Monday, 18
August 2008
Day’s Starting Pedometer Mileage: 822.
Due to the lack of sleep the night
before, it took a little longer to get going today. I was on the road at a decent time so I could
head to Sedona. I took Route 89A south,
and being on twenty-something miles away, it still takes an hour because of the
twisty-turns and switchbacks. The Mohawk
Trail in Massachusetts
on the way to Earl’s was a breeze compared to this. I enjoyed every twisty turn. (As you descended into Oak Creek Canyon on
89A, going around a switchback at 15 mph, I could hear Mom’s voice the way she
would tell Dad to go slower when coming up to the notorious Hairpin Turn on the
Mohawk Trail.) The guy at the hotel
front desk had suggested if I had never been down 89A before to do it in the
daylight to appreciate it. He was
right. Although due to other drivers
doing odd things, I missed the Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Outlook (so I would just
have to remember to stop there on the way back through).
These are strictly observations,
not meant to have positive or negative elements, just a record of what
was. The city of Sedona was nice,
nestled among the rocks, but the places that were suppose to be “all over” to
get a Red Rock Pass (what you need to park at most places to do hiking in
Sedona) were non-existent. Driving thru
the city (much like another Lake
George Village Oaxaca (pronounced
“wa-hoc-ca”) that Lee had recommended to eat at, but I wasn’t ready for
something that wasn’t breakfast food yet.
I found no less than three Visitor’s Centers, all closed. And I found from Upper
Sedona , down past the “Y” (intersection), and out towards Schnebly Hill Road ,
it was all tore up with a massive construction project that made getting around
extremely difficult.
Eventually I found a public parking
lot where I figured I would walk around to get a lay of the land. I was immediately accosted by some guy who
was trying to get me to buy-in to a time-share.
While I did get some useful information out of him, he found it
difficult to take “no” for an answer.
I’m not interested in the time-share; can you tell me where I can get a Red Rock
Pass
The only places that were open for
breakfast were expensive (ten bucks for bacon and eggs), and a single coffee
shop (with pastries that I didn’t find appealing). None of the stores were open yet, and there
were no signs letting you know when they would be open (i.e., hours of
operation). I’m sure most places open at
9 or 10, but knowing that fact makes a difference on whether a wait for a
little bit or to go someplace else.
One of the few open establishments
was the Pink Jeep Tours, and I was able to get on a tour that would be leaving
within the hour. I paid $80 for the
two-hour Broken Arrow
tour, and it was worth every penny! You
have these high-clearance 4x4 Jeep Wranglers with covered tops (but open on the
sides) that can hold up to 8 people (including the driver). Our driver, Mike, commented that it was
unseasonably humid today at 20% (as Sedona normally gets up to 5%). 10 am in Sedona felt like 10 am in Austin .
The Pink Jeep took us back in the
rugged country where we saw Submarine Rock, the Two Nuns, and a few other minor
peaks. I could vaguely see Captain
Nemo’s “Nautilus” in Submarine Rock, but couldn’t really picture the other rock
formation as two nuns. It was a bumpy
ride that threw and shook you all around, and was way better than any
roller-coaster. The Pink Jeeps were able
to go over 45-60 degree bare rock faces (up and down) with no problem. While a lot of that comes from the way the
Pink Jeeps are designed, it also has a lot to do with the skills of the drivers
and their first-hand knowledge of the terrain.
All the passengers were sure to tip Mike when we were done for the great
job he did.
There was a family from New Jersey in the Pink
Jeep with me, and I got chatting with the dad.
When I mentioned I was originally from New York
an hour north of Albany , the first thing out of
his mouth was “Oh, like Glens Falls ?” Hit that nail on the head. Our driver commented that he was originally
from Watkins Glen (out by the Finger Lakes ),
and he had moved down here about twenty years ago.
After the Pink Jeep Tour, it was
noon and time for breakfast, so I went to Oaxaca .
I got my standard two cheese enchiladas (no beans, extra rice), and got
excellent service and a good smile from my waitress. It was something that lived up to the
expectation that had been set. After
that, I returned to the car, and fought my way through traffic to Crystal
Castle for the major part of the Sedona mission.
When Lee had been to Sedona a few
years back, she bought an orange and black sarong that Stoopid decided to chew
apart last year. Lee had commented about
how meaningful the sarong was to her, so when I first made plans to come to Arizona , I made sure I
would hunt for a replacement. I even
brought the sarong with me so I could match up the Celtic pattern with whatever
I found there. As Lee had made a number
of comments about it, it was something that was very important to her, so it
was important for me to find a replacement.
I told the lady at Crystal Castle
the whole story of how Stoopid chewed on it, and it was my mission to find a
replacement. Of course when I told the
story, I referred to the culprit as “my son” (as most pet owners refer to their
pets). The lady commented that my son
must’ve been a dog in an earlier life. I
chuckled that it was my dog, or my “furry child.” Still no sarongs that even matched the one I
had brought with me, but there was something that had to come home with
me. I did see some red coral pieces that
weren’t bad, but they were all glued to a plastic base (so I didn’t get any).
