Friday – December 15, 2017
While we were in Arizona we wanted to visit the town of Sedona, which is only 125 miles or a two hour drive north of Phoenix. It would have been a good day-trip, but we wanted to stay and experience the famous scenery of Sedona. We soon left saguaro cactuses and the Sonoran Desert behind and drove through the hilly and tree-less Prescott National Forest.
After speeding through boring wilderness, the topography changed and we knew we had arrived in “Red Rock Country.” Fortunately, there were several pull-outs so we could take pictures.
Sedona is a lovely western town nestled in the Verde Valley among impressive red sandstone rock formations. The town seemed to be spread out into three distinct sections: Uptown, West Sedona, and Oak Creek.
We drove slowly northbound on Route 179, passing spectacular scenery with names such as Bell Rock and Castle Rock. We used our GPS to find our hotel located along Oak Creek in Uptown Sedona off Route 89A.
The sun cast long shadows across Oak Creek Canyon and accentuated the colorful rocks. We checked into the hotel and took a walk along the shops on the main road. It had been an interesting day.
