Sedona Is Simply Splendid
- Mar 19, 2022
- 5 min read
They we’re calling for snow in Williams, AZ, where we stayed for the Grand Canyon. So we decided to leave a day early. The campground was nice enough to refund us the day and luckily our Sedona campsite had availability. If they didn’t, we were still getting out of dodge. There is no way we would drive that white knuckle route in the snow.
We stayed at Page Springs RV Park in Cornville. It was a ten minute drive from Sedona. We found out later that Senator John McCain lived on Page Spring Rd and dined often at the restaurant at the top of the RV Park’s driveway. It was a busy little campground with a creek running through it and a walking trail, but there was no cell service, we had to pay for crappy WiFi and minimal TV channels. That was rough!
The first day it was raining, but we couldn’t wait to get sightseeing. So, we took an hour recognizance car tour of the town and it's outskirts. Scouting out the what, where's and how's.
It was still chilly and damp the next day, but we bundled up and headed out. We had lunch at the Open Range Grill and Tavern with beautiful views of the mountains. We walked around Uptown Sedona and then headed to Chapel of the Holy Cross which we ran into the day before. The day before it was raining too much to get out. This time we did. The views from there were amazing and the chapel was stunning and peaceful. Brad even sat and said a prayer and he's Jewish. Uptown Sedona was a pretty spot that is more like a downtown area filled with restaurants, shoppes, stores, art, Jeep and ATV rental places. We went back there a couple more times throughout the week.
There were at least four wineries right on Page Springs Rd, so we went to one that night. We didn't realize they all close pretty early, but Page Springs Vineyards and Cellars let us come in anyway while they were closing up. We had a bottle of wine and then sat with one of the workers who gave us a few ideas of what to do around town.
We started the next day with a little shopping at this really cool village Tlaquepaque and ended the day with dinner at a Mexican restaurant. That's pear cactus in the picture in case you are wondering. After a quick shopping excursion, where we bought nothing, we went sightseeing cause there are plenty of beautiful sights in Sedona.
Sightseeing in Sedona is like walking and driving through a photo magazine. The views, the mountains, and the red rock were just magnificent. There was a house on top of a mountain that had an external elevator that took them down to their garage. Imagine living there and having to bring in the groceries? Kathy chose not to join Brad climbing to the Vortex at the Airport Overlook. After seeing the video he took, she was jealous she missed out. Check it out below and you'll see what we mean. We did get to share the sunset at the Airport Vista Overlook with a bunch of people. We are used to watching sunsets on the water and you watch the reflection on the ocean. In Sedona, the sunset against the mountains might be prettier than the sunset view in the sky.
Day four was a little cloudy. We went to Montezuma Castle National Monument. The Sinagua people built a place to live in the side of the mountain. They didn't let you go into the castle but it was pretty cool to see anyway. When we left, we went to the Cliff Casino, since we had to pass right by it to get on the highway. Brad made a small deposit there but it was still a fun time.
By the time day 5 came around, we needed a day to relax. We also got the news that we had a place to store the RV near LA so we can go home and visit our family. We needed to change some RV plans and book our flights home. We needed dependable internet and cellphone service so after Brad’s work out day. we spent a few hours in a Starbucks in Cottonwood. We went food shopping and had some steaks on the grill for dinner. Can’t be on the go everyday. We switched the dates of our RV campsite reservations, booked our flights and car rental so it was a constructive day. We’re excited and anxious to get home.. We have a lot to celebrate and we miss our kids and grands.
We had reservations for “Blazin M Ranch“ on Wednesday at 5pm, so we decided to take a ride to find out what hiking trails we were going to go to the next couple of days. You don’t even have to get out of the car to enjoy the beauty of Sedona. Everyday looks different In Sedona. The backdrop of the mountains change with the weather. Always beautiful!
Blazin M Ranch is a western themed ranch with shops, a saloon, axe throwing, bull riding , riding, a shooting range, a train ride and a dinner show. It was fun! The guy who's driving the train is in the show, the girl running the shooting range is a Server, the wife and her husband who were shooting the shit with in the saloon were one of the singers and a member of the band. And, they all held down whatever role they played wonderfully. Good entertainment, food, and fun!
The last day in Sedona we jammed a bunch of stuff in. We started on a midday hike at Boynton Canyon Trailway. It started off rough cause we weren't on the same page on which way to go but after we ironed that little disagreement out we headed off. It was beautiful but a bit aggressive for one of us so we cut the hike a little short. It was still pretty nevertheless.
We hung back to the Rv and met our neighbors. The Johnsons were also Bounder owners so we chatted it up and shared experiences. They were from Arizona so they made a couple local recommendations. One was to hit the DA Vineyards which was one of the four aforementioned wineries. We headed out after hanging out with them and figuring we would be able to catch our 6:30 dinner reservation at Up The Creek.
We learned that this vineyard was owned by a very successful and very rich family that owned 45,000 acres of land. This "little" eighteen acre vineyard was lovely. We did a tasting and changed were we sat after every one ounce pour. Derek the bartender was an excellent host. The vineyard had goats, a donkey, horsehoes, a campfire, along with a wonderful lodge to compliment good wine. After a few games of tick-tack-toe and our tasting over, we headed out.
We passed the restaurant we were eating at thirty times since it was at the top of the hill by our campground. Kathy called in the morning to make a reservation but they said they were booked. So on our way out Brad jumped out of the car at the restaurant to see if making it personal would get us in. He walked out with a 6:30 reservation at the bar. It was a spending meal. Kathy had a rib eye with bernaise sauce. Brad had venison with a blueberry gastrique and we split a wonderful roasted Brussel sprout appetiser with a balsamic reduction. and a scrumptdelicious brandy duck liver pate. The food was wonderful. The bartender a bit of a grump but god bless John McCain. Now we know why it was his favourite restaurant.
We have gotten this blog out early if it wasn't for the poor internet service but there it was. Thank you for reading down this far. San Diego is next! Peace, Love and Soul train.
Kathy and Brad
I subscribed to Arizona highways for years when I was Maybe in my 20’s. I LOVED the magazine. And to this f’ing day Ive never been! Sedona looks and sounds amazing and everyone I’ve ever k own who has been there says the same. One day….
and you can never just pass a vineyard by without partaking. Was it actually good? Eh, guess it doesn’t matter.