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Not wanting to sit at home over Christmas break I started
looking for someplace to go for a few days.
I just finished trips to Greece and northern Wisconsin but I still have
the urge to get away, but not so far that I have to fly. There are quite a number of close options;
Bisti Badlands, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly to
start. My friend and hiking partner,
Laurie came up with Sedona. She has a hiking
and cycling friend that lives there, Don, who is always looking for an excuse
to hike. |
| Oak Creek Canyon |
Sedona is very touristy, meaning expensive. I started searching online finding several
hotels for $300. I thought that was for
3 nights. Upon reading the fine print I
found it meant $300 per night. On to
plan B. Cottonwood, AZ is only 30 miles
down the road from Sedona with hotel prices that mere mortals can afford. The fact that there are fewer tourists is an
added bonus.
Christmas Eve the Sedona area received several inches of
snow, which hung around through our several days of hiking. Entering the Oak Creek Canyon leading to
Sedona we couldn’t keep our mouths closed because we were constantly saying WOW
at each new scene. We knew instantly we
were seeing something special with dark green tree limbs and red patches of
rock peaking out through the blanket of snow.
Of course I had to stop several times trying to capture the magic on
camera. As we kept dropping in elevation
snow depth decreased until the ground was bare in Cottonwood. We finished the trip hiking around the Dead
Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood. We
met Don for dinner at one of the local breweries in Old Town Cottonwood. By the way, for you wine connoisseurs there is
quite a number of wine tasting establishments in the Old Town area. |
| Beaver pond at Dead Horse Ranch |
 |
| View from Sedona airport |
The next morning we loaded up our hiking gear heading for
Sedona. We stopped at the Sedona
airport on top of the only flat mesa in city limits. Views of red rocks, mesas and valleys make up
a 360° view from the airport, not to be missed.
There is an airport vortex, one of five in the area. I don’t know what the vortexes are supposed
to do; Don said he hasn’t noticed any change after being in/on one. I just have this vision of standing in one
then being beamed up to some other place seeing Scotty from the starship Enterprise,
at my new destination.
 |
| The Sail |
 |
| Airport vortex site |
We briefly tour around a few other trailheads skipping them
due to the snow and ice left over from the storm. Don pointed out formation after formation
each having names; Sail, Fin, Steamboat, and many others. Some names make sense others require some
imagination. Our first hike is on the
Brins Mesa trail and points beyond. (stay tuned)
 |
| Rabbit ears and Courthouse |
The second day out we tour the area around the village of
Oak Creek. This area has its own series
of red rock formations; Cathedral, Bell, Courthouse, Rabbit Ears, the Nuns and
again, many more. From there we went on
to Doe Mesa. (separate post, stay tuned)
Each evening we found a different restaurant serving great
food with a great local beer.
Fortunately we completed our hikes just before the rush to each
restaurant. The lines were long as we
left.
 |
| Walnut Canyon |
We were leaving for home the third day but managed to fit in
a short three mile hike into Fay Canyon.
This is followed by a trip to the Walnut Canyon National Monument
outside of Flagstaff for another brief hike and learning about the Sinagua
civilization.
 |
| Walnut Canyon dwellings |
In all we hiked around 17 miles during our 2+ day trip to
Sedona. This is a day hiker’s
paradise. There are over 100 trails in
the area; quite a few of them are within a 15 minute drive of Sedona.
Be sure to check back for tales of our trails.
Thank you for stopping by,
Mark
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