Trip Report (part II): Post Meet-up Trip to Sedona
Escalante, Utah, and Sedona,
Arizona; October 1 through 11, 2013
This is the continuation of our southwest desert adventure for 2013. We started with our journey in Las Vegas, but managed to quickly escape and join the TA cats in Escalante for the epic meet-up. The last few days of our trip were spent exploring around one of our favorite areas, Sedona, Arizona. The trip report resumes with the drive from Escalante to Sedona.
Day 7- Monday, October 7: Part II, the road to Sedona.
So the Great Escalante Meet-up has come to a successful close and Lynn and I are heading to Sedona. Lynn and I were waving good-bye to our friends as we rolled down the driveway of the Escalante cabin at 9:20 AM. We have basically all day to get to Sedona so it will be a rather leisurely and scenic drive as we cruise west on route 12 then south on route 89 and 89A.
Our first stop is at Ruby’s outside of Bryce Canyon. The place is a deserted. No tour buses. Not many cars in the lot. I reckon that’s what happens when the Federal government shuts down and the National Parks are closed. Lynn just wanted some prickly pear licorice. Not much else to see here.
We retraced our route from last week through Red Canyon. Surprisingly not a lot of folks out along the beautiful stretch of road. Since we had stopped at the viewpoints and did a little hiking here last week we just enjoyed the views as a drive-by.
I really enjoyed the drive along route 89 and 89A as there is such a variety of landscapes and vistas all along the route. The cottonwoods along the creeks were taking on their golden hues of fall. The Vermilion Cliffs were simply spectacular. We had a very nice time during the drive. The huge, lighted “Grand Canyon Closed” sign was awkward and disheartening, particularly since some of our friends from the meet-up had reservations at the north rim.
Our only other stops were at Jacob Lake for lunch and a milkshake and Cameron Trading post for fuel and a drink. We skipped the cookies this trip. I was a bit concerned when we pulled in at Jacob Lake as there was not one by two tour buses in the lot. But there was no crowd inside and we were seated in the diner right away and had excellent service throughout lunch. The food was OK, better than average. The milkshake was great!
We deviated from the route the GPS wanted us to take so that we could cruise through Oak Creek Canyon on the way into Sedona. Surprisingly, uptown Sedona did not seem that crowded; I figured it would have been more packed due to refugees from the Grand Canyon and other closed NPS units.
We cruised into our rental property on the Page Spring road in Cornville at about 6:00 PM and quickly got checked-in and unpacked. The owner suggested that our timing was perfect for a walk along the short nature trail n the property. We missed seeing the beaver, but heard one slapping its tail in the water. Maybe we’ll get lucky another day.
For dinner we decided to try Harry’s Hideaway in Cornville based on the recommendation from RedRox and the rental house owner. Good choice. They had just recently expanded their hours to include Mondays and miscalculated on the crowd they would have, so they were a bit understaffed for the number of patrons. There were only two servers one of who was too young to take alcohol orders. But that was fine; we were in no rush. We were seated outside in front of the restaurant; sort of sidewalk café style I guess. Still it provided us an opportunity to enjoy the sunset. While the service was a little slow, the food was outstanding. I had the New Orleans shrimp and it was great. I would definitely have that dish again! When it was time for the bill, the senior server again came out an apologized for the slow service (considering they were understaffed I thought they did pretty well), and gave us a free dessert to go. That was very considerate I thought. Here's my review.
Back at the house, we took a little time to get organized. This is a nice place and served our needs well for, but it is a little quirky. The bedrooms are upstairs and you gain access via a steep “ship’s ladder.” Also, to access the bedrooms, you have to go through the bathroom (which is on the ground level). Just a little awkward. There are a couple of raised areas of in the floor, one at the front door and one in the kitchen that can be real toe killers…and I am speaking from experience on this. And there were these two large paintings of a young, shirtless man, one on either side of the living room area. In both paintings the man had barbed wire wrapped around him and one of the paintings was sort of a pseudo x-ray has you could see the man’s ribs, arm bones and his heart. I found them to be creepy. Otherwise, the place was great. Plenty of space, a well stocked kitchen, nice grounds and the owner was very helpful and friendly.
