Day # 41 - Sedona, AZ

We woke up today with a plan to visit the red rocks of Sedona and try to get some red dirt on our shoes by finding a place to take a hike. We drove through Oak Creek Canyon from Flagstaff to get to Sedona and our first stop was the famous Oak Creek Canyon Visitors Center and Overlook. They were having a small fair with about 20 tables of Native American goods (some authentic and some not so much) for sale. Both Sarah and Abby wanted to buy some of the cheap jewelry, but I told them they had to use their money. So Missy went back to the truck and got their change purses and they each bought a necklace and bracelet combination. They both counted out the money and paid themselves. They were very proud of their purchases.

The view from the overlook is impressive. Oak Creek canyon is very beautiful, but lacks the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. Besides at this point, I was itching to get out “in” the rocks rather than just looking at them from afar.

So we pushed on to Sedona. Missy and I visited Sedona about 11 years ago. And it hasn’t gotten any less weird since then. Sedona had attracted a group of “new age” followers. The last time we were here it was crystals and their mystical powers that were all the rage. This time it is Vortexes. Apparently a well known “seer” was able to contact another dimension and determined that 4 locations around the city of Sedona have just the right invisible energy patterns to provide a healing boost to your body. Two of the vortexes have a feminine energy and will increase your ability to love and be understanding. One of the vortexes is masculine and will increase your strength and sharpen your senses. And one vortex has both masculine and feminine energies (I couldn’t make this crap up even if I wanted to) and will apparently tickle your chakra or align your chi or something. The funny part about this is that ALL of the tour companies in town offer tours to the vortexes. I find it interesting that the vortexes happen to be located in 4 of the most popular scenic destinations in the city. Strange how that worked out huh?

Anyway, the new age wackiness is just a small part of Sedona. It is also filled with some nice art galleries in a very quaint downtown with some great shops and restaurants. You can also rent bikes, ATV, scooters, and several other vehicles that will get you into the red rocks.
I should probably explain for those who have never been to Sedona that the city sits right smack in the middle of several national & state parks and all of which have just breath-taking views of the many red rock formations. Many times you can drive to the end of a residential street and find a trailhead there with a trail that takes you out into one of the parks that surround the city. I had read several books and web pages that suggested a couple of trails and also a dirt road that I could drive on to get to one of the more scenic overlooks. The overlook I really wanted to go to was “Schnebly Hill Vista”. All of the jeep tour companies in Sedona include this vista in one of their tours and the only way you are getting there is with a 4x4. Well…it just so happens that I have a 4x4 truck. And a pretty good one at that! So, I figured that anything a 20 year old tour guide in an old Jeep could do…I could do too.

But before I could do that…the women wanted to have lunch. So we went to another place that was in the guide book called The Red Planet Café. The place really should have been over in Roswell,New Mexico given the alien, UFO, and space motif; but the food was good and there was plenty of interestng stuff for the kids to look at.

After lunch, I finally got to take my drive up Schnebly Hill road. I should mention that you will have to stop at the trailhead and buy a “red rocks pass” for $5.00 if you want to drive in any of the parks outside of the city limits. That is, unless your clever wife bought a National Parks pass that works in lieu of the red rocks pass. After about a mile the pavement on Schnebly Hill road stops and you are on a dirt/rock/gravel road. I have to say that being allowed to bounce around my wife, mother, and kids as we went up that road was a hell of a lot of fun! I stopped at a pull-off about 2 miles up the road (it is 8 miles to the overlook) and we got out and took one of the trails out into the red rocks. This is really beautiful scenery. The green cactus plants growing out of the red dirt and rocks make a nice contrast. The white flowers on the Yucca plants are also very vivid in all the red soil. We hiked for about 45 minutes until some dark clouds rolled in overhead. During our hike we saw all kinds of beautiful scenery, but there was one thing we did not see…any other people. We had the place to ourselves.

Once back in the car, I continued up the hill at a very bouncy 10-15 miles per hour. The higher we got the worse the road was. After the ground gave way to driving on carved rock, it really got fun. We stopped 2 more times on the way up. Once, I was the only one who wanted to get out of the car. I climbed to the top of an outcropping of rocks and just looked at the view. We were about 2/3 up the mountain we were climbing and I could look across the whole valley from my spot on the top of the rock. I could clearly see Steamboat rock and could just make out Snoopy rock as well. Beautiful.

It took up almost 2 hours, with all of our stops to look around, to make it up the 8-miles of road to the vista. Boy, was it was worth it! The vista is stunning. If you are visiting Sedona, I recommend the Schnebly Hill vista. Drive it yourself or take one of the jeep tours. It is worth the time and trouble.

Well…what goes up must come back down. We drove straight down the hill and were back at the trail head 40 minutes later. There is a bathroom there so we made a pit stop. While we werethere Abby was begging me to take another hike, so Abby, Sarah and I took 15 minutes and hiked out on a small trail that lead to a rock plateau. The view was still incredible. I find it amusing that a 10-minute walk from the bathroom can yield such beautiful views.

Having worn out the kids and Nana, we headed into town in search of some goodies. We found an ice cream parlor that also had real draught root beer. Ice cream for the women, girls, and AJ; and Root beer for me. Nice way to cool off and relax for a few minutes. Afterwards we wandered the town for a little while looking in a couple of the western wear shops for a cowboy hat for me or a tee-shirt shop for Missy and the kids. After an hour or so, it was getting late in the day so we headed back to Williams. AJ fell asleep during the drive and let us move him to his bed when we got back to the camper. So Sarah and I headed into the local Safeway for supplies. We brought back some fresh chicken and asparagus to grill for dinner. After dinner we went for a dip in the pool and then the kids got baths to wash all the red dirt off their little stinky bodies.

We were pretty tired, so after the kids were asleep and Missy and I had gotten my own baths, we fell into bed. This was one of the better days of this trip for me. Looking at the size of the Grand Canyon or the sparkle of the granite cliffs in Yosemite or hear the huge waterfalls of the Columbia gorge, seeing all the wildlife in Yellowstone is amazing. But being able to go out INTO nature and put my feet in the red soil was a different, and wonderful, experience.