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.