As it was overcast tonight, there was no star gazing, so we actually watched a little mindless TV before crashing. Pawn Stars…perfect.
Here are a few more photos from today's travels, including a few from this morning in Escalante.
Here are a few more photos from today's travels, including a few from this morning in Escalante.
Day 8 – Tuesday, October 8: State Parks
This is probably our forth visit to Sedona (not including a couple of days just for golf with the guys), albeit the last two were just one-night stands so we did to get to do a lot. What we have not done much of in the area is hiking, so that was sort of a goal of the trip. The other objection was to get a couple of the classic photos from the area like the view of Cathedral Rock from Red Rock Crossing and the view from Airport Mesa. So our plan for today was simply to check out the Sedona Visitor Center this morning to get some ideas for the best hiking options in the area, find a grocery store for supplies then regroup.
We started with a walked down to the creek and along the nature trail below the rental house. We did see the beaver trolling along the creek, but he would not pose for photos. There was also a Great Blue Heron, Eurasian Collared Doves and Kingfishers.
Next stop was breakfast. Lynn had noted a sign for the Wildflower Bakery and wanted to give that a whirl. Problem was that she could not remember exactly where it was, so we made a couple of passes through west Sedona before pulling out the smart phone. Baby honed in on the location. Turns out that the bakery is almost next door to the visitor center in uptown. Missed it by that much…
The Wildflower Bakery reminded by of Panera Bread. The food was very good and the portions were large. I had a ham and egg sandwich and Lynn tried the stuffed French toast which I got to sample. Both were very tasty. There is a balcony off the back of the shop with a very nice view, but since it was a little nippy this morning we opted to sit inside.
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Next stop was the Sedona visitor center. Great stop for getting information on thing to see and do in the area. The volunteer we spoke with was very friendly and extremely helpful. She hooked us up with some interesting hiking options but also some bad news in that a couple of places were closing tomorrow as a result of the Federal government shutdown. These were places that were under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service. There were a couple of places that were on our list, the most important was Red Rock Crossing as that was one of my photo op locations. An area in Oak Creek Canyon was also on the list and Lynn thought that was a place she wanted to investigate from our drive through yesterday afternoon.
Based on the information received at the visitor center we decided to head directly north into Oak Creek Canyon and check out the area that Lynn wanted to see…plus make a stop at the Native American jewelry store up that way. Hmmm, perhaps I’ve been suckered.
It was a beautiful drive up Oak Creek Canyon. Clear, blue skies and lots of light; the red rocks were glowing. We did not have our hiking gear, but we were not expecting any significant trail time this morning so we should be OK. As we cruised by Slide Rock State Park, Lynn stated that this was the place she wanted to stop. Alrighty then, not a place that will be closing, but we’re here now. So I found a place to turn around and we headed to the park, paid our $10 entry fee and rolled into the parking lot at 10:00 AM.
Not crowded at all when we arrived. The map we were given listed three short trails, probably a mile or so total, so we walked them all in about an hour. The first trail is just a paved trail through the old buildings, the Pendley Homestead Trail; a nice easy stroll. Some interesting historical displays and nice photo ops of the old farm equipment and buildings. The first structures we passed were three old tourist cabin built in 1933. Not much left of them now. The most interesting artifacts were the restored tractors in the fruit packing barn; bright red just like they were new.
At the end of the paved trail are steps leading down to the river. A completely different look from here. We walked the short distance to the swimming area. Even though it was a little cool there were still several kids frolicking in the water and sliding down the rocks (get it, Slide Rock State Park). We got some nice reflection shots of the red rocks and green pines in the large pool below the slide. We also spied a few lizards scurrying about in the rocks below the route 89A bridge.
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Back at the top of the steps, we continued around to the right and along the short Clifftop Nature Trail (just a 3/8-mile loop). There were a couple of nice overlooks that looked down on the river and up the valley but otherwise this is an unremarkable little trail. The loop brings you back to the Pendley Trail just below the orchard.
We snapped a few more photos of the old buildings and a lizard behind the fruit packing barn. He was doing push-ups on top of a corn husk. We hit the little gift shop on the way out for a cold drink then headed for the parking lot. Here's the review from our visit.
