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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Oak Creek Canyon

Seeing as how we were already in Sedona for my baby sister's wedding, we took a little side trip to one of Papa's and my favorite places the next morning.  A place that we started visiting in high school.  When we were in college we went there as often as we could, a couple times a week in the summer sometimes.  Oak Creek Canyon, in northern Arizona, is just north of Sedona, and is up to 2,000 feet deep in some places.  The drive there is gorgeous, kinda like driving in a mini-Grand Canyon.  Earlier this year, in the early spring we visited for a little mini-hike, and there was still a bit of snow on the ground.  This time of year, it's all green and the 2-lane highway is lined with wild berry bushes.  Picture the windows down, the sunroof open, The Eagles blaring at top volume.  

You know that Kid Rock song, All Summer Long?

It was 1989, my thoughts were short my hair was long
Caught somewhere between a boy and man
She was seventeen and she was far from in-between
...It's the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn't have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair
We'd blister in the sun
We couldn't wait for night to come
To hit that sand and play some rock and roll

In 1989 Papa and I were in college about 50 miles north of this little canyon.  We visited here, especially in the summer so so often, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone.  We'd hike down the canyon, crank our boombox, blister in the sun, wade in the cool water, and have to climb back out as the sun disappeared.  The amazing thing is that my parents also visited the sand bars of Oak Creek Canyon, probably this very same place, when they too were in college, and surely did the exact same things we did.  This is the first time we had taken the kiddos there.  It was just as I remembered it.  I however, was much different.  Older, heavier, wrinklier, wiser.  The things that matter in the core of me are still the same... I hope.
Yea... I'm pretty sure they're the same!

Patch brought me one of these first thing!
Jude was scared to death of these! And there were hundreds of them!  Each is only about 1" long.

There's something a bit magical about Oak Creek Canyon.
Some things never change!
Some things do.
The things that really matter, haven't.


  1. Why are you making me cry?? I am very behind on your posts!

    Also, you are pretty darn hip to know a KidRock song. I am so unhip.

  2. Staci-My teens have officially told me that it is "un-hip" to use the word "hip." That makes 2 of us. Oh well.


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