Start:  Grand Canyon – North Rim, AZ
Destination: Sedona, AZ
Odometer: 105,976 (start)  106,301 (end) – 325 miles
Date:  Tuesday, September 13, 2011

We finally had a good morning.  It didn’t rain during night and we were able to pack the tent in comfortable weather.  We were about around 5:10, before the sun, but not before a family of 6 elk out for a walk across the road.  It should say something about the mundaneness of seeing wildlife at this point that I was did not snap a picture.  Rather, I was more impressed with the sunrise coming through the burnt out forest.



The first stop of the day would be Flagstaff, AZ in order to make the craigslist transaction for the new camera, get an oil change, and have breakfast.  The drive to Flagstaff went by quickly as we gazed at the valley/ravine and giant red rocks formations.  These would be nice previous for our time in Sedona.  The craigslist deal went down smoothly at the local Target, the Jiffy Lube was able to replace the oil and clean the car quickly, and Dad was ecstatic to have a chicken-fried steak at Dennys for brunch.  After a series of misguided GPS navigation routes that did/would have taken us on giant loops, we were back on the appropriate highway to Sedona.






We arrived to the outskirts of Sedona via a scenic drive through Oak Creek and Dad happened to notice the sign for our campground, Manzanita Campground, miles before the address we had entered in the GPS (using the address of Manzanita Campground Road, Sedona, AZ should work in the future).  We were greeted by Susan, the friendly campground host, and settled into our site.  Dad cleaned the tarp and tent from the wetness and dirt of the Grand Canyon while I explored the river running behind the campsites and the swimming hole at the end of the campground.





The afternoon’s adventure that day was an unexpectedly off-road, scenic drive through the desert of Sedona.  I’m not exactly sure how we ended up there, but after missing an turn and taking the GPS’ new directions, we ended up on a 12 mile long country road full of rocks, bumps, and potholes.  We could barely go 5mph for fear of getting a flat tire, but the views of cacti, puffy white clouds in a clear blue sky, and towering rocks with fascinating shapes like ancient ruins and sculptures, and soothing shades of red, tan, and green made us wish the road would keep on going for many more miles.







We were also quite alone on the road, except for the occasional tour company vehicle that would whizz pass us and/or stop and ask where in Maryland we were from and if anyone on the ride was from there as well (turns out one women was from Upper Marlboro, MD).



The drive ended on a nice touch when we came across a family of mule deer and paved roads.  At first, we lamented that the GPS had taken us on such a back-country road, but it ended up being for the best, since had we taken the correct road, the landscapes we’d have seen would have paled in comparison.





After the drive through the natural sites of Sedona, we took a drive through the artificial sites of this artsy town.  I really liked the architectural style and look of the buildings, but Dad thought they looked weak/flimsy.  The price tag for the properties seemed to indicate that many others liked the style too.   After I drive through the business district, the religious district (where we happened upon the Jewish Community Center and received a Shabbat invitation from the Rabbi and her husband whom stopped to inquire about us as they passed us leaving the parking lot), and the residential district (no, we didn’t see a Hammock district - points if you get The Simpsons reference to one of my favorite episodes).






We concluded our long drive through the hot desert in the air-conditioned car at a trendy ice cream establishment unique to Sedona: Dairy Queen. Dad had a pineapple sundae, I had a milkshake, and we shared some french fries.  While it had been a warm, clear day until then, we started to notice rain clouds forming, so we hurried back to the site so I could make us a quick dinner (we were delayed though by friendly conversations with some Burning-Man-type families camped near us).

Sure enough, around dusk the rain started coming.  We had eaten, clean up, and were in the car, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Dad lamented that his earlier cleaning of the tent would now be for naught.  We were in much better shape though than our neighbors, a group of 20-somethings from California that arrived during the rain and after dark and still had to setup camp.  I wanted to go into town to make use of the cell service that night, so rather than wait around the campground, we drove into town early to try to check out the shops, but all except a few eateries were closed.

We returned to the campground late that evening and were glad the rains had stopped.  We had brought the camping fans into the tent earlier thinking it would be a hot night, but it ended up being a cool, relaxing evening.

Sedona was a nice place to spend the day, especially after the Grand Canyon, but I wasn’t too interested in staying longer.  Sedona wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but after my Uncle Sudipta commented that it was one of the best places he’s been and insisted we go (and others seconded his view), it was added to the trip. If you are going to be in the area, we now also recommend the stop.  The landscapes are great, there’s trendy shopping and stylish architecture in town, the campground is clean (vault toilets though) and located in a nice spot in the woods by a stream, and Oak Creek on the outskirts of the city is a pleasant drive.  I’m sure there was much more we could have seen and done with more time, but I felt like we hit the key parts and were ready for our next stops on our way to Gallup, New Mexico:  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest, and The Painted Desert.


P.S.  The next post probably won’t be until the week of October 3rd due to Rosh Hashanah and my moving out from my current home.