Our next stop was Garland’s Indian Jewelry. Lynn had learned that this shop had one of the best collections of Native American jewelry in the area. They did. She scored. ‘nuf said. We did check out the historical marker just across the road from the shop. The marker was dedicated to the first settler of the area, J.J. Thompson, who claimed property under the Homestead Act of 1862. In 1876, Thompson took squatters rights to a parcel of land across the Indian Garden’s Store. Thompson found the Indian's deserted gardens and a healthy spring, which encouraged him to build a log cabin. He called his home Indian Gardens Ranch, but later he shortened it to Indian Gardens.
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We made one other photo stop at the Midgley Bridge to get a photo of Steamboat Rock then headed back into town to find a grocery store then back to base to reload. On the drive through west Sedona Lynn spotted the Barking Frog with its slogan “An American Restaurant with a Southwest Bark.” That sounds interesting; we may have to check it out for dinner one evening.
After a brief stop at the house to unload our grub and have some cheese and crackers down by the creek, we grabbed our gear and headed out to explore the area a bit more. We drove the Red Rock Loop, starting at the north end, to Red Rock State Park (review). We pulled in about 2:00 and paid the $10 entry fee for the day. The fellow at the entrance gate suggested that we head up to the visitor center to get hiking options, so that’s what we did.
The visitor center is sort of built into the side of the hillside, so it is below the level of the parking lot. So the roof of the visitor center provides a nice viewing platform. The vista includes Cathedral Rock and it is an amazing sight. The visitor center is pretty tiny with just a few displays mostly on the flora and fauna in the park. One of the Rangers recommended a hike heading south from the visitor center along the Bunkhouse Trail, around the Javelina Trail to the Apache Fire House Trial and back to the visitor center. She indicated that there were excellent views all along this route, and she was right. Very nice hike with some nice views of the red rocks all along the trail and plenty of wildflowers (a continuing theme from our time around Escalante) but no critters to speak of other than one Pinyon Jay. But it was still a nice hike. Maybe three miles total (since my phone melted down back in Escalante, I was unable to track our hikes).
The House of Apache Fire was sort of interesting. It was built for Jack Frye and his wife Helen in the late 1940s. Frye was the President of TWA and an Arizona aviation pioneer. The house was never finished as the Frye’s divorced during construction. Helen lived in the house after the divorce. It is a pretty cool looking place.
We left the park about 4:00 and continued on the lower portion of the Red Rock Loop. We are now looking for Crescent Moon Recreation Area (review) and Red Rock Crossing. At least the GPS on the phone is still functional as Baby took us right to the entrance. Nine bucks for entry to this park, but I was thinking the views would be worth it. Yes and no.
Well the park closes at dusk, and it was getting dusky, so we loaded up and headed off in the search for food. We’re not that far from the Barking Frog (review) so back to west Sedona. We arrived about 6:00 and were immediately seated. Looks like this is a fairly large place with plenty of tables. Lynn and I both liked the place. The service was great, the food was excellent, Lynn enjoyed her margarita and there was a good beer selection for me.
We were home about 7:00. It was too dark to check for critters along the nature trail, so we just called it a night. Here are the best photos from the parks we visited today.
Day 9 – Wednesday, October 9: A day in Jerome.
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Our initial views of Cathedral Rock were across the open field adjacent to the parking area. The old structures makes a nice foreground for the magnificent red rocks. We continued on down to Oak Creek, and while the views were lovely, I never did find the exact shot, the right angle that I was imagining. Perhaps we needed to be on the other side of the creek, or at least out in the creek to get the angle and maybe the reflection of the rocks in the water. I was able to pull photos of Red Rock Crossing up on the phone, so we were in the right vicinity at least. Oh well, we’ll take what we can get this afternoon and maybe try getting the view from the other side (down the Verde School Road) later this week.
We walked the trail along the creek a ways and stumbled on an area with hundreds of cairns scattered all about the place. Ah, this is Buddha Beach. This is a vortex site and folks will come here to meditate…and I guess build cairns and other rock designs (there was a large peace sign made of river rocks in addition to all the cairns). Interesting place. We did not add to the cairn collection.
