A Sedona Sampler

The weather in Arizona has been unsettled for the past several days.  Lately, we have experienced thunderstorms, hail, sleet, overcast rainy days and some chilly night time temperatures.  We are enjoying our stay in Flagstaff yet there are still a few points of interest that are on our list to visit while we're here.  Sedona, a town surrounded by surreal red rock formations, was one place we wanted to revisit.  Our first trip there was a brief stay in the summer of 2001.  No doubt, we were surprised at how much this town has grown since that last visit.  Sunny, blue sky days make for the best photographs of the red rock formations and since our weather has been cloudy and rainy our day's visit was with limited sunshine.

Oak Canyon Scenic Drive and Oak Creek Canyon Vista Point

Oak Creek Canyon Vista Point's view of the very curvy road leading to the bottom of the canyon.

Once you reach Sedona, you're greeted by the towering red rock formations..and traffic.

Clouds on both days of our trip didn't give us the best photo opportunities.  Still, the cliffs and surrounding landscapes are just beautiful.

 The unexpected and visually striking architecture of the Chapel of the Holy Cross catches your attention as it sits against the red rock cliffs.

We started out driving the Schnebly Hill Road, said to be one of Sedona's most scenic.  Ron drove 2 miles in an hour's time before turning around.  The road surface can only be described as teeth-rattling and rock-exposed.. not for our Jeep.

The bumpy drive did however give us a little experience of the red rock back country.  We drove on to the town of Cottonwood, enjoyed lunch, then drove up the hillside to visit the small mining town of Jerome.  Again, we were so surprised at the growth of this tiny town.  Our memorable visit in 2001 of one restaurant, a few artist studios and some rundown buildings was way different from this trip.  Jerome now has souvenir shops, more artist galleries, a hotel, wine tastings, restaurants and... that same unbelievable view of the Verde Valley.

A roadside view, north of the town of Jerome.  You can see Sedona at the foot of the red rock formations and Cottonwood in the Verde Valley.

We also enjoyed a ride on the Scenic Chairlift at the Arizona Snow Bowl.  The ski lift takes you to the top of the San Francisco Peaks with what is suppose to be sweeping views.  The aspen were colorful but our view was ..well..cold, misty and cloudy.  In spite of being cold and damp, we still enjoyed a memorable trip to the top of the mountain.

More later..