Day 2: September 19, 2001
Arizona Route 66 to Sedona, AZ

Ellen & Libby on Route 66 near Needles

I guess we were both pretty tired because we slept in until 9:30. By the time we had gotten up and out, it was 11am. We had planned to blitz to Flagstaff and then spend the rest of the day poking along Rt 89A, a scenic road that goes from Flagstaff down to Sedona. However, shortly after we started driving, Walendo noticed that we could take a small scenic road that ran from just over the Arizona border to Kingman, about 60 miles. It was the old Route 66, which has always fascinated Walendo. I had read about it in the book and since it described a pretty desolate scene I wasn't that keen on it, but I agreed to go anyway. Walendo just wanted to wander our way along, feeling relaxed about time, and I was feeling eager to get to the places I knew were more likely to be scenic. I decided to give in and just go with it, even though I didn't expect much from the ride.

Chollo cactus on Rte 66

The guide book was right. This is desolate country. Just a long, winding road through rocky terrain. We stopped at one point to take pictures of strange looking trees (we later learned they're called Chollo cactus). We also took pictures of us in the middle of the road next to the Historic Route 66 signs. After climbing up into a rocky butte, we started to see some really run down shacks and a sign saying we were approching Oatman. It looked pretty dismal, and then we came up a hill and around a turn, and suddenly we were in Tourist Town USA. It was a western town with lots of souvenir shops in the middle of this hot, desolate country. How bizarre.

'Outskirts' of Oatman, AZ

We took a little walk down the street with Libby on the leash, and a man came up to us and told us not to walk with the dog because there are burros in town who will attack a dog by kicking it. He told us we shouldn't have brought her in the first place (thanks a lot), but then said we'd be okay if we walked on the other side of the street. I found a shop that had a sort of bandana/tie thingee made of American flag pattern, so I decided to get it so we could tie it around our car antenna. As I was buying it, Walendo called me out to the street where there were indeed burros walking up to people, insisting on food. I took the obligatory tourist pictures of the burros and then we moved on.

Aggressive burros in Oatman, AZ

(The guide books explain that Clark Gable and Carol Lumbard stayed in Oatman their first night after getting married in Kingman, to which Walendo replied, "That's a shame.")

After Oatman, the road got even more desolate as we climbed down the other side of the butte. We switched back for about 5-10 miles, and then came out on a long, straight, dry stretch. As we whizzed along, the bandana thingee started to climb up the antenna, and before it could fly off, we stopped and Walendo taped a small rock just above it, so it could crawl up. As we drove along this deserted area, we saw a few trailers along the road, and Walendo commented that this was one area that even he couldn't see living. It was just too dry and desolate.

Flagstaff Best Western

After a short while longer we came to Route 40 again. We got back on and this time we did just blitz along through Kingman and on to Flagstaff. We had started listening to Angle of Repose again, and we listened to a bunch more along the way. As we drove, the landscape became more wooded and a little cooler, much more habitable. Walendo started to take a liking to it, saying he could see living here. We arrived in Flagstaff about 2:30 or so. We used the coupon book we'd picked up in Needles and found a Best Western that takes dogs for $45. Apparently, the guy honored the rate but he was begrudging about it. Okay, as long as they honor it. (It turned out to be a perfectly fine hotel.)

Oak Creek Overlook

We dropped a few things off in the room and then went in search of food. I'd seen a shopping strip just down the road, so we stopped there and I got a raspberry scone at the Starbucks and Walendo got a sandwich at Subway. Then it was time to head toward Sedona on 89A (also called Oak Creek Canyon Drive). For the first 5 miles or so, it's lined with pine trees on both sides. Then there's a scenic pullout called Oak Creek Overlook, so we stopped to take a look. There was a short walkway with several overlooks that were okay. The land dropped down below into a canyon with lots of trees and some craggy yellow rocks sticking out, but it wasn't exceptional. There were dozens of tables set up with Indian wares being sold, mostly jewelry and pottery. I'm alsways tempted to buy those things, but I have lots of jewelry like that (that I wear only occasionally) so I resisted. We spent about 10 minutes there, and then moved on.

We drove slowly down the winding road, admiring the wooded landscape with glimpses of towering red rock formations between the trees. Walendo was warming quickly to the idea of moving here. After another 5 miles or so, we stopped at the West Fork Trailhead. It was around 5pm by now, so it seemed too late to go on a 6 mile hike (out and back). Instead, we wandered down to the creek to check it out. I shot a couple of pictures before the light faded on the towering rocks.

