Sedona and Red Rocks

I woke up early, so before breakfast I went for a little walk and had time to enjoy the early morning sun lighting up the red rocks. At 9:00 our driver and red jeep met us at the hotel and we were off. We were headed somewhere up there. Soon off the paved roads, we bounced and jounced over ruts and rocks. I thought, "Oh, no. It's going to be a long morning." so I willed myself to relax my body, and especially my neck, and go with the flow. When we reached the end of the road, we were at 6000 ft and had a great view. Don't worry, Irene. I didn't really let it poke me. Back down the bumpy road, we had a short break, and then we headed out to Soldier Pass Trail. If I thought the first road was bumpy, it had nothing on this trail! The picture above is not the road, but sometimes it looked like this. An early Indian Paint Brush was blooming next to an agave. After three hours of jeep tours, we were ready to shake off the dust and hit Uptown Sedona. We had lunch and then did the shops. It was pleasantly warm, warm enough, we decided to have that hot fudge sundae I had been craving since before we left Seattle. This is the view from our ice cream eating terrace. We made fairly quick work of the street, so we caught the free bus to the Tlaquepaque, an arts center where the real treasures are to be found, if you can pay the price. Otherwise you just look, like we did. We did buy a handcrafted, Arizona made Christmas ornament to add to the travel section of our tree. Then we closed out the day with dinner at the Oak Creek Brewery and Pub. Good food and a good view from our dining window as the sun was setting. Some may think we're nuts, but as beautiful as Sedona is, we're ready to move on. Tomorrow we're back on the road.