Day 22 - Saturday, June 21, 2008

Day 22

Prescott to Wickenburg to Campe Verde to Sedona, Arizona

On the hottest day of the year (our car temperature guage read 117 degrees F for the outside!), we visited the Sonoro Desert and saw the beautiful forest of saguero cacti. Yes, we're crazy. But crazy in love with the southwest.

We drove down scenic, historic 89A south through the dust balls of Wilhoit, Peeples Valley, and Yarnell.

Just on the other side of Yarnell, coming out of the Weaver Mountains we saw our first saguero cactus. We stopped for a photo and it was 105 degrees F outside.

We went south to Wickenburg and then turned east on Rt. 74 to catch I-17 back up north, looking at the glorious cacti all the way and watching the temperature rise to 118F! Seriously, though, we hardly noticed the heat -- it's a dry heat, you know -- and you get used to it! When the temperature dropped 20 degrees to 98F, it felt like a cold front had blown in and we all got our jackets.

Once on I-17, we went north and stopped at Montezuma's Castle, an amazing cliff dwelling. More on that later.

Then we went north to see Montezuma's Well, but it was closed, so we will return tomorrow. We headed into Sedona for a hotel for the night and got to see another blazing sunset on Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock.

Fabu.

Day 19 - Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Day 19

Sedona, Arizona

Despite the 100 degree temperatures, this is still one of the greatest places on earth. We had a leisurely morning getting out of the hotel room -- mostly because no one wanted to leave the comfy Temperpedia beds.

Red Planet Diner
But we found our way outside eventually, eating at the very cool Red Planet Diner, which is full of fun alien and UFO stuff.

Slide Rock State Park
Afterwards, we toured some of the red rock formations, then spent the rest of the afternoon at Slide Rock State Park. There the little human was like an otter sliding over the rocks in the slide rock canyon. Despite some scrapes and scratches to her elbows and knees, she had a great time. And on the way out, everyone got a treat at the local soft serve station.

"The Sedona Experience"
That evening, the youngest and oldest humans watched some animated DVDs at the hotel, while the archeologist took her broken ribs to a new age theater experience. It was billed as a live, multimedia extravaganza and called "The Sedona Experience." I'm not sure it was worth the hefty ticket price, but the archeologist did get to go up on stage as a volunteer and have an aura camera show her aura to the audience. Her aura was a solid bright pink with extra pink-ness around the broken rib area. This didn't surprise me as the archeologist has several songs by Pink on her iPod.

We'll see how the new age agenda continues tomorrow on a special Sedona vortex tour!

Day 18 - Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Day 18

Williams, Arizona to Sedona, Arizona

Sedona has to be one of the most magical places on the planet (at least that this bear has visited).

This afternoon we left Williams (after purchasing some awesome turquoise jewlery) and headed for the Dear Park Farm where the little human had a great time hand-feeding deer and petting goats and a pot-bellied pig.

Afterwards, we went into Flagstaff and had a snack at the Grand Canyon Cafe on Route 66, which serves American and Chinese food. Sometimes a vegetarian eggroll just hits the spot in the middle of a 100 degree day.

Then we took the spectacular Route 89A again through Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona. This time we got to the canyon lookout before 5PM (when the park service closes it)and took in the vista of the canyon.

We stopped at several look outs and pull overs on our trek down 89A, and pulled into our fancy pants hotel in Sedona in the early evening. We watched another great sunset on the red rocks, this time from the lounge chairs of our hotel pool.

We're going to finish the day with pizza and a DVD in our room -- a perfect end for the little human who is still swimming in the pool.

Day 17- Monday, June 16, 2008

Day 17

Williams, Arizona

Everyone is taking it easy today. The little human has a touch of altitude sickness and the archaeologist is milking her broken bones for some sympathy. Sleeping in and a late breakfast/brunch was in order.

Then in the afternoon a trip to Flagstaff to the Museum of Northern Arizona. There was an exhibit about a new type of dinosaur found recently in Utah. We spent several hours there as they also have a wonderful permanent collection of Native American pottery, rugs, and ceremonial items.

Then we had dinner in Flagstaff's old town at the Beaver Street Brewery. Then down Rt. 89A South to Sedona to watch the sunset on the amazing red rocks. We had quite a treat as the sun set behind mountains on one side of the horizon while the full moon rose over the formations on the other side.

The little human took me on a sunset hike where we discovered a hidden waterfall that was now dried up. That was very exciting for both of us.

We drove back in the "dark" but with the full moon lighting the way, we could see the land formations all the way back to Williams.