving away from Sedona, as the sun was setting.

Back at the house, Liz cooked up a great meal of black bean tacos.

We had a full day out, and a really great meal to close things out. Staying in a house for vacations is so much better than all of us being in separate hotel rooms.