Suckers for Sedonna

Day 9


We made it to Sedona in time for a tour of Red Rock State Park. Sedona is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, with red cliffs towering over the quaint tourist town. If real estate values permitted, I'd move there. We took a walking tour of the park and had a great time. Oak Creek, a real stream with water, runs through the park. This creates a green belt (or riparian zone, for those looking to improve their vocabulary) in the middle of the red monliths that surround Sedona.

MarKay noted that Sedona was named for founding resident Sedona Schnebly. Schnebly didn't fit on the postal stamp, so her brother-in-law suggested Sedona. Not his own wife's name, but his brothers wife's name. Makes you wonder about the awkward famly get togethers...

Anyway...after Sean scored another Junior Ranger badge, we went in search of a restaraunt that served prickly pear cactus. The tour guide had talked about this as a local dish. We got the wrong restaurant name from a helpful tourist, so instead we found Red Planet, a UFO themed burger place. Sean had fun with that.

Following a tourist info sign to find our next camp site, we got suckered into that bane of vacations, the time share presentation. I have vowed never to get sucked into these again, but the promised of a steak dinner and a night at a 5 star resort was too strong after camping. The Bell Rock resort was really nice, with a fully equiped kitchen, pool, hot tub, but sadly no WiFi.

Next, we took off for Slide Rock Park, a natural water slide in Oak Creek. This would be a great spot for twenty somethings on a hot summer day. Unfortunately, none of us are twenty somethings and the temperature was in the 60's. We froze for a few minutes in the icy mountain stream until Sean fell on the slippery rocks and got a nasty bruise. The hotel pool seemed like the wiser plan, so we added some water to our collection and bolted.

The promised steak dinner was the best I've had in a long while. Tomorrow we pay for it, but tonight we'll sleep well.