Day #36 - 4/17/2011 - Phoenix, AZ to Sedona, AZ - 141 miles

You can see our route from Phoenix, AZ to Sedona, AZ right HERE.

Today is my 28^th wedding anniversary and, for the first time, Susan and I will not be spending a special evening together.  Hopefully, she’ll join us next week when we make it to Santa Monica.

Leaving the Motel 6 and stopping at a Waffle House for breakfast, we turned North towards Sedona, reaching the Sonoran Desert.

The Sonoran Desert has a singular appearance, marked by the stately Saguaro Cactus.   You know the Saguaro...after it's grown a couple of sidearms, the first of which takes about 75 years to sprout, if you put a hat on the tall center arm, it will look like a cowboy.  They grow slowly, taking about a year to go from seed to one inch.  I love Saguaro cacti, as well as the Sonoran desert.  You'd think I'd have some really awesome photos of the Sonoran Desert and a Saguaro, or two, or three, or 50.  But, I don't...can't really explain how that happened except to say that Bob messed up.

Moving farther North and climbing in elevation, the Saguaros disappeared.  So sad.

Without even seeing road signs, you can tell you’ve reached a special area because of the change in the rock face of the cliffs and mountains: visible from a great distance is a large red seam, corresponding to a geologic event 230 million years old (the Permian period, of course.)  The famous red rocks of Sedona are formed by a thick layer of red to orange-colored sandstone found only in the Sedona vicinity. 

Entering the greater Sedona area,  we called a few RV parks to find that tent camping in Sedona proper probably doesn't happen.  We were finally referred to the Lo Lo Mai Resort in nearby Cornville (a rapidly growing community that supports Sedona and is home to Senator John McCain) and pulled in.

As usual, I helped by staying out of the way.

 We were given a campsite right along the banks of Oak Creek.

Not a bad place to call home for the night.

 The RV park was filled with some seriously impressive mobile homes.

If I get a re-do on life, what would I do differently?  Two things come to mind...I'd read even more to my children when they were young, and I get a mobile home so we could go camping as a family.  I was envious of the families camping in the park.  I think it's a great thing for kids to learn from early on to love the outdoors.

 The Lo Lo Mai campground had a great location along Oak Creek, and so did our tent.

Lani gets comfortable before we hop into the car to go cruising around Sedona.

 Sedona is home to Cathedral Rock, one of the most photographed sights in Arizona.

Cathedral Rock at Red Rock Crossings is the iconic photograph associated with Sedona.  When I was preparing for this portion of the trip, researching Sedona and its sights, I came across this image many times...I had to go there as well.

A short clip of Cathedral Rock in the distance.

The core industry in Sedona is tourism. The Sedona Visitors Center receives more than 400,000 visitors per year. Sedona is ensconced by the 1.8 million-acre Coconino National Forest, which surrounds this city.

Even the family dog can't wait to frolic in the water.

The area around the parking lot was scenic, shaded and graced with picnic tables.

Would lunch be lunch without PB&J?

 Oak Creek by Red Rock Crossing turned out to be a popular destination.

The beauty and vibe was so positive, people ignored the fact that the water was freezing.

There are some places that are too appealing for words.  Okay, maybe if I was a poet, I could weave a phrase that captured the beauty...but I ain't no poet.  On the other hand, if a picture=1000 words, then a short video clip even better:

 We made our way towards Cathedral Rock along the water.

...just another reason to come back in an RV and hang out for awhile.

This is one of those places where I just can't put my camera away.  In addition to its beauty, there was a special feeling from watching so many people enjoying the area in their own way.

I'm just going to include a bunch of photos without narrative.  It was a beautiful area and it just felt good to be here.

 

Florida tourists at Red Rock Crossing, below Cathedral Rock.

 Lani came across a frog at the water's edge.

Oh yeah...gimme some warts.

 This was the only frog we saw.  It was well-photographed.

So, I'm laying on the ground with my Canon 7D in high-speed burst mode, ready to get an action photo sequence of the jumping frog.  Result?  In 0.1s, the frog was practically out of the scene.

 I was looking for an area where Cathedral Rock reflected in the water, but couldn't find one. 

It would be cool to come back when there's snow on Cathedral Rock.

 Sedona is a popular destination for mountain bikers and hikers.

 People stacked rocks like an outdoor Jenga championship.

I had absolutely no temptation to stack rocks.

 Lani jumped right in.

Okay...the rock piles looked sorta cool.

 Lani proudly demonstrates her finished rock pile.

One rock pile to rule them all.

I kept trying to do something artistic with the rocks.

One of the guys on his mountain bike parked it and decided to take advantage of a rope swing.

The water felt like it was 55°F when I walked barefoot through it

Before turning back, I shot one more video clip:

Heading back to the car, we stopped at the water wheel next to the parking lot.

Around 1930, new landowners in the area ordered a custom built water wheel from "back East".  The water wheel drove a water pump and powered a small electric generator.

Just spending some time here was worth the effort to come to Sedona.

We returned to our campsite along Oak Creek and settled in for the evening.

The full moon was like a celestial spotlight over the camp grounds.

 It was a great day.