The End - Thursday & Friday

Look! Javelinas!

We were glad we didn’t hit the javelinas, because after Dave and Lynn did their watching the sunrise ritual (no crystals needed) we saw several of them come to eat the carrots our downstairs-and-to-the-left neighbors had put out. 

Chicken Point

This was our last day in Sedona, and it was clearly time to visit Chicken Point. We drove back up to the Mystic trail trailhead, sticks in hand, and set off. (I debated about wearing shorts but went for jeans, which was an error.) You’ll remember that the chicken point hike is done by using portions of several trails, always turning right at the junctions. It was cloudy when we started out, but cleared up as we hiked along. The hike is about 4 miles long, and goes completely around the twin buttes that the Chapel is perched on. Every few minutes there’s a new and stunning view, or a fantastic rock formation, or a tricky part of the trail to navigate. Parts of the hike are fairly difficult, over narrow or steep trails, and we saw many mountain bikers. We also saw some of the famous “Pink Jeeps” which take people on off-road tours. It was truly a capstone hike for our visit and we were glad that people had told us about it. The hike took about 3 hours for us to finish, with lots of stops for photos. The trail ends at the Chapel, and it was a zoo – full parking lot, people lined up waiting to get in. We were glad we visited when we did.

Everywhere we looked was a view

We’d had several ideas about what to do for lunch, but by the time we got back to the car we were very hungry. So we went back to Javelina (the restaurant) and had another very tasty lunch – and more good beer. I had the cheese crispy, which must be an Arizona thing. It’s a deep fried flour tortilla covered with melted cheese. I had one many, many years ago (sometime in the mid-1980s) when we stayed with Dave’s Aunt & Uncle in Tucson, and I have been thinking about it ever since. It did not disappoint.

We decided to take the afternoon and evening off. We worked on the puzzle and relaxed and showered, and Lynn showed me a new way to cast on. We also got takeout from Elote. The food was really good (I especially enjoyed the goat cheese balls and lamb adobo). Any rumors that I timed things so that Dave and Lynn would pick up the food so that I could finish the puzzle by myself are false. It’s just that after they left I realized that we needed the table to eat on. Wow, did we eat and hike and go go go this vacation! It was nice to end with a relaxed evening at home.

Pink Jeeps

Saturday

Up and out after the 7:15 sunrise ritual. We especially enjoyed the 7 (!!!) traffic circles on Route 260. Our trip home couldn’t have been quicker or smoother. It is good to be back in the land of green plants (it was raining when we landed) but we’re Sedona fans for life.

Workout Wednesday

There were ballons outside our window! 

Oh my goodness, are you exhausted yet? We weren’t… quite.

Can you see where we went?

We had a two-car hike planned, and dropped Lynn’s car off at the Little Horse trailhead. We had planned to be out on the trail by 8:30-ish, but were foiled when we arrived at the other end and discovered that the parking lot at the Chapel of the Holy Cross doesn’t open until 9. We ended up parking a little way away at the trailhead for the Mystic Trail, where we met two women who were setting out to do the hike to Chicken Point, which they said was the best hike in Sedona. “Turn right at every junction!” they told us as they headed out. We did a short out and back on the beginning of the trail, waiting for the chapel parking to open. We got a good parking space even if it did say that it was only for the chapel and all others would be towed.

We walked up to the Chapel which was completely uncrowded.  I wasn’t a fan of it. From the patio outside you can see that the very large house which we saw from the trail we were on earlier not only has 4 enormous garages but also a telescope dome! We wondered if they needed a tour guide for the stars. Then we hiked down to the porta-potties and then back up to the car and off onto the trail (chapel trail to little horse), which was lovely, going through different plant zones and different views. At one point we ran into the two women we’d seen at the other trailhead. It’s worth noting that they did the whole chicken point walk in under two hours. The two things that made us nervous – that we’d parked Lynn’s car in the wrong place, and that our car would be towed – didn’t happen, so we call this good. We drove back to the resort and got cleaned up for lunch.

We're having fun, even if my hat is too big.