On the return walk we tried a couple over places along the creek for photos, but still did not have the angle that I was thinking we should get. I did see one photographer set up in the middle of the creek, about a third of the way out from the far bank. Yeah, that’s probably the place to be. Well, if I don’t get that shot this trip, then that is just another reason to return to the red rock country (like I need another reason to return).
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Sort of a lazy morning even though we were up by 6:15. I took a quick walk to the creek but the only thing stirring was a Great Blue Heron. Had had breakfast at the house and got ready for the day. Our plan was to go explore the old mining, now art community of Jerome. We were not in any rush as we figured the galleries would not open until after 10:00.
We cruised out of Cornville and picked up route 89A heading east. Somehow we ended up on Historic Route 89A, which was a little longer and took a little more time, but it was sort of cool with an old route 66 kind of vibe. We went through the touristy, old-time areas of Cottonwood and Clarkdale. No time to stop this trip, but these would certainly be worth checking out next trip.
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So far the road has been fairly tame; we’re just meandering through the desert landscape. But as we got close to Jerome, the character of the road changed dramatically. We are now heading up the mountain along a very winding road with a couple of severe switchbacks leading up to the town.
Jerome was a established as a mining town to support the nearby copper mines in 1876 and was incorporated in 1899. The mines were some of the richest ever found and the town of Jerome was a happening place until the Great Depression. At one point it was the fourth largest city in the Arizona territory with 15,000 inhabitants. Today, there are less than 500 residents and the town is primarily a tourist town and art community.
The town had a familiar feel to it; I reckon it was the mining flavor and the fact that it is built on the side of a mountain. I guess it had a bit of a similarity to the coal and railroad towns of southern West Virginia. It is a very quaint little berg, with building built on top of each other. We pulled into the public parking about 10:25; plenty of room when we arrived…not so much when we finally left for the day.
The weather was cool and overcast. It was quite breezy as well by the time we arrived in Jerome. Certainly jacket weather. But it was dry, so no issues walking around the little town and enjoying the sites. The view out over the desert from the parking lot was great; not spectacular mind you, but still a nice vista.
We wove our way along the main streets, sort of working our way uphill and checking out the variety of shops as we went. Jerome has a completely different feel from Sedona; not as touristy as there were really no tee-shirt shops or other junk stores in Jerome. But I was surprised about the ratio of jewelry stores compared to art stores (painting, sculpture, pottery, photography), not that most of the jewelry is not artwork in itself. There were also a few historical sites and museums scattered about and some of the stores had information about the history of their building. Overall it was quite a fun time exploring the little town.
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There were a couple of the stores in which I could not go due to the heavy perfume (why would you do that in a jewelry store?). I took advantage of those opportunities to take a few photos of the town and to scope out options for lunch. I found a southwest place that looked like a winner; good looking selection on the menu and an interesting beer list. All I have to do is talk Lynn into it.
I reckon it took us about 2 hours to walk through the shops (we obviously did not go into every shop, but we did visit many of them). We saw a lot of interesting works of art and some jewelry that intrigued Lynn, but somehow we managed to avoid any damage to the credit card. Will miracles never cease?
Time for lunch. It was a pretty easy sell to get Lynn to try the southwest joint that we passed earlier. I was digging it as it had sort of an interesting look, particularly now that the Halloween season is approaching, a time that is a big deal in a ghost town environment. Vaqueros Grill and Cantina is the name of the place and it is my kind of place. The service was stellar and our server was friendly and very helpful regarding menu questions. The interior is an eclectic mix of old time west, route 66 and Halloween with a pinch of Mexico.
Now for the food and drink. Lynn had a prickly pear margarita which she thoroughly enjoyed. I had a good time looking through the beer list and picked the Day of the Dead “Hop on or Die” American IPA. Very good beer and a very interesting label…so good that I had two. For lunch, I started with an order of the jalapeno poppers which were very good; not too hot that Lynn could not eat them, but certainly a nice kick. We also had the complimentary chips and salsa. Now this is a very good salsa; excellent flavor and nice and thick. I think it probably had a black bean base (total guess on my part; I’m not a cook nor a foodie, but that just seems to fit). For the meal, Lynn had the quesadilla and I had the burrito with mahi mahi. This is a BIG food. And even better it was an excellent dish. The Diablo sauce that covers the burrito had an outstanding kick. This was the best meal of the trip. Here's my review.
