Wednesday May 12, 2010

What a beautiful day to be in a beautiful place. We were up early with a temperature of 35 degrees greeting us. Brrrr. Temperatures quickly rose to a tolerable 51. We made extra coffee, left the campground and headed up to a great vantage point near the Sedona Airport. The overlook offers a great view of a long strip of the red rock mountains. Several people asked us to take their pictures. Sometimes those little cameras are more complicated than our big ones.

After getting our images, we head back down the mountain to downtown “old” Sedona. Sedona has experienced the same type of sprawl that most destinations have. The original part of town is at least five or six miles after you begin to see commercial enterprises. The town is known for talented artisans. It is also suggested that it has its share of the hoity-toity crowd. The local McDonald’s and Walgreen’s don’t look like your local stores. In fact, you have to look hard to recognize either one. They are required to use the red rock look and no lighted signs are permitted. We have been told that the area has suffered its own share of foreclosures and short sales. Apparently, even the hoity-toity folk have financial problems. I must say that no one we have met has appeared to be haughty. They have been very cordial.

We stopped in the visitors’ center to arrange for a rental of a special GPS unit that provides a narrated tour of the area. Using GPS coordinates, the unit knows where you are at all times and provides details to your adventure. We rented one three years ago in the Canadian Rockies. It was fantastic. We are hoping that this unit will be the same. Cost to rent it is $27 per day, but that is far less expensive than hiring a guide or paying for a tour. Additionally, you can move at your own pace, stopping for as long as you want at any location.

With our GPS Traveler in tow (we hope our Garmin GPS doesn’t get jealous), we head north on 89A. We hear about the founding of Sedona and how it acquired its name. The founder, T.C. Schnebly, had heard complaints from neighbors about how slow the mail was coming from Flagstaff. He submitted a request to the government to have a post office in Sedona. His first two requests were denied because the names were too long to fit on a cancellation stamp. His brother in law suggested that he use his wife’s name, Sedona. And so it was in 1902.

The GPS Traveler leads us a few miles north to the Midgely Bridge. Locals call it the Midgely Bridgely. We walk under it and get a great vista of some gorgeous red rock across the Oak Creek Canyon. Once finished, we continued north to the Indian Gardens Store, which appears to be built in the side of the mountain. This store was once the home of early settler J.J Thompson and he called it Indian Gardens Ranch. A bit further up the road was the Slide Rock Motel, which again looks chiseled into the mountain. Unreal. We decided at this point to turn around and head south as we plan to head up this road later today as we travel to Flagstaff. GPS Traveler suggests we photograph Slide Rock Park on the way back to town. Of course, we oblige.

Once back in Sedona, we head out towards the famed Cathedral Rock. This is the iconic image that says, “Sedona”. At this point, we have decided that we don’t like GPS Traveler as much as we liked the GyPSy that we rented in the Rockies. This thing is inserting advertising, asking trivia questions and showing video clips. Somehow, this wasn’t what we were looking for when we rented it. Yeah, we like knowing that Zane Grey (“Call of the Canyon”), John Wayne, Gene Autry, Joan Crawford and countless others made films in Sedona, but we were really hoping for more detail about the current day Sedona for photo opportunities. In case YOU are interested in movies filmed here, this is a link to a plethora: http://www.sedonamonthly.com/gonehollywood/

On our way to photograph Cathedral Rock, we also spot Bell Rock. Yes, it is shaped like an upside down bell. The sun is cooperating and everywhere we look, we see more pics. Oh my. I wanted to get a photo of the motor home in front of these natural wonders. Dennis stood in front of the motor home. He crossed his arms and looked like Buddy when he stands in front of his bakery on “Cake Boss”. lol At one vista, we couldn’t get a clear shot because of overgrown trees. Solution? Climb on top of the motor home!

In our travels, we find the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a Catholic chapel that juts out of the red rock 250 feet. Did you ever go to church and find yourself daydreaming? Think how tough it would be to pay attention with a view like this? The church was built in 1956.

We also wanted to catch a glimpse of an area called Red Rock Crossing. We were told that the paved road ends going toward it and that there would be a one mile dirt road. The lady in the visitors’ center said it was an easy road to travel. Wrong. We take the road, experiencing dips, bumps, and lots of red dirt. Worst part was we couldn’t find Red Rock Crossing. So, we left the area with a once white motor home, now covered with red dirt. lol When we saw the first sign that said, “If road flooded, do not proceed” that should have been the clue.

We have taken so many beautiful images in a few short hours. We decided to head back into town. I wanted to do a little shopping in the neat stores in the downtown area. Dennis wasn’t objecting because he wanted to take a nap. Life is good.

While driving back, we pulled over to take another shot or two. While doing so, Dennis spotted a couple of guys who looked like they had been hiking. They were trying to hitch a ride. We don’t normally pick up hitchhikers, but these two looked okay and we kind of felt sorry for them. So I opened the door and yelled to them. They came running and I let them in the side door of the motor home. I showed them to the sofa. When they entered we realized that it was a dad and his son. Named Bob and Dan, they had left early in the morning for a hiking gig and had traveled through several of the stunning mountainous areas. They became disoriented and did not return to where their car was parked. They really weren’t sure where they were, but had an idea they had made a major mistake. The dad blamed himself as he kept encouraging his son to continue the direction they were hiking when the son wanted to turn around. Had to give the guy credit for taking the blame. Anyway, they were very grateful. They were scheduled to pick up the mother and daughter and take a jeep ride in an hour. Once we drove back to town, they were still confused as to where they were. Hmmmm, could we still be in Roswell? Finally, I asked the son the name of the place where they had left the car. I punched it into our Garmin GPS. We traveled over 10 miles to return them to their starting point! They were so grateful. They tried to give us money for gas but we refused, telling them that we had found another photo spot on the way to their car and that was enough payment. Sure enough, we stopped and took that last shot. It was worth every mile!

Once back into town, I walked around, taking some pics and doing a little shopping. Dennis never did nap but did some surfing and photographing the shopping area. Once back together, we headed north towards Flagstaff. While it is only about 30 miles to Flagstaff, the road winds and ascends and it is a slow go. As we approach Flagstaff, rain begins pelting on the windshield. As we get closer, the rain turns to snow. We look ahead and see snow capped mountains well beyond Flagstaff. Yikes! The temperature during the afternoon in Sedona had been 74. Now, it was snowing!

We travel through Flagstaff. It is at the crossroads of Route 66 and Highway 89. It was an important town in the building of the west. Trains traveled through this town and helped it grow. 74 miles north of Flagstaff is the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. 30 miles south is Sedona. The town looks somewhat “worn” but it could be that the weather is contributing to that appearance. We found a campground and settled in for the evening. We looked at the weather prediction for the Grand Canyon. It’s not looking good for the next couple days. The cold doesn’t bother us, but the predicted cloud cover does. We will have to wait it out if that happens. This is supposed to be the highlight of our trip. We need blue skies! We shall see what Mother Nature delivers in the morning.