Since we hadn’t had any Mexican food for over 12 hours it was time to head to the large side of Tlaquepque and have lunch at El Rincon, another Mexican restaurant notable for excellent cheese enchiladas and strong margaritas. We’d called ahead and they told us they weren’t busy, but of course by the time we got there they were. We gave them Lynn’s phone number and headed out to do some looking in shops and also to listen to the amazing German man playing native American flutes. We barely got any shopping or listening done before Lynn got the text that our table was ready, and it turned out to be an outdoor table under a colorful umbrella. The weather had been getting steadily warmer, and it was very comfortable sitting outside, sipping margaritas (or water in my case) and eating yummy food.

After lunch we did a little more shopping and listening. I found long black coat with orange tiger stripes and a pair of black flowing pants to wear to dinner, and we all spent some time chatting with the flute player. Then it’s back to the rooms. (Sedona Summit, if you’re wondering).

Dave and I were feeling the need for some cardio, so he went off for a power hike on the trails that leave from Cultural Park just down the street, and I did a Barre 3 workout and some Pilates. Lynn took a short nap and watched me work out. Then it was time to get cleaned up for dinner.

That sky... those rocks..

We’d been looking forward to this dinner, since it was at an Italian restaurant that had won an award for their wine list. Dave was hoping to supplement his reading with some glasses of unusual Italian wines, and Lynn and I were looking forward to helping him. It turned out that the restaurant (Dahl and Di Luca) was serving food from my childhood, with a limited and not very interesting wine by the glass list, and a server who had no interest in talking wine. While the food and wine weren’t we were hoping for (Pazzo, anyone?) it was still a tasty and enjoyable dinner (I had meatballs).  On the drive home Dave continued our current streak of having animals jump out of us - we almost hit some javelinas (you might know them as peccaries).

It was an early dinner, so we had time afterwards to work on the National Parks puzzle we bought at Walnut Canyon, which turned out to be harder than we expected. We persevered.

Train Tuesday

Dave and I started the morning with a nice 2 mile roundtrip to the Birthing Cave (woo!) while Lynn stayed at the palace and got some work prepared. The trail leaves from the Long Canyon trailhead, then takes off on an unmarked but easily found and well-maintained trail after about .6 miles. We timed the hike perfectly – we didn’t see anybody on the trail and had the cave to ourselves for a good amount of time. It’s not actually a cave, it’s more of a hollowed-out place in the rock that you can scramble up to. When 2 people showed up we decided to head back and enjoyed sharing our wisdom about the trail with the many people we met who all wanted to be reassured that they had, in fact, taken the correct turnoff.

Then it was time for Train Day! We had bought some cheese and salami and crackers and little clementines, so we packed them up and headed out to the hillside town of Jerome, which was a mining town, then a ghost town, and is now a tourist destination, and a place we’d like to spend more time in. We drove up into the mountains a little way past Jerome and looked at the views, and then headed down to Clarkdale to check in for the train, which they want you to do an hour before the train leaves. (Lynn said we could get there later and she was right, but I don’t know if Dave and I could ever do that). 

We had a little picnic lunch, and soon it was time to board the train. You can google why there is a 36 or so mile train track running from Clarkdale to Perkinsville, but you can’t google the feeling you get looking at the massive slag heaps produced by the copper mines. You might also not know that the Monkees song “Last train to Clarksville” actually was written about the train to Clarksdale.

The ride is terrific through Verde Canyon, and they had little snack boxes in case you start to feel a bit peckish on the 4 hour journey. They also have ice cream sandwiches for sale when you get to the turnaround point at Perkinsville, which elevated the entire experience in my opinion. Also in Perkinsville they decouple the two diesel engines and drive them around to the other end of the train, so now that’s the front and you’re ready to head back. The train has both indoor cars, with couches and chairs (assigned), and oudoor cars (1 shared between 2 indoor cars). The indoor cars have a bartender/guide, and the outdoor cars have a guide, and they tell stories and explain the history and point out the important rock formations like the dorito chip and the Budweiser frogs.

