Sedona

Our main goal in heading south into Arizona again was to visit my aunt and uncle, Julie and Rick in Sedona. We had stayed with them for one night on our way to San Francisco from Texas but we didn’t have time to do any hiking or sightseeing around Sedona. We wanted to come back for a week or so and take advantage of their local knowledge.

Rick took us on three hikes, two of which had breathtaking views of the surrounding red rock country. Unfortunately Julie wasn’t feeling well enough to join us. Doe Mountain was our first hike. It was on the western side of Sedona. We climbed a short section to reach the top of a mesa with great views.

View from Doe Mountain

Our second hike took us near the top of Cathedral Rock. It is one of the dominate rock formations in Sedona. This hike was a little more strenuous and entailed some scrambling over rocks. We were lucky enough to hear and then spot a peregrine falcon as it flew above us. When we got to the end of the trail we noticed there were a few rock climbing ropes left in place from a climbing class. dave drooled over the idea of climbing to the top and seeing the panoramic view but we didn’t bring our climbing gear with us and we weren’t about to trust the frayed ropes which had been baking in the desert sun.

Cathedral Rock from Afar

dave and Rick Climbing Cathedral Rock

dave Near the Climbing Ropes

View of Courthouse Mountain and dave from Cathedral Rock

Our last hike was quite different from the other two. We followed the West Fork of Oak Creek through a picturesque canyon complete with ponderosa pine trees. It was neat to be back in a forested area after the last two hikes on red rock with little to no trees. After three and a half miles we came to a spot where the canyon narrowed and you had to walk in the creek to go any further.

Rick and I on the West Fork

West Fork View

dave at the End of the Trail

When hiking in the desert you have to be careful where you step. There are places where the soil is held together with a thin crust called cryptobiotic soil. Cryptobiotic soil controls erosion and helps conserve water. Stepping on it damages it to the point that it may no longer function as nature intended.

Cryptobiotic Soil

Sign Warning About Cryptobiotic Soil

Some of the cacti were in bloom during our stay. They added a brilliant splash of color against the red rocks in the background. Rick told us cacti grow by sprouting new pads off the older ones. We saw examples of this all over.

Claret Cup Cactus

Strawberry Hedgehog

New Cacti Pads Growing

A trip to Sedona wouldn’t be complete without visiting one of the nearby petroglyph sites. Petroglyphs are pecked into the stone versus pictographs which are painted on the stone. We visited the V bar V ranch site. These petroglyphs were created by ancestral Hopi Indians around 1100 to 1400. The site was recently found to be a solar calendar. The solar calendar aided them in planting their crops by showing them when solstice and equinox were. It was very impressive to think about the amount of time and patience it took to devise the calendar. But without TV to numb your brain it seems like a perfectly good way to pass the time. Besides, their existence depended on a successful crop.

Panel of Petroglyphs

Petroglyph

Us in Front of the Petroglyph Panel

Julie and Rick are lucky enough to have some entainment just outside their house windows. There are oodles of Gambel's Quails running around their neighborhood. These little critters were cracking me up throughout our visit. Their legs would move so fast when running they turned into blurs. Each morning we awoke to the sound of them outside our bedroom window. I had to include a picture of one of these guys so I can continue laughing even after we have left Sedona.

Gambel's Quail

We are leaving Sedona this afternoon and heading to southern Utah. We hope to see a number of the National Parks including Arches, Zion and Capital Reef to name a few. It may be awhile before our next blog update but don't worry. There will be lots to talk about when we get back into the world of Internet access.