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Travel Journal: Southwestern U.S.
Day 3: September 20, 2001
Hiking Oak Creek Trail in Sedona, Arizona
 | | Oak Creek Trail |
 | | Libby romping in Oak Creek |
Today we planned to take the West Fork hike along Oak Creek Canyon Drive (Rte 89A between Flagstaff & Sedona). We stopped a the grocery store to pick up some lunch items and then drove back down Oak Creek Canyon drive. It's quite a lovely stretch. We got to the trailhead we'd scoped out the night before and started on our way. The trail follows a stream the entire way, climbing very gently and crossing it many times along the 3 mile trail (it's an out and back trail for a total of 6 miles). All around are towering red rock formations with bright green trees and bushes jutting out from the rock. After about a quarter mile in the open sun, you're pretty much on a sun dappled path along the stream. If you look up through the trees, you see the towering rock formations high above your head, it's very dramatic. At many points along the way, you reach open areas where the stream water pools into a little pond.
 | Libby sliding down ramp
at Oak Creek Canyon |
Libby loved these areas. The first time we stopped at one, she romped into the water to pick up a stick and dropped it at our feet, urging us to throw it. Then she'd plop her way into the water to fetch it, happy as can be. At one point, she released the stick in an area where the current went over a flat, slippery rock that slid down at about a 20 degree angle for about 6 feet. She went after it, and found herself losing her grip. She ended up slipping her way backwards down the slide. She landed in a pool of water, found her stick, and clambered back up onto the rocky shore. She couldn't decide whether that had been fun or scary, and she seemed to tease herself by placing the stick near that area where it slid over the edge, but not quite. We grabbed the stick and threw it so it would go over the lip and follow it she did, this time slip-sliding down face first. I guess she decided she liked it because the next time, she placed it in the right spot and slid down again with a big goofy grin on her face. It was great to watch her play like a puppy again.
 | | Oak Creek Canyon Trail |
We stopped many times along the trail so I could take pictures. I had stupidly not brought my wide-angle lens, which is exactly what you need to capture the towering rocks so close overhead. So I did the best I could trying to get the sense of the place. Walendo was very nice about waiting patiently as I framed my shots. It was a fairly busy trail, and we'd pass people going the other way every 10 or 20 minutes. People were friendly as they often are on trails like this. Several other people had dogs as well, which was nice. It's great that there are wilderness areas where you can still take your dog. (We hate that they don't allow them in National Parks.)
 | End of Oak Creek
Canyon Trail |
Finally we reached the end of the trail, which was after a short climb up away from the water, and then back down to meet it again. The end point wasn't that much different from other places where the trail went to the water. Apparently, you can keep going along the trail if you're willing to wade through the water, but we felt like we had gone far enough, so we sat for a while and played with Libby, who just wouldn't tire of plopping into the water to fetch sticks. She also went after the biggest rocks she could find, much to the amusement of some of the other people gathered at the end of the trail.
 | Bridge to Oak
Creek Canyon Trail |
After sitting a while, we headed back. This way we got into a steady walking groove, stopping only once or twice for a few more pictures. We chatted more as we walked, too. It had felt like more than 3 miles the way there, maybe because we stopped a lot, but the walk back felt shorter. Still, even though the trail is pretty flat most of the way, we were both feeling it in our legs or feet by the time we got back. We had spent about 3.5 hours on the trail, much of that spent watching Libby play and taking pictures.
We hadn't brought our lunches with us because we didn't think we'd spend so long on the trail. That had been a mistake. There were many places along the way that would have made wonderful lunch spots. Instead, when we got back, we pulled out our food. I had a fruit salad and a scone and Walendo had a ham and cheese sandwich. Libby got some of the bread and ham that happened to get flung her way.
 | View from Sedona
neighborhood |
After relaxing a bit longer, neither of us felt like walking around Sedona to look at galleries (we were both a bit grungy and we had walked enough), and we were definitely too hired to hike up to Cathedral Rock. So instead, we drove into Sedona and then wandered around the neighborhoods checking out the houses. Oh my goodness, we saw some houses with amazing views. Walendo took some pictures of the views as we drove by so we'd remember. There are some gorgeous houses here. Some are expensive, but not as bad as our area, and given the views, we practically were ready to buy a house right then and there. We continued driving around, seeing some gorgeous houses and some regular neighborhoods, even some trailer homes, all near each other.
Not sure what to do next, we wound up climbing up Schnebly Hill and parked at a little parking area with some picnic benches overlooking the view. We just lay there on the benches and enjoyed the view. Finally we headed back into Sedona and stopped once at a Grill and realized that we just weren't that hungry after having such a late lunch. Instead, we decided to head back to the hotel and grab something simple later when we got hungry. It was 6pm at that point, and Bush was going to be giving a speech to Congress, so we listened to it as we drove up Oak Creek Canyon Drive back to Flagstaff. It was a good speech, we both agreed. It's nice to see him doing well and the Congress united for once. I guess some good things come out of all this.
We got back to the hotel and cleaned up a bit. We looked at the map and came up with a plan for tomorrow and the next few days. I still do want to climb to Cathedral Rock and get those pictures, so we'll do that first, then we'll head up to Monument, which Walendo has never seen. Then he suggested we head into southern Colorado, which has a lot of scenic roads that I haven't seen. That idea is appealing to me because some of it will be new, and it's in the spirit of going wherever we feel like. Walendo even suggested going up to Leadville, because Susan and Oliver are there right now in the book Angle of Repose. It's a bit out of the way, but hey, what's "the way" anyway? Maybe we will, we'll see. I'm still a little anxious about making the most of the time, but little by little, I'm relaxing about it and becoming willing to make decisions for the next day without worrying about how that affects the rest of the trip.
We started to get a little hungry, so we went out to find a quick bite. We wound up stopping at Jack in the Box, which was just fine, quick and easy. While I was sitting waiting for the food, I overheard two guys talking at the next table. Then one of them got a call on his cell phone, so I listened to that, noticing his speaking volume. I was curious if he was speaking louder over the phone than he had been to the guy he was with. When he hung up, I found I could hear just about as well when he spoke to his friend. So that guy, at least, didn't change his volume. But it seemed more intrusive somehow, for him to be talking on the phone rather than with the other person. I wonder, in general, if this is the case or if people really do speak louder into the phone.
We ate quickly and came back to the room. I dialed up and found that there was no new book chapter for me to review. Candy and George were on Hubbub, so we said hello. It was nice to catch up quickly. George helped me come up with a good idea -- I sent email to Christina asking her to email my phone if there's a new chapter to review, so I don't have to dial up each evening. It feels a little like a burden to have to dial up after a long day of doing other things. I wind up reading work email, so it's not allowing me to relax as much. I hope she does that.
We decided to upload the pictures on the camera to the laptop and checked them out. There are some great ones of Libby in the water, and a terrific one of her sliding down the slide, obviously having fun. It's great to be able to see pictures so quickly. So now I'm writing all this up while Walendo reads and Libby lies conked out on her bed on the floor. She's had a long but fun day.
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