We arrived in the dark and were taken aback by the multitude of lights and commercial development. We searched Oak Creek Canyon for a national forest campground finally finding Cave Spring. It's a lovely site with lots of tall ponderosa pines and few campers, however because it is located 9 miles north of town with no phone signals, we moved into town and stayed for just a few dollars more at Rancho Sedona RV Park. The park is full service and right off the main drag. We were able to walk to restaurants and bike to trailheads.
Sedona has plenty of good restaurants to satisfy your inner foodie. We started with ChocolateTree, a live organic cafe. Dinner was so good we did not even need any chocolate. The next evening, following the advice we received in Prescott, we went to Fornos. It's a tiny chef owned (Ivan Flowers) restaurant serving Greek and Italian foods with bold flavors. Excellent! We tried several others over the course of our stay. Our last was Thai Spices Natural Restaurant. Everything was fresh, tasty and moderately price.
To earn all those calories we biked every day. The first excursion was up a rocky and winding dirt road, Schnebly Hill. Our destination was the Cow Pies- red sandstone mounds resembling large...
The reward is a terrific view and a vortex. Don't know what a vortex is? Me either, but Sedona is famous for them along with a bevy of natural "healers"', crystals and various shaman types.
Maybe the vortex did improve my inner balance because the next day, I successfully road some single track. From the park we rode on the wonderful bike lane along Rt. 179 to catch the Mystic Trail to visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross renown for it's Frank Lloyd Wright style. Very stunning. Just to be sure, I lit a candle for a safe return.
Having enjoyed the trails so much, on Saturday we rode the Mystic to Bell Rock and Templeton Trails. The fabulous weather, incredible scenery and good trail conditions all lined up for a great day. The scariest part of mountain biking in Sedona is the cactus. They edge the trail like snapping crocodiles just waiting for prey. Fortunately, neither of us fell victim to the sharp spines.
We chose to ignore the hundreds of shops and the tourist district, thoroughly enjoying the sights and trails of Sedona. A definite "must return to" on our travel list. Due to technical difficulties today, I will have to post pictures another time.
From Sedona, we traveled to the Grand Canyon on Sunday. We will spend two days on the south rim. On Tuesday we hike into the canyon for three nights. Cold on the rim but beautiful. Warmer in the canyon. Next post on the weekend! Until then, take care and remember we love to hear from everyone.
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