Walendo with Libby romping in Oak Creek

Then we just hung out and enjoyed the lovely, still creek. Libby was full of energy and she kept acting like she wanted to go into the water, but wouldn't quite do it. (She did take several drinks from the river, digging in so she wouldn't slide in.) Finally, Walendo decided to take his shoes off and wade in the water so that Libby would feel better about going in. Indeed, she did. She would plop her way into the water until she could swim, head out to some point we couldn't determine and then make a bee line back to shore. She did this several times, each time happily shaking off and prancing about on the shore. Good thing it's free to take digital pictures cuz we sure took enough of them.

Walendo & Libby hugging

After drying off a bit, we headed back. We decided to come back tomorrow, so we figured we'd scout out the trail first. We found what starts as a paved walkway behind the trailhead bathrooms and walked along. After about 100 yards we came to a neat bridge going over the creek. I took a few shots of the towering cliffs just beyond the bridge with the converging lines of the bridge railing in the foreground. I have high hopes for that. We continued along the walk on the other side of the bridge for another few hundred yards. It should be a lovely walk tomorrow. We turned back and returned to the car.

Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona

We continued on into Sedona, which is set in the most amazing scenery. Giant red rock formations jut out all around the town, which is set in a valley. The road into Sedona is full of touristy shops, but then we took a left at "the Y" (as they call it) onto 179, which I remembered is where more of the "real" galleries are. We continued driving, just to scope things out, on past the town into the neighborhood just beyond the town. Walendo wanted to explore so we turned into one very nice looking neighborhood. We drove to the end of the road, which just happened to be the road to a famous chapel (Chapel of the Holy Cross) built right into one of the jutting red rocks. It was pretty impressive.

After admiring it for a while, we turned around and meandered through the neighborhood. It was an area with custom homes that looked right out of an Architectural Digest special on the Southwest. There were still lots available and some flyers describing the houses. One of the large, really nice ones was "only" $650K, which seems reasonable to us Bay Area residents. Another smaller one was a mere $450K, which seems like a real bargain. So even though it's an expensive area, it seemed reasonable to think we could find a very nice place we could afford if we sold our place. It's certainly appealing to think about. We wondered how much tech work there is, and what people do in this area. We'll look for some ways to find out.

Sedona Red Rocks

On the way back, we stopped in a little complex full of galleries. Most were closed, so we window shopped. Then we noticed a nice looking restaurant called Shugrue's Hillside Grill near the top, so we decided to stop there to eat. It was a bit expensive but within reason, so we went for it. Just before we went in, we noticed this one bright red rock formation that was lit up. It was around 6:30pm and the whole valley was in shade, so it was pretty dramatic. I had to go back to the car to get the camera.

Dinner was wonderful. They sat us so we could look out at the lovely view, and the food turned out to be delicious. I had a dish with grilled vegetables and three-color ravioli and it was in a really tasty sauce. Walendo had shrimp stuffed with crab and bacon, which was also yummy. It's been a while since we ate somewhere that good. The waitress was also very friendly and helpful, so we tipped her well. The only drawback was that they had no chocolate desserts. Ah well, just as well. I was stuffed already.

After dinner, we drove back through town and I spotted a homemade ice cream store, so we had to stop. (So much for being full.) First I wanted to go to the photo store to get a lens-cap-holder-on-er thingee, but they were closed. But it gave us an excuse to stroll down the street. Even though it's touristy, it's still a nice strip, nicer than some other tourist streets. I bought a Sedona calendar for next year (a tradition for me), and Walendo found a nice little ledge to sit on with Libby. We sat for a while, wondering again whether we could live here. Of course we wound up discussing whether we could get high-speed internet access. We'll have to find out.

We made it back to the ice cream store and I got a cone while Walendo got a shake. The ice cream was decent, but not great. The texture was very creamy but it was a bit too sweet for my taste. Still, I managed to eat it. We drove the windy road back up to Flagstaff, stopping before we got to our hotel at the Flagstaff Barnes and Noble to pick up a novel for Walendo and a trail guide for us tomorrow. Then we got gas and came back to the hotel.

Walendo watched more on the terrorist fallout. Still no real news. Then we checked out the maps and guidebooks and decided to stay in this area at least tomorrow and maybe longer. Tomorrow we'll take that West Fork trail, and I found the trail to Cathedral Rock. I've seen picturse of it for years, so I'd like to see it myself. It's a short walk (.7 miles), so we should be able to do both in a day, and maybe check out some of the galleries in Sedona. I'm beginning to like the idea of not trying to drive on all the scenic roads in Arizona and instead stay here and explore the area in more detail, and then do the same in the Santa Fe area. We'll see how it goes.

Previous   (Drive through CA)

Next   (Sedona, AZ)