The lady thought my pyramid was
cool, especially the “crack” in it. I
said it was like me, slightly flawed.
She called the uptown store to see what they had for sarongs, and they
had some potential that I would have to check out. The lady said with all the energy I was
putting into finding a replacement that I was a “keeper,” and my love was lucky
to have me.
Slightly out of chronological order
now, but staying on this theme, I had gone to the uptown store to look at what
sarongs they had. The gentleman there
was ok, but not as interesting. I did
find a potential, and I hope Lee likes it.
It wasn’t exact, and the spirits should understand it’s the thought that
counts. I also went to two other places
to check out what they had. The first
had no luck at all and no good energy.
The other had a worse selection of sarongs, but the lady at the Magic
Clothing store at least took some time to help me look around.
When I told her what I was doing,
she commented that my family name must start with an “M” because of the trouble
I went thru to find this. Now with only
26 choices of letters, that was still pretty good (and I never where anything
with my initials on it to “give it away”).
She asked my family name, I told her, and she commented that the “M”
means I’m “driven,” the last “R” was “orderly,” and the “C” was for
“creative.” She said having a “U” in any
of my names (first, middle, or last) would balance that all nicely. I don’t remember what the trait was that “U”
represented, and I don’t know where she was getting this info from, but it was
still interesting.
Now Sedona is one of Lee’s favorite
places in the world, and it was where I had the worst experiences all trip. Usually there’s about one a day, here it was
one bad experience for each good experience.
Those bad experiences included being accosted by the time-share people
(worse than panhandlers, because at least panhandlers go away when you tell
them no), nearly being hit in a parking lot by a lady who paid absolutely no
attention to me in a parking lot, being unable to locate any Red Rock Passes,
the gas station that refused to take my credit card (cash or debit only), and
the bad service I got at Red Planet Diner.
Lee had been to Red Planet Diner
when she went to Sedona last year, so I knew what the goofy theme was, so it
sounded like that it would be fun to check out.
I planned to stop in to the Re Planet Dinner for a quick bite, and the
host greeted me with apathy. It took a
while for someone to even come over to my seat so I could order, and by that
time I was only interested in a milkshake.
There was only about a dozen people in the place, one waiter, and four
other guys just standing around ignoring all the patrons. It was also a long time just to get my bill,
and then a long time to get my change.
It took roughly the same time as it did at Oaxaca to order food, cook it, eat it, and
pay for it with my credit card.
I drove down towards Boynton Canyon
(past Thunderhead Point), turned around (as it was red Rock Pass Grand Canyon , or earlier in the day). After that were the previously mentioned
stops in the quest for Lee’s sarong.
About that time I had enough of
Sedona for the day, and thought I might be able to walk around Slide Rock. I cruised up 89A and when I got there I saw
it was $10 to get in. Now I wasn’t being
a tight-ass with money, but I had spent quite a bit today. And the fact there were dark clouds brewing
for the afternoon monsoon, I had no desire to be rained on again as I was out
hiking (like I was at Sunset Volcano).
Additionally, the park was to close in about 90 minutes, and I didn’t
think I could enjoy the trail while rushing to get it done before they would
come and kick me out.
I just continued up the road to the
Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Overview that I wasn’t able to stop at on the way. That was worth taking a few shots there, as I
was a little north of the storm I avoided (and would’ve felt if I was at Slide
Rock). The Overview was going to close
in about 15-20 minutes, so I didn’t spend a lot of time there. The time I did spend there was worth it
though. The view from the Overview was
amazing, looking at a gorge of grey store with green trees all over it. You couldn’t see any of Sedona from here, but
you could see how 89A snaked its way up the side of the Canyon walls. I took a few shots to get a sense of the
road, in addition to a panoramic view to show the beauty. Of three terrains I like (forested mountains,
desert peaks, and tropical coasts), I had now gotten to experience two of them
this trip. This place also had a sign
saying you could get Red Rock Passes here, but that was in the Ranger Station
which was (of course) closed. Now I had
a desire to swim in the hotel pool at least once when I here, and I hadn’t been
able to do so because of the afternoon Flagstaff
monsoons. The rain beat me back, so no
swimming today.
Since my energy level was low, when
I returned to Flagstaff
I just went across the street to Dell Taco for cheap fast food. Before you say anything about that fact I’d
rather not eat at a chain restaurant when I’m on vacation because I can eat
there at home, there are no Dell Taco’s in Austin .
In fact, the only time I’d eaten at a Dell Taco was out in Rochester . So there!
:P
Lee was not at all pleased with the
experiences I had in Sedona, and said I was being negative about it. It didn’t mean to be negative; I was just
reporting things the way they occurred or my perception of it. Lee had a very different experience in
Sedona, and it wasn’t remotely like what I had.
I chalk it up not only the different time she was there, but just
different encounters.
I told her since (finally) at the
end of the day I was able to score a Red Rock Pass (and have it dated for
tomorrow by the nice old man in the Visitor’s Center I was finally able to get
to), that I was going to get up at the ass-crack of dawn (like I did for the
Grand Canyon), and get there before the tourists were up and about. I figured that I should be able to do the
hikes I want unmolested.
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