Explore Arizona, the Grand Canyon State

Hello friend!

I couldn’t get Sam to leave the Grand Canyon in Arizona. He loved hiking the Timeline Trail. Finally, after a few days of rafting and riding mules, we set off for the town of Sedona.

Known for its beautiful red rocks, Sedona is nestled between the walls of Oak Creek Canyon. A narrow winding road took us to the bottom of the deep gorge covered in tall pine trees. Sam was so excited to see another amazing canyon up close. No wonder! Dozens of Hollywood films have been filmed here. At one time, Sedona was known as “Arizona’s ‘Little Hollywood.'”

We went on a geology hike to the Red Rock State Park. We wanted to know what made these cool rocks red. A park ranger told us that about 300 million years ago, Sedona was under water. When the water receded, layers of sandstone with their numerous marine fossils became exposed to the winds and streams. With the exposure, minerals in these rock layers produced iron oxide. Iron oxide is the same thing as rust, which is red!

The ranger also told us that there are many marine fossils behind the reddish face of the rocks, such as clams, snails, fish and corals. Check out the Activities below to make a fossil!

After Sedona, we decided to head down south to see a park called the Organ Pipe National Monument. It is the only park in the United States where the organ pipe cactus grows wild. This cactus gets its name from an old-fashioned musical instrument called an organ.

The stems of the organ pipe cactus can grow up to 25 feet high and 6 inches in diameter. In these stems, the cactus stores water to survive the desert heat. I wanted to see the beautiful flowers on the cactus, but they mostly bloom at night and close up in the morning.

There are more amazing cacti in Arizona! Look through the Photos and Favorites below to see what else we loved about the Grand Canyon State!

Your friends,

Sofia and Sam

Sam’s Favorites