Thursday – April 6 – Well, we woke up to a winter wonderland, lots of snow on the ground and only about 28 degrees at 8 a.m. Fortunately the sun came out, the snow melted and it turned into a beautiful day.

We left about 9:30 and headed for the Sedona area. We took the Interstate to Flagstaff and then took 89A south to Oak Creek Canyon which features dozens of natural pools and falls as Oak Creek winds its way down 16 miles of sheer rock walls rising 2500 feet. What magnificent views, we stopped at the main overlook and it was breathtaking looking out over the Canyon. There were a number of native persons with tables set up selling their wares – mainly jewelry and pottery but some very nice stuff.

We continued our way down Oak Creek Canyon, with its many awesome views to Sedona, which lies at the bottom of the canyon and is known as the “Red Rock Country”. Many western movies have been filmed here and the red rocks are amazing and in such contrast to the rest of the rocks in the area.

Sedona is home to many artists and there are dozens of interesting looking shops, art galleries, etc. Parking was a problem as there were so many other tourists, but we finally found a parking spot and toured a few of the shops and had a wonderful lunch at the Cowboy Corral Restaurant. We also managed to find a couple of gifts we have been looking for since Benson.

On from Sedona to Tuzigoot National Monument which is a pueblo of a hundred or so rooms built by the Sinagua Indians during the 13th century. The pueblo is amazing, a number of rooms can still be seen and there is one room that has been recreated with a roof and all and we could go through this room and on up to the roof top. It is on the roof top that they would have done a lot of their work and dry their skins etc. The Sinagua Indians all of a sudden left the area for no known reason and it is unknown what happened to them. Archeological digs have uncovered some of the tools they used as well as their pottery etc. It was a very interesting place and with our National Park pass we didn’t have to pay to tour it.

From there it was on to Jerome (which we could see from the pueblo). Jerome was once a roaring mining town which was built clinging to the slopes of Cleopatra Hill. It was once called “The Wickedest Town in the West” but now has many restored buildings and historic sites and, being built on the side of the hill it has many magnificent views. The roads in Jerome are very narrow and looking at how the houses are situated on the sides of the hill we wonder how people can walk out their back doors and not fall down the side of the mountain!! Unfortunately we got there too late to visit many stores, most were closed, but hopefully we will get a chance to return.

Time to head home and it was 8 p.m. when we got back. We had a wonderful day, with many breath taking views and absolutely wonderful scenery. The only downside was that I have had a plugged ear for the last couple of days and today it was really bugging me. On the way home we stopped at Walgreens in Flagstaff and got some ear wax remover and it seems to have worked, thank goodness. After our large lunch we weren’t interested in dinner so had a few nachos and salsa and that was it.

It is really interesting visiting the two different Arizona’s, the land of heat and desert and then this part with its wonderful mountains and canyons, tall Ponderosa Pines, and no desert or dryness. The other difference is that at Yuma and Parker we had to buy all our drinking and cooking water as the water there has a very high saline content. Here the water is good and no saline content.

Well, I must get off to bed as it will be an early morning tomorrow to get ready for our tour to the Grand Canyon.