We love this campground but the internet is terrible down here in the valley. It has taken me almost two hours to get the pictures loaded. That will be the only reason I'll be glad to leave here next Sunday as otherwise I love the peace and quiet.
Yours truly had a birthday this week so we enjoyed a day in Sedona to celebrate. We hadn't been to Red Rock State Park before so chose to stop there ($10 entrance fee). It is a 286 acre nature preserve with stunning scenery and many trails, some easier than others. This is only a day-use park so no camping allowed and no dogs which we thought was interesting as many people like to hike with their dogs. We weren't really prepared to hike for any length of time as it was still a warm day, so we took a very short trail called the Smoke Trail, part of which runs along Oak Creek Canyon. They had some pretty bad storms in that area a couple of weeks before so some of the trails and their footbridges were washed out and closed for repair. They say wildlife is abundant within the park (mule deer, javelina, coyotes, & snakes) but we didn't see any. There are many things to see and do in and around Sedona so it's a place we try and find something different each time we're in the area. Probably one of our favorites was a Pink Jeep Tour (yes the jeeps are pink) and they have a variety of tours to choose from depending on how adventuresome you are.
Then we continued on with a drive on the Red Rock Loop Road into Sedona. Wow, there are some beautiful homes on this route. We had a nice casual lunch in downtown Sedona at a local barbecue restaurant with a great view. I asked our waiter if he knew the names of the rock formations we could see out their big picture window but he only knew 'Snoopy' which I'll post a picture of below. This restaurant was in a little strip mall off the main shopping street in Sedona and I saw a sign for 'going out of business' so, of course, had to check it out. It was a typical touristy type place with t-shirts but also some very nice turquoise/silver jewelry. In a conversation with the owner, he said the economy just hasn't come back for him and after 36 years, in the same location, he was closing the doors and I could tell he was very sad about it. He said the hotels and restaurants in Sedona are all doing very well, but people just aren't spending money on other things such as 'souvenirs'. Very sad! We made a couple of other stops to do some shopping so it was a great birthday.
The rest of this week hasn't been anything special to write about. We've met some nice people here at the park and enjoyed some good conversation including one man who is full timing with his beautiful black lab in a tent. We 'suspect' he's recently divorced as he told Dick that he was only able to buy a truck right now, and the trailer will come later this winter. In the meantime, it's just the tent. It's just been a week of housekeeping, Murphy getting a bath, some long phone conversations about insurance, you know the kind of weeks.
We have some friends (former neighbor from CA who now live in FL) that will be visiting this week as they make their way to NM. We haven't seen them in about 8 years and are so glad they're going to stop as they've been in CA for a family wedding and now seeing other family/friends on their way back to FL.
We did learn today that the RV park in Lakewood, NM that was flooded a couple of weeks ago is coming back to life and they expect the folks to be able to return by 10/1 as they said earlier. The RO water system has been repaired, power is back, and now it's a matter of cleaning up, getting the sites level again, and retrieving the items that had washed out into the desert (no RVs but some sheds and small yard items, tools, etc.)
We will leave here next Sunday and then be in Sun City in another 100 miles (another long driving day....LOL). I will do another blog next Sunday and then will probably 'go on hiatus' for awhile.
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| Eagle's Nest (highest point within the park and a 300' climb) |
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| One of the washed out footbridges along Smoke Trail |
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| Oak Creek Canyon along Smoke Trail |
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| Just some more Sedona beautiful red rock |
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| This was the view from our window at lunch. 'Snoopy' is to the right of the big red rocks in the center. He's laying on his back. We saw him right away and hope you can too. |
Happy Birthday Michael......we love you and wish you many many more! We're also very glad to hear you're heels are doing better and we look forward to seeing you next week when we get to Sun City.
Happy Trails until we meet again.......
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