We use words like awesome, vast, and enormous all the time. Well, the 10 days we spent traveling from Tucson to the Sedona area and then to Albuquerque put an entirely new spin on those words. Although we knew the Sedona area was not really an option for us as a home, we wanted to see the red rocks, the mesas and buttes, and were lucky to be able to take a side trip to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.
On our way, we visited Jerome, an old mining town nestled into the side of a mountain. They take their history seriously here. There is a façade of an old building that hides a glass artist’s studio, and an old jail that slid over 200 feet and still stands. Many buildings are said to be haunted and we had lunch at Haunted Hamurger (no nightmares that evening). There are tons of stairs that connect homes like we saw in Bisbee, lots of kitsch, shops, galleries, bars, and restaurants.
Jerome is right near Tuzigoot National Monument, which besides indulging my new obsession with visiting national parks, recreation areas and monuments, was our first view of pueblo ruins (from 900-1300 AD). The pueblo is on a hilltop, was built by the Sinagua people who were farmers and artists who traded with other Native Americans hundreds of miles away. When they were living at the pueblo, there was more water. They had sophisticated farming methods.
In all of the historic communities we saw, there used to be much more water, and so I learned something new on our way from Tucson to Sedona. Last fall and winter were relatively dry in many places in the Southwest, so fire restrictions, sometimes rated severe, are everywhere. This means no wood or charcoal fires, and as one sign indicated “Fire Restrictions – No Shooting.” I am such a midwest/northeast city person that Chris had to explain why!
We actually saw our first rain for a couple of months when we got to the Sedona area. It rained on and off much of the next day, so we took it easy in the morning, and visited an amazing building, Chapel of the Holy Cross. The Chapel of the Holy Cross is Catholic, built into the mesa, and designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. When I walked in, I was struck by the design similarities to Temple Sinai in Rochester. The side walls are slightly tipped towards the center, and the back wall is glass with an inspiring view.
We did spend the rest of the day shopping and eating , at Tlaquepaque (t-lac-apaca) Arts and Crafts Village – an authentic Mexican village (except for the modern stores). I think I might actually like shopping if all malls looked like this. On the way back to our AirB&B, we stopped and I tasted wine at Page Springs Winery.
About an hour from Flagstaff (outside of Winslow, AZ – any songs come to mind?) is a meteor crater that is 50,000 years old. Although it is not a national park (so I could not indulge my current obsession here), it is nearly one mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference and more than 550 feet deep. Because the local winds swirl and lift any accumulating dust out, it does not get filled in. You can tour the site and get lots of great scientific information.
On my own one day when Chris was otherwise engaged, I hiked at Fay Canyon, had lunch at a paleo restaurant, did a yoga class in Flagstaff, and had dinner at Criollo. Never fear, the hike was easy and well populated. That night was First Friday in Flagstaff, so there were people and music everywhere, open galleries, and an outdoor creperie.
Flagstaff had another great things to offer including one of the best signs I have ever seen about driving drunk. “Drive hammered, get nailed.” True that.
From Flagstaff one day, after breakfast at the tasty and funky retro Tourist Home Café and Market, we went to the Grand Canyon and oh my, is it grand! We biked across the south rim for 5-6 hours stopping along the way. OMG. Awesome. Vast. My mouth nearly hit the ground at the first view point and I continued to truly be in awe the whole day. I have traveled a lot and seen a lot of neat places, but the canyon is indescribable. On our way home that night, in a very dark place, we pulled over to see the stars. Without light, on a clear night, there were so many that it took your breath away.
On another day, we went to see two national monuments, Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well. These monuments preserve and show off cliff dwellings, again built by the Sinagua people. At the castle, there was a man playing music on a traditional flute which made the walk to see the dwellings kind of magical. We also got to eat traditional frybread on our way out, kind of like fried dough but lighter.
At Montezuma Well, we saw a large limestone sinkhole which is always full due to a natural spring, with cliff dwellings on the side. This pueblo built 7 miles of irrigation canals from the spring to their fields.
We did a balloon ride, a bunch of really great amazing hikes near Sedona, and visited the Petrified Forest National Park (which includes the painted desert) but that’ll be the topic of my next post.