WARNING: This blog post contains an inordinate number of geological photographs. Viewer discretion is advised.
As we left New Mexico, a huge thunderstorm welcomed us to Arizona. Forked lightning lit up the evening sky and raindrops obliterated our view out the windshield. We wisely decided to pull over and spend the night in Holbrook. Another fading town on Route 66.
We asked the girl at the front desk to recommend a restaurant for dinner. By this time it was 9:00pm and I was starving. I mean, I hadn't eaten a chili relleno for at least 24 hours! She told us we had to eat at the El Rancho Hotel. When we found the hotel we were a little apprehensive. The neon sign was flickering badly, the restaurant's decor and orange naugahyde upholstered booths looked like they hadn't been cleaned or updated since 1937.
We did not know the treat that was in store for us! The food was delectable and the waitresses were falling over themselves making sure we knew all there was to see and do in their fair state. One of them kept running out to the lobby to pick up pamphlets on balloon rides, the nearby meteor crater and whitewater rafting on the Colorado River. The helpfulness and friendliness factors were off the charts.
We woke up the next morning to sunny skies. We continued to drive west through tiny towns on Route 66. We saw many abandoned cafes, gas stations, and motels. I saw a weather-beaten old sign on the side of the road that read "LOTS FOR SALE! ONLY $295 AN ACRE!" I'm sure that sign had been there for eons.
We headed north towards the Grand Canyon. The terrain had changed yet again. The views out the car window almost looked like a moonscape.
The Grand Canyon defies description. It is so big, so colourful, so vast, so deep, so old, so mind-boggling. Words do not even begin to do it justice. It was difficult to get my brain around the magnificence of it. Even after we watched a short film in the visitor's centre about how the Grand Canyon was formed millions of years ago, I still couldn't understand it. And I probably never will.
We left the wonder of the Grand Canyon and headed south for Sedona. We had heard great things about this town and were anxious to experience it for ourselves.
Again the terrain abruptly changed and we found ourselves travelling through thick pine forests. Not what I had expected to find in Arizona. We wound our way down a long, steep mountainous road.
We got to the bottom of the mountain, curved around the last corner and BAM! There was Sedona in all her red rock glory. I shrieked! Nothing had prepared me for the sight that greeted us. The red rocks in the setting sun looked as if they were glowing from within. I took photos from our speeding car. We fell instantly in love with the town.
We booked ourselves in to the Amara Resort for 3 nights. How I wished it had been for longer! Oh well, next time.
The view from our room.
The bed was big enough for a family of five. The comfy mattress was a huge improvement over the kidney-killing murphy bed in Santa Fe.
We hiked every morning we were in Sedona. It is a walker's paradise. There are so many hiking trails fanning out from the middle of town. The hikes range from easy to moderate to difficult. We picked a few moderate hikes and set out each morning at 7:00am with our hats, water, map, and snacks.
WEST FORK TRAIL:
Driving to the trail head in the early morning.
We crossed Oak Creek 13 different times during this hike.
After hiking 6.5 miles on the West Fork Trail, we were ready for some serious down time at the pool. We lounged around for a good 4 hours; swimming, napping and reading. We left the pool at 6:00pm. At 6:15pm, the weather had changed considerably.
6:00pm
6:15pm
We had some good meals in Sedona, but the best one by far was at the Elote Cafe. (They had pretty good margaritas too.)
I couldn't shovel this elote (corn) appetizer into my mouth fast enough.
Slow roasted pork shoulder served with green chili corn fritters.
BOYNTON CANYON TRAIL:
The next morning we hiked 8.5 miles on the Boynton Canyon Trail. We hiked all the way to the apex of the canyon and back. Again, a beautiful way to spend a morning.
Signing the trail register.
The beginning of Boynton Canyon.
As we were hiking out of the canyon we saw a man sitting on top of the rocks playing a flute. We clapped when he was finished playing and he clambered down to talk with us.
After dinner that evening we went in search of a sunset. We didn't have to go far.
Not only did we get to see the sun set, we also got to see the moon rise.
DEVIL'S BRIDGE HIKE:
On our third and final morning, we hiked 4.5 miles to Devil's Bridge and back.
I told Joe his shadow looked like Gumby.
All too soon, our time in Sedona came to an end.
The view of the Amara Resort from the elevator.
I can hardly wait to return.
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