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The owner stopped by to ask how we enjoyed the meal and I gave her a glowing review. We spoke again as we were leaving. Turns out that she used to be a Ranger at the Grand Canyon, but her and her husband just recently opened the restaurant. I wish them the best as I think they have a good thing going with Vaqueros. I will certainly return the next time I’m in the area.
After lunch we headed to the car. In the parking lot, we spotted some birds flitting around in the shrubs. While I could not get a good photo, I was able to identify the little guy as a Lesser Goldfinch. We next headed through town and out a dirt road past an old mine to the ghost town. Well, that’s what it is called anyway. It is really more of a junkyard. As far as attractions with and admission price go, this one is pretty weak.
It is advertised as a ghost town, but it is really a collection of derelict buildings and a collection of old trucks and mining equipment in various states of disrepair. Granted there are several vehicles that have been fully restored and are in gorgeous condition, but for everyone one of those, there are probably ten that are just heaps of rusted iron. For someone who is really into old trucks and equipment, this would be a great draw. The old vehicles also provide some interesting photographic opportunities as well, so it was not a total loss. But the place was dirty; there were thick layers of rodent droppings covering several exposed surfaces. I would also have to say that this was a pretty unsafe place. Lots of rusty edges and moving parts that kids could run right into. Hey, I’m a National Parks guy, and I would rather deal with the risk of an exposed cliff rather than put up fences around the Grand Canyon, but this place is really over the top. I did not see any warning signs (they might have been there, camouflaged by the junk) or barricades around any of the operating equipment. To be fair, I did see a warning sign about snakes and there was a fence around the old gold mine.
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All that said, Lynn did enjoy feeding the critters, a donkey, a couple goats and some chickens, and I got some interesting shots of the old wrecks, so I guess it was worth the $5 per person, but it is not a place to which I would return. Here's the review for the Gold King Mine Museum and ghost Town.
After the junkyard, I mean, ghost town, we started back down the mountain and out of town, but we made a couple more stops in Jerome. First we visited the Jerome State Historical Park (review). The park is centered around the Douglas mansion which was built in 1916 by James Douglas on the hill just above his Little Daisy Mine. The exhibits in the museum tell the story of the mining operations, the town of Jerome and the folks who built the industry and the town. There were a variety of interesting artifacts inside and outside the mansion. I found the three-dimensional model of the mines under the town of Jerome to be fascinating. The ore exhibit under the UV light was pretty cool as well; the various ores emit different colors which made for a dazzling display. The old panoramic photos of the town provided a bit of a comparison over time of the growth and destruction of the town (there are several significant fires that destroyed large portions of Jerome over the years plus the town was also sliding down the mountain due to subsidence caused by the mines). Overall it was time well spent.
Our last stop was at the art co-op in the lower part of town in what looks to be an old school. The part that we visited was run by an older couple who filled the halls and rooms with a variety of art projects. They were a precious couple, but a little creepy. Many of the paintings were self-portraits done my the gentleman; one of the paintings had four images of him. He gave us a demonstration of the etching process he uses. They were nice folks though; creepy, yes, but nice.
Our original plan was to stop at Harry’s Hideaway for dinner, but after the huge lunch neither of us was hungry. So we just got some carry out dessert and decided to stay in and have a light supper (cheese and crackers, beer and dessert). We just watched American Pickers and Murder She Wrote. We both fell asleep so we never did figure out who done it. Oh, well. Here's a link to more photos from our day in Jerome.
Day 10 – Thursday, October 10: Roaming around Sedona.
We’re getting near the end as this is the last full day of the trip. Tomorrow we travel back to Ohio. It has been a great excursion, but I think we are both ready to head home. I guess that’s a good thing.
I was awake at 6:00 but we just laid around a while as it was pouring outside. It deluged last night so the trails are probably muddy and slick today. Well, if it keeps raining we won’t be hiking anyway. This is a big change in the forecast from just last week; the extended forecast indicated sunny and 70 all week. I reckon they can’t always be right (sort of like Cleveland, where the weather folks are never right!). Today looks like overcast this morning with rain chances decreasing into the afternoon but highs only around 60. Oh well, still plenty to see and do, even if we don’t get in any hiking. Perhaps the afternoon will provide some good photo ops. We’ll see.
