Sedona 2017
Week One
This, and the next blog, are just an abbreviated version of our two weeks in Sedona. There are not many photos because we already have hundreds of photos from this area! It is partly for us to keep track of what we did. But, of course, we did take some photos – it is just too photogenic of an area not to take pictures!
Saturday, Oct 21
We hiked our usual “first-day-in Sedona” path—the Airport Loop. The 3.3 mile hike became a 4.65 mile hike since we parked at the top of the mesa and needed to hike ½ mile down to the start of the trail and back. It was lovely.
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- hike begins
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- trail
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- trail
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- lots of cacti fruit
Sunday, Oct 22
Sally Jo had picked out new, nice, long, circular hike. However, when we tried to find the trailhead for the hike, we discovered it was located on a 5-mile rocky road that we could not drive. Since the trail was already going to be 7 miles, we didn’t feel like adding on 5 miles to get to the start.
Re-calculate. Not far away was a trailhead to Long Canyon. (6.61 miles) It was trail out and back rather than a loop. It was a scenic trail along a canyon. It was helpful that the trail went slightly uphill the entire way so that we could go downhill most of the way back!
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- beginning hike
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- entering wilderness area
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- resting among the autumn leaves
Monday, Oct 23
A day at a Ranch. We went to Canyon Creek Ranch near Black Canyon City. We opted for the hour-long horse ride. Fun! Going through the desert area was beautiful, though hot. Ron tried both skeet shooting and archery. In skeet shooting he hit the target twice! We had a steak/chicken lunch with some Navajo entertainment. A nice flute solo and a fantastic hoop dance by the world’s championship dancer, only 17 years old.
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- mounting
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- pretending to be “at ease”
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- riding
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- riding
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- beautiful scenery
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- posing with resident cattle
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- “what big horns you have!”
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- one of the “stores”
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- church
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- hotel
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- shooting skeet
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- trying the bow and arrow
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- hoop dancer
Tuesday, Oct 24
We took a short hike to Scheurman Mountain. (2.77 miles) It was only 1 mile one-way but we were able to start from our resort, rather than driving. We looked out to the airport mesa, Sedona town, and to our resort. The high school which is at the beginning of the hike is fully solar-powered.
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- trail on mesa
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- looking towards Sedona
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- our resort at the bottom
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- looking south
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- if we slip, rocks or cacti will stop us
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- one set of school’s solar panels
Wednesday, Oct 25
Hiked Soldier Pass Trail and Jordon Trail. (6.5 miles) Even though it is quite long – for us – we think we like these trails the best. The scenery is spectacular and the hike is quite varied. We hike through pine forest at the beginning, gradually ascending. The trail goes along the top of a mesa where we can climb a large rock outcrop with fabulous views (and eat lunch), and then a steep descent after which we meander up and down on a path back to the beginning. The one problem today was the heat and dryness – 85 degrees and 14% humidity. We felt like dry toast!
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- beginning hike
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- climbing
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- resting
Thursday, Oct 26
Took a drive to Jerome with a short stop in Cottonwood on the way. Walked around Jerome and had lunch. Decided to drive back to Sedona a different way. On the map it looked interesting. Turned out to be an adventure. Roads started out good but got smaller and smaller. Through wilderness. Gravel road. Beautiful scenery. Felt uninhabited. Only one photo. The afternoon light on the mountains coming back in to Sedona was outstanding.
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- near our resort
Friday, Oct 27
Went to Williams to visit a friend. Elaine and her husband live in a beautiful rural area. Lots of birds; they also have wild animals, though we didn’t see any. That morning Elaine had seen a mountain lion in her front yard. Good time. No photos.