Sedona

We arrived at the condo about five minutes after Jan and Charlie did.  Spent a quiet evening and ate BBQ at Hog Wild in Cottonwood. Gai and Gary were supposed to park their motor home nearby but Gary hurt his leg unhitching their tow car and wound up having surgery and camping in Williams, the “gateway to the Grand Canyon” over 50 miles away. Gai did drive down to visit twice during the week  and we drove up to hang with them in their spacious (and luxurious!) RV once.  Highlights of the week included:

• Visited Tuzigoot National Monument, Sinaguan Indian ruins overlooking the Verde River. There was probably a link of settlements on the foothills along the river with a few thousand inhabitants.  No one knows why they left but according to Hopi legend (the Hopis consider the tribes that lived there to be their ancestors) although the Sinaguans inhabited that area for hundreds of years, it was just a stopover, part of a generational journey that followed the game and fertile lands.

• Spent time in Sedona and Tlacapacque, a cluster of shops and galleries just out of town. We marveled at the wind sculptures and watched a tribal dance demonstration in the square.

• Took a four-hour ride on the Verde Canyon Train which followed the river valley from Clarksdale to Perkinsville. We traded up to first class so they fed us lots of finger foods and all the bottled water we wanted.  Alcohol was available, though, for those who drink such things.  We spent a lot of time on the open air car, taking pictures and marveling at the red rock formations and deep canyons.

 

• Ate some really good meals like BBQ at Hog Wild in Cottonwood, a gourmet meal at Abbie’s Kitchen, also Cottonwood, some good Mexican at Javelina Café in Sedona  and a great steak at the Cowboy Corner, also Sedona. Not to mention Ron’s great pancakes and Jan’s luncheon salad plus.
• Didn’t see many birds but did see some elk on the side of the road on the way home from Williams.
• Did lots of laundry, watched movies, slept late.

We said goodbye to Jan and Charlie Friday morning and hit the road again.  Spending the night in the Coconino National Forest outside of Flagstaff.