Sedona, Arizona

Sedona, Arizona is stunningly beautiful because of the red sandstone formations and pine trees. Its an extremely popular location because of the red rocks, spiritual pursuits, hiking, and mountain biking. We visited during spring break, so the area was especially popular.

Sedona, Arizona

Sedona was the name of the first postmaster, Theodore Schnebly’s, wife. Its located in the northern Verde Valley region and is at about 4500 feet elevation. Sedona has mild winters and hot summers. It would be an ideal place to live, other than the insane number of tourists that visit. The numerous roundabouts help with traffic, but there are still a couple of traffic lights that really back things up in addition to the numerous pedestrians not using crosswalks. Its impossible to find parking, because it’s also a shopping destination.

Schnebly Hill Road

It’s a 1902 wagon trail. The road is for high clearance vehicles only and gains about 2000 feet in elevation.

The trail offers incredible views of the red rocks. However, there was a steady stream of tour operated jeeps driving to the vista.

West Fork Trail

It’s rated as one of the 10 best hiking trails in the United States. There are 13 stream crossings. The trail progressively becomes more difficult  requiring boulder hopping and swimming/wading through water. Because it was only 40 degrees outside, we didn’t go that far. Jake wore his vest for warmth. There is a large parking lot that costs $10 to park. By 10 am, there was a line of cars waiting for a spot to open.

Zane Grey was in the area which inspired his novel “Call of the Canyon”. Photographer Carl Mayhew came to the site to work on a film about Grey’s novel. He purchased the property and built cabins in 1926. It became a getaway for celebrities but closed in 1968.

Devil’s Bridge Trail

A beautiful and stunning hike to a natural bridge. The hike took a couple of hours. Jake was tired, but seemed to enjoy being with all the other hikers. He easily tackled the numerous steep natural rock stairs. We think he was a billy goat in his previous life!

Airport Vista-Vortex Trail

This was a beautiful trail with stunning views of Sedona. There are four main energy vortexes in Sedona. The energy strengthens the Inner Being of each person that comes within a vortex. The effect can be positive for days afterwards.

Rancho Sedona RV Park

It’s a beautiful location with red rocks and blue skies. Our site was huge. 50 amp, sewer, and inconsistent internet. The water pressure was 90, requiring a regulator to drop it to 60 psi. The prime sites along the creek require a reservation made about a year in advance.

Behind us, there was a nesting pair of Great Blue Herons. The park tried everything including metallic streamers and fake owls to discourage them, without success.

Flagstaff, Arizona

We went for lunch at Lumberyard Brewing then walked the streets. Flagstaff is at an elevation of about 7000 feet and it had recently snowed. Its reported that the city is named after a ponderosa pine flagpole made by a scouting party. The downtown is an eclectic mix of businesses and has the feel of a college town.