We slept in, had a late breakfast and then headed to Phoenix. It was only a couple of hours away and we decided to take our time and get off the interstate for a while. We had heard of the little town of Sedona and decided to stop there on our way. So, from the Grand Canyon Village we headed back to I-40 to Flagstaff and then got onto Alt. 89, The scenery was beautiful as the road wound around sharp curves heading down, down, down toward the Verde Valley until we were alongside the Oak Creek River. The rocky hills were so beautiful that we stopped at Slide Rock State Park to take to get out and walk and enjoy the beautiful sites.
A few miles ahead we arrived in Sedona and it sits amidst beautiful red sandstone rocks and hills. The Sinagua and Apache Indian Tribes lived in this area until 1876 when they were forcibly removed and relocated to the San Carlos Indian Reservation about 180 miles away in mid-winter. At that point the area was settled by Anglo settlers who were ranchers and farmers. The soil was ideal for apple and peach orchards and then in the 1960s became a tourist area, which it remains today. Many Hollywood westerns were filmed in the area and Sedona referred to itself as "Arizona's Little Hollywood."
We stopped in and walked around the town area. It was filled with touristy sorts of shops and art galleries. We stopped in the Sedona Arts Center and then headed to the downtown coffee shop. We sat outside watching people as we drank our coffee. We walked around just a bit more but I'm just not much of a shopper so we drove outside of town toward some hiking trails. The dirt roads led far back into a canyon where the plants there were beautiful and exotic and the rocks were a deep rusty red.
I tried my hand at another panorama and look how this one turned out... Randy's hands and camera are missing!
We headed back into town and on toward Phoenix. As we were at the edge of town I saw a small trading post that was just amazing.... there was a large metal rooster! "TURN HERE!!! TURN RIGHT!!!!" Randy whipped into the parking lot and there was the most amazing western folk art gallery that I've ever seen. They had so many knick-knacks... it was just unbelievable. There were indoor and outdoor decorations, small toys for children, large pieces of furniture. It was mind boggling and the wind chimes made the most beautiful music!
We got bought a sunburst clay and metal sculpture and some ice cream and headed back to the car. Just a few miles up the road was a beautiful rock formation called Castle Rock. There was a trail to the park so we parked at the trail head and I went a little way up the trail to get a picture.
While we were in Sedona we had seen the young man pictured below and I really wanted to take a photo but was afraid to. You never know how people will react when they are being photographed but his hair was so unusual I was just dying to get a picture. As I headed back to the car from the trail at Castle Rock, there he stood talking to an elderly couple. I just couldn't resist. The expressions on the couple's faces were priceless. They were trying hard to keep a blank face but they would steal a look at one another and you could see a smile flit across their face. I would love to know their conversation when they got back into the car to leave!
We continued down Alt. 89 to I-17 and stopped at the rest stop where I saw this....
Not much of a welcome to the Sonora Desert, huh? From this point, I drove on to Phoenix. It wasn't far but it was mountainous. As we headed down from the hills toward the valley where Phoenix, we saw our first tall cacti. They were not really as I expected. There was still other vegetation growing, which surprised me. I had expected that the cactus would be the only live thing in the desert. They stood pretty tall though, and were very dark green, almost black.
We hit Phoenix at rush hour. We stuck to the interstates, leaving I-17 and getting onto I-10. My navigator guided me right to the hotel with no problems. We got checked in and rested for a little while before finding a place for dinner. We settled on a nice little Italian restaurant with outdoor seating. After a quick (rushed by our waitress) dinner, we headed back to the hotel for some rest, check on the balloon ride and to plan ahead on our trip. The winds were still high and the balloon ride over Phoenix at sunrise would be cancelled. But something was afoot! I had looked ahead on the map and was about to throw a curve ball into the mix.
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