We had a late dinner planned at Saltrock Kitchen (8:15, which is waaaay too late), but I was able to move it to 7:00, which turned out to be just the right time. We shared 3 appetizers, and 3 different kinds of street tacos (3 of each), and 3 scoops of ice cream – it was our triple lucky day. The food was very good and it’s one of the places to revisit. 

Want to hear the train rolling along?

Motorway Monday

 

Now you understand the geology

Lynn and I went to the yarn shop while Dave studied Italian wines.  We had lunch at the Mesa Grill restaurant up by the Sedona Airport. We got a little lost on the way to the restaurant, but found a convenient carwash to turn around in. It’s a nice view but the food was mediocre – even my eggplant “meat”balls. 

See the ruins? Also, how about that blue sky?

This was our big driving day – we went up to Flagstaff. On the way we stopped at a scenic view area, where they had a very good poster explaining the geology of the area. First real stop was Walnut Canyon, which has ruins of the Ancestral Pueblo People. Before we set out, I bought an inexpensive collapsible walking stick at the excellent gift store. 

At Walnut Canyon you walk around a central section that sticks out into the canyon – it’s both a good walk and an interesting archeological site, with good signage. The trail itself is very easy, but there are a lot of stairs to go down to it – and it feels like there are even more to go up! When we got back to the gift store Dave and Lynn got sticks too. There’s a short walk on the rim of the canyon which we also did, giving D&L a chance to try out their sticks. At Walnut Canyon we also discovered that the things Dave and I call pancake cactuses and Lynn calls prickly pears and Safeway calls nopales are all the same thing.

I love learning

We continued on into and out of Flagstaff to visit the Lowell observatory, which you may not know (I didn’t!) is where Pluto was discovered. Dave kept his sentiments about Pluto to himself while we were there, but I found it exhilarating to be among Pluto partisans. They even had a fundraising box where you could express your opinion about Pluto by putting money in the appropriate box. We strolled around the grounds a bit, and then it was time for dinner. We ate at a Lumberyard Brewing Co., where the beer and the food were both well above average. In fact the veggies – brussels sprouts and roasted veggies – need to be called out specifically as extra-yummy. 

Percival Lowell used this telescope to
to study the canals on Mars.

Once we were done with dinner it was getting dark, so we went back to the Observatory where they are open to the public almost every night. Sadly, the 24” Clark refractor wasn’t being used (the dome had frozen shut!), which didn't keep me from enjoying the car tires they use to rotate the dome. The impressive thing is they have 6 big amatuer telescopes permanently set up in a common viewing area. There was a good crowd there too, and lots of astronomy to be had. We all enjoyed ourselves a lot.

The drive between Sedona and Flagstaff is very, very, twisty and Lynn did an excellent job of getting us there and back.

Settling in Sunday

We love the desert!

In front of some art at Tlaquepaque                           

We got up and Dave decided he would unpack even though there was still a remote chance we might get a new room. Lynn decided that also. We think that not stressing over it positively affected our karma for the rest of the week. I figured that was enough unpacking to guarantee us the new room, so I stayed packed. We went over to the lobby but Nahal was still working on things. They have a nice room with yoga mats and blocks, so Lynn took us through a yoga class. She has become a very good teacher and even though it wasn’t a prepared class she had us flowing nicely from move to move.

After Yoga we headed for lunch at Creekside American Bistro, a brunchy-kind of place, which was fine. When we got there they told us there would be a half hour wait, so we walked down to the small side of the Tlaquepaque shopping area and found a wonderful kitchen store, where I got a small travel knife and found some wonderful dishes (Casafina Positano).  Dave had some good local beer (also good local beer yesterday at Javalina). 

Oak Creek

Then we headed out for another walk, this time down by Oak Creek at the Crescent Moon Ranch. It was very nice to be walking down by the water, and we climbed up a bit to a place that had good views. The trail wasn’t well marked, but also didn’t really need to be. We did get on the wrong side of a small stream and had to cross over on some sticks. I went in the water since my new Oboz boots are supposed to be waterproof, and they seemed to handle the small water very well (a note on the Oboz, I got them just before the trip and had never worn them hiking. They turned out to be very good.)