We were on the road a little before 9:30 on the way too Sedona. It was still spitting rain but the clouds looked to be breaking up a bit. It just has the feel of a fickle weather day. We made our first stop the overlook on Airport Mesa as there were a few rays of sun illuminating the red rocks and the low hanging clouds were draping other parts of the rocks. That provided sort of an interesting vista. I’ve always heard that this was the place to go for sunset, but sunrise was not too bad. Plus it was not crowded at all. There was one photographer with a tripod in place and about six tourists including Lynn and me, so not crowded at all. The view was very nice. We got a few shots and then headed into town. If the sun comes out perhaps we’ll return for some sunset photos.
I was awake at 6:00 but we just laid around a while as it was pouring outside. It deluged last night so the trails are probably muddy and slick today. Well, if it keeps raining we won’t be hiking anyway. This is a big change in the forecast from just last week; the extended forecast indicated sunny and 70 all week. I reckon they can’t always be right (sort of like Cleveland, where the weather folks are never right!). Today looks like overcast this morning with rain chances decreasing into the afternoon but highs only around 60. Oh well, still plenty to see and do, even if we don’t get in any hiking. Perhaps the afternoon will provide some good photo ops. We’ll see.
We were on the road a little before 9:30 on the way too Sedona. It was still spitting rain but the clouds looked to be breaking up a bit. It just has the feel of a fickle weather day. We made our first stop the overlook on Airport Mesa as there were a few rays of sun illuminating the red rocks and the low hanging clouds were draping other parts of the rocks. That provided sort of an interesting vista. I’ve always heard that this was the place to go for sunset, but sunrise was not too bad. Plus it was not crowded at all. There was one photographer with a tripod in place and about six tourists including Lynn and me, so not crowded at all. The view was very nice. We got a few shots and then headed into town. If the sun comes out perhaps we’ll return for some sunset photos.
Lynn wanted to do some shopping, and had the Tlaquepaque in mind. Why not? The weather was still not cooperating so we might as well check out some art stores. We arrived there right at 10:00 when the shops were just starting to open. Quite a variety of wares in these stores: jewelry, painting, glass, sculpture…an eclectic mix. Most of the shops had a southwest or at least an outdoor theme which made them of much greater interest. We found a nice painted glass light fixture that could work well in the dining room remodel that we have in the plans. And Lynn scored some more loot with a nice pair of earrings.
We looked through the shops that were of interest to us; that took us to about 11:30, so time for lunch. There are a couple of places at Tlaquepaque that we checked out and we decided on the Oak Creek Brewery. It was a little late in opening as they were celebrating a birthday for one of the staff. No worries. It was now pouring so good timing for lunch.
We looked through the shops that were of interest to us; that took us to about 11:30, so time for lunch. There are a couple of places at Tlaquepaque that we checked out and we decided on the Oak Creek Brewery. It was a little late in opening as they were celebrating a birthday for one of the staff. No worries. It was now pouring so good timing for lunch.
We enjoyed Oak Creek Brewery (review). The service was outstanding and the food was very good. The menu was full of great looking options. I had a pizza. I can’t believe I ate the whole thing. The pale ale was not as hoppy as I hoped, but it was still OK.
After lunch we drove south to the Village of Oak Creek. The drive is gorgeous as it is lined with the amazing red rocks, particularly along the east side of the road. Courthouse Rock and Bell Rock are well known natural landmarks along this stretch. We drove down the Verde School Road to reconnoiter the access to Cathedral Rock and Red Rock Crossing. It was too cloudy (just a plain, grey sky; not even interesting clouds) for good shots but least we located the place. Already in the trip plan for the next visit. |
It was still sprinkling and overcast so we chucked hiking for the day and checked out a couple shops in the Village of Oak Creek then went to uptown Sedona for a look around. It was really chilly and breezy. The hot chocolate that we got at the Wildflower Bakery was a welcome warm-up.
