Sedona, AZ

 

Heading down through Oak Canyon
on 68A. Scott took this looking out
the window, straight up, no shoulder.

This was taken though the windshield just before
a hairpin turn, narrow road.

At the bottom of the twisty section we could take
a break and hike down to the river.

We got a pretty early start from the Grand Canyon on a beautiful sunny day. We took a trip down Memory Lane in very different circumstances. Last year we left Cottonwood in the rain and stupidly took the "scenic route" through Sedona and up Route 89A up to Flagstaff. We hadn't checked the weather in Flagstaff or in fact at checked the news. If we did, we would have learned that there was emergency flooding in Sedona and the rain turned to snow halfway up the canyon. When we entered Oak Creek Canyon we were greeted by warning signs and then a swollen frightening river alongside us. Then the side roads were all closed due to flooding and we had no choice but to keep on going (with the trailer attached we had no room to turn around).  Well, we thought, we'll be up above the river soon and yes, that was true. But we gained elevation quickly - 2,700 feet and the rain turned to snow. The road is steep with hairpin turns and again, no place to turn around. But we made it - we are experienced snow drivers living in New England. What a difference this year. It was about 60 degrees and bright sunshine and of course, we went downhill this time. 

This was taken on our hike down to the river.

We stopped for ice cream and checked out the 
Native American artists wears on display in the
 parking lot. Beautiful things!

Here's our lovely RV site at Page Springs RV
Resort. 

There is no place to pull over for us with the trailer so Scott took a few photos through the windows. It's pretty spectacular and in the beginning, a steep descent. Near the bottom we were able to pull over and follow a trail down to the river. We wanted to check into Page Springs RV Resort and get settled so we continued on through town. Our site at the park was really lovely, parallel to the rushing river and we were able to have our lunch outdoors for a change. 

The steep beginning of the Huckaby Trail.

It led to a beautiful view over the river and the 
bridge.

Then it turned into an easy hike along the river.

My red shirt fits right into the color scheme.

Another view up the trail.

But we were anxious to get in some hiking so we drove back into the Canyon and pulled over to a parking lot just above the Midgley Bridge. We had to wait a little while for someone to pull out but it was worth it. We took the Upper Huckaby Trail north along the river. The views were really lovely and it was a generally easy trail. On the way back we stopped for dinner at Gerardo's Pizzeria. It lived up to the great reviews which had sent us there. The pizza was one of the best we've ever had!

The entrance to Gerardo's

Amazing pizza

Next morning we knew that the weather was deteriorating during the afternoon so we got a good start and hiked in Red Rocks State Park, which was fairly close. We took the Apache Fire Trail loop. We had actually been here before with friends on our first RV trip west back in 2021 but we enjoyed it again. 

The views from Red Rocks State Park were great and the trails easy and fun.

The cottonwoods along the river weren't green
yet but this huge one was pretty impressive.

That's Apache Fire House on the left. Jack Frye, at
the time President of TWA and his wife Helen
built this. They divorced soon after and the 
property became her's. She was a colorful and
fascinating person! Right now it's lying unused
within the park but hopefully and good use
will be found. 

But now we faced a dilemma. We had one more night at Page Springs but the weather report looked alarming. A front was coming in with heavy rain, gusty winds and possible snow. We decided to pack up and move south. A few calls later we had reservations back at our old haunt in Casa Grande, south of Phoenix. Their hot tub was beckoning to us.  And after a long 4 hours (traffic through Phoenix) we settled Baby into her favorite site there and were in the hot tub lickity split.  Heaven! And we were so glad we made that decision. It poured that night and the wind was so strong it shook the trailer. We counted ourselves lucky we weren't next to that already rushing river in Sedona!