Our new view, at sunset.

While we were hiking we got a text that Nahal had managed to get us two adjoining rooms, so we headed back to the resort to pack up (Dave and Lynn) and move. Our new digs were fantastic, a studio for Lynn and a 1-bedroom for me and Dave with a king sized bed. The 1 bedroom had a big living room and a gorgeous view from the deck. 

Next up was a trip to Constant Evolution Escape Rooms in Cottonwood. Dave and Lynn had never done a real escape room – Dave had only done the boxes and Lynn had never done either. We did a room about a double-cross with an Indiana Jones vibe, and although we didn’t manage to escape we all had a really good time. They kept feeding us hints which at first was annoying but then as time ticked away was much appreciated. We’ll be back, and this time the idol is ours!  (We got a little lost on the way to Cottonwood, but found a convenient carwash to turn around in.)

We didn't escape, but we sure had fun trying!

We stopped at Safeway on the way home and picked up spaghetti and meatballs and salad for dinner, then relaxed at tour new digs for the evening. The setup is just perfect.

Flying & Staying Friday and Saturday

 

Our first slick rock. Pretty cool!

We arrived on time after an easy flight, picked up the car, and went to meet Lynn at the Holiday Inn where her boss was staying – they’d been meeting with donors to the Botanic Gardens. By then it was rush hour, so we stayed at the hotel restaurant for a drink. I’d found a fun sounding restaurant for dinner, but by the time we got there they were jammed, so we went across the street to a pizza/gelato restaurant. The food was mediocre but quick. I had meatballs. We had two cars so I went with Lynn, and we had a nice drive up to Sedona except for a short nervous time just after we’d left Phoenix when Lynn realized we didn’t have much gas – and we were out in the boonies. We did find a gas station in time. When we got to the resort we weren’t able to change the rooms, so we had two small studios. The best thing was the sky – Sedona is a dark sky city and at altitude, so the stars were stunning.

Saturday

The signage is very good in Sedona

We got moving fairly late, and then spent a while waiting around the lobby and our room while Lynn tried to get to talk to a manger who might be able to change our rooms. Eventually we gave up and headed out to Safeway and to the Chamber of Commerce visitor center to get maps and ideas. We spent some time walking around the shops on the main street, which are very touristy. Also Sedona is a center of woo-woo (4 vortexes!) so lots of crystal shops and places to have your aura photographed. By then it was lunchtime, so we had lunch at Javelina, a very good Mexican restaurants. It was sunny and beautiful so we ate outside – it was just barely warm enough, and not quite when the wind blew. After lunch we went for our first Sedona hike, an interlocking trail system around the Yavapai viewpoint. It was very crowded but also very stunning vistas. We were on one trail when we met an older couple coming the other way, and as we passed the man said “Don’t get old”, which Dave heard as a warning about aging, but we discovered he meant that the view doesn’t lose its wonder. While we were chatting with them a biker walked over and started telling us (in great detail) about a hike to a place called “Chicken Point” that he said was the best hike in Sedona. It sounded complicated and very long.

Periodically Lynn would attempt to find out about our rooms, but the manager was always “in a meeting”. 

We went back to our rooms for a short while and actually were able to talk to Nahal, the manager, who explained that it was complicated about changing rooms and asked us to let her work on it until the next morning. I should explain that Lynn has shares in a couple timeshares (not this place) and the rules about what she can and can’t use her timeshare points for are not as clear as you might like. Dave and I also hit the Staples for new earbuds for me (I forgot to bring mine) and got them for ½ off, which was very nice.

We should have made dinner reservations as soon as we’d decided to go to Sedona, but didn’t, so they were a bit hard to come by. For our first dinner we headed North to The Table at Junipine Resort, about ½ hour away. It was a small cozy restaurant with a friendly waiter and very tasty food, especially Dave’s pork chop and the roasted veggie side. It was a great introduction to Sedona.