I enjoyed the historical markers scattered the
area. There were notes about the the
founding of Sedona and the movies that were filmed in the area (westerns, of
course, but also some sci-fi flicks). One of the fascinating tidbits was how
the town got its name. As the story goes, after Theodore Carl Schnebly and his
wife, Sedona, moved to Sedona from Gorin, Missouri, the few families living
here convinced T.C. to establish a post office in his large home, which already
had become the community's hotel. Various interpretations of this story suggest
that he asked the government to name the post office Schnebly Station or Red
Rock Crossing. Subsequently, he was told the names were too long, and following
a suggestion by his brother, Dorsey Ellsworth Schnebly, he submitted his wife's
name, Sedona. Sedona’s mother stated that
she made up the name Sedona as she thought it just sounded pretty. So the name is neither Native American nor
Hispanic in origin.
The sun tried to come out a couple of times but just could not overcome the clouds so we skipped the return trip to Airport Mesa for late afternoon views. We were home about 5:30, just in time for a stroll along the nature trail as the rain had stopped. No beaver, but we did see the Great Blue Heron and a Black Phoebe. The latter was catching bugs coming off the surface of the creek. Kind of fun watching it hovering above the surface of the water. We stayed in this evening had finished up the food in the kitchen and drank the last couple of Hop Notches. Just a nice quiet final evening in Cornville. Not a lot of photos from today, but here's the link to the highlights.
Day 11 – Friday, October 11: The Journey Home.
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Up early to finish packing and get on the road for our drive to Phoenix and flight home. Breakfast, packing and cleaning; ready to go at 6:30. We called Chris for check-out. No issues so we got our refund. On the road at 6:50. An uneventful drive. It took two hours to get to the rental car return. The only minor slow down was going through airport security; for whatever reason the PHX TSA always seems a little frazzled and disorganized…not to mention impolite. We were at the gate by 9:40 by the time that Lynn got her coffee.
The plane was a little late getting into Phoenix, but that was the only delay. Standard flight seated in steerage. I swapped seats with a young lady who seemed stressed to be separated from her husband. I don’t think he cared. She asked everyone in our row. So I gave up an aisle seat across from Lynn and ended up in the middle seat next to Lynn. Lynn said that I was too nice; I just wanted to get the flight going. After rearranging the seating, it was an easy flight to Hopkins where we grabbed our bags collected the car and headed for Medina. Trip over.
The plane was a little late getting into Phoenix, but that was the only delay. Standard flight seated in steerage. I swapped seats with a young lady who seemed stressed to be separated from her husband. I don’t think he cared. She asked everyone in our row. So I gave up an aisle seat across from Lynn and ended up in the middle seat next to Lynn. Lynn said that I was too nice; I just wanted to get the flight going. After rearranging the seating, it was an easy flight to Hopkins where we grabbed our bags collected the car and headed for Medina. Trip over.
Reflections
Well that was fun. The gang is already working on ideas for the 2014 meet-up and several folks have already posted trip reports from the Epic Escalante Meet-up. I believe a good time was had by all. We were fortunate that the Federal Government shutdown did not impact any of the meet-up activities (although it did impinge on some of the gang’s plans following our time in Escalante). The highlight for me, other than getting to see all these crazy cats again, was the hike to the Cosmic Ashtray. That is just a fascinating rock formation and we were hiking through amazing scenery then entire trip.
I reckon we’ll have to return to Sedona yet again as we still did not get to do any serious hiking. But that’s OK as we are always looking for an excuse to visit Sedona. Plus I’ll be able to get another burrito at Vaqueros Grill in Jerome.
Well that was fun. The gang is already working on ideas for the 2014 meet-up and several folks have already posted trip reports from the Epic Escalante Meet-up. I believe a good time was had by all. We were fortunate that the Federal Government shutdown did not impact any of the meet-up activities (although it did impinge on some of the gang’s plans following our time in Escalante). The highlight for me, other than getting to see all these crazy cats again, was the hike to the Cosmic Ashtray. That is just a fascinating rock formation and we were hiking through amazing scenery then entire trip.
I reckon we’ll have to return to Sedona yet again as we still did not get to do any serious hiking. But that’s OK as we are always looking for an excuse to visit Sedona. Plus I’ll be able to get another burrito at Vaqueros Grill in Jerome.
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