May 6 – 9
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Our visit to the Sedona area included camping at Dead Horse
Ranch State Park, which is located in Cottonwood about 20 miles south of
Sedona. The campground was very nice, on a hillside with miles of hiking/biking
trails. The Verde River also flows through the town; however it was not very
good for kayaking. Our activities in this area were mostly hiking and mountain
biking (all in Sedona).
The second day, we drove into Sedona to find the hiking
trails that were recommended to us. What an amazing change as we drove into the
Sedona valley. Red rock cliffs and green everywhere! We headed to the Red Rock
Country of the Coconino National Forest. We found the trailhead for the Devil’s
Bridge hike. This hike was about 2 miles up to the red rock cliffs of the
natural bridge formation, with about 300 feet elevation gain. Kurt actually
walked onto the bridge, which made us all very nervous. The strenuous hike was
wonderful, with amazing views and red rock formations. It’s very hard to
describe the beauty of this place; even the pictures don’t convey the
spectacular natural structures and views. After some lunch, we headed to the
trailhead for the Bell Rock Pathway. This red rock formation resembles a bell
shape. The trail wound around the base of the rock with some other side trails,
including one loop that winds up one side of the rock. After a few hours of
hiking, we were all tired and headed back to camp.
The next day, we headed north to Tozigoot, the remnants of an
ancient Southern Sinagua Village built between 1000 and 1400 AD. When this monument
was discovered it was then excavated and rebuilt. Most of the ruins were gone,
except for the base of the walls, which were rebuilt to show visitors how the
village was formed with over 100 rooms for families. Then we drove up to a small
mountain town of Jerome. This town was founded as a copper mining town, but
eventually the copper mining ended. What a neat little place, with historical
buildings perched on the side of the mountain. The town is filled with art
galleries, restaurants, wine and retail stores. We also had a wonderful lunch at a Mexican cafe.
After returning to camp, Kurt decided to go back to Sedona and hike the
Cathedral Trail. He took some amazing pictures on that hike.
Our last day was spent back in Red Rock Country of Sedona.
We brought our mountain bikes and decided to ride the trails around the Bell Rock
Pathway. Most of the trails were fairly moderate, but many were challenging at
different levels for each of us. After about 2 hours of biking the trails, we
were tired and headed back to camp.
What a beautiful, amazing place of Sedona. It would have
been nice to have a couple of more days to enjoy the numerous trails and the
natural beauty of the area. Hopefully, we can return someday and spend more
time here.
On to our next destination, Page Arizona. This town borders
Lake Powell and the Navajo Nation. There will be many adventures is this area.