Riding to Sedona and back, the long way (is there any other?)

After much email correspondence with Kenn and Lora Trout, we decided that we would meet on Wednesday the 12th of March for dinner. Kenn and Lora attended Blanchard River Church of Christ with us back in Dunkirk, Ohio. They sold their home and moved to Camp Verde, AZ buying a house sight unseen. That was brave but it turned out that it is a beautiful place on the top of a hill with a gorgeous view, (you'll see some pics later).
We left about eleven oclock in the morning and went out the 101 East to Shea Blvd and got onto Hwy 87 north. This took us from the low desert to the high pine desert in the mountains. The scenery - by this I mean plants, terrain, and vegetation - about six times by the time we got to Sedona. We saw a sign for the Zane Gray cabin in Payson, AZ and decided that we should stop because my father and Becky's grandfather Dick Morris have read Gray's books. Grandpa Dick has read just about everything the man has written. We turned and then missed the second turn, ended up on a dirt road and made a U-turn. Then we stopped at a visitors center which sat on several large ponds.

The visitors center is left of the fountain above the dock. Becky and I are walking on the right side on the sidewalk. (Patrick's handiwork)

 I asked the lady in the visitors center where the Zane Gray cabin was. She looked out the back window and said, "I can see it from her." So she could, it was on the other side of the pond and we walked around to it.

Leaving Payson, we continued on AZ87 and I saw a sign for Tonto Natural Bridge. I stopped because I wanted to see it.

From #1 overlook, the best view of the natural bridge

#4 overlook. You can see a small waterfall. Standing on #3 overlook, you can feel the spray blowing back at you from the waterfall

A footbridge for one of the many trails that lead down and around the natural bridge

#3 overlook was on top of the natural bridge and this hole was covered by a grate. It made a beautiful sight but alas as always, the camera fails to capture the true beauty that the naked eye can see. The water fall dissipates into droplets before hitting the rock below.

A pack of Javalina wandered across the park as we were leaving.

Patrick and I convinced Becky to hike down into the gorge with Patrick. I myself would have done this but someone needed to stay with the dog and I'm on doctor's orders not to walk long distances. So she agreed adn they walked down into the gorge under the bridge. Patrick found a path that required basic rock climbing skills and hopped up and down over the rocks wanting Becky to tag along. She isn't into that kind of hiking so she declined. He had a good time and a good story to tell.
Leaving the park, we headed for Kenn and Lora's house and found it nestled at the top of one of many hills in Camp Verde.

The front of Kenn and Lora's house

On the back deck of their house.

See that bush on the left? It is in the middle of the deck so here is a picture off the right side of the deck. If you turn just a bit more to the right, there are other houses sitting on the top of the hill.

A view from the left side of the deck. In the valley is the verde river and it is surrounded by cottonwood trees and they get to see the changing of the seasons from their back porch.

We left their house and followed them into Sedona. We ate at the Wildflower Bread Company. It was all tasty food and good deserts. After good fellowship and fun, we turned Kenn and Lora loose and headed for the Sky Ranch Lodge. It was a nice place to stay and sits on top of a hill by the airport providing majestic views of the beautiful red rocks of Sedona. But a word about the room. It was old and walls were paper thin. You can't be serious, Evan, they aren't that thin. Well, the guy above us got up in the middle of the night. I could hear him walk across the floor, shut the bathroom door and urinate, then return to the bed. The guy next door had a crying baby and I listened to him open and shut the microwave door, press all the buttons, run, beep and open and shut again. What a long night.
In the morning, we were treated to unequaled views.

Inside our room. We had a garden view.

Coffee Pot Rock, guess why?

 We stopped for breakfast at a place called The Coffee Pot, It has 101 omelets on the menu and no two are the same. No build your own either. I had blueberry pancakes and bacon, the rest of the crew had omelets. Thanks to Kenn and Lora for the recommendation. They also recommended that we detour to Page Springs Road off 89A on the way to Cottonwood. It was a delightful excursion that lead to wine tasting and buying a bottle of Cream Sherry at Oak Creek Winery.

Then we toured on down 89A bypassing downtown Cottonwood and turning for Jerome. Jerome is an old copper mining town that has been revitalized with art galleries, wineries and restaurants. The roads in Jerome are hair pin switchbacks that make for fun driving and interesting parking. There wasn't a spot to be had in town and we continued on through. There looked like a lot of neat places to stop but dragging an eleven year old and a dog all over a mountain, not to mention a wheelchair isn't always fun.
We left Jerome behind and the words of C.W. McCall's "Wolf Creek Pass" echoed in my head.


“Well, from there on down it just wasn't real purdy: it was hairpin county and switchback city. One of 'em looked like a can full'a worms; another one looked like malaria germs”

So it did, on the way up and down.

This is a big picture because it was a big view! You can see Cottonwood in the distance and further on it Kenn and Lora's house in the hills.

 From this overlook we crossed over the mountains and down onto the Colorado Plateau. It was dang flat with small hills to break it up. The vegetation was golden in color making it look like rolling fields of gold in the afternoon sunshine. We stopped for lunch at a little cafe on the side of the Rt. 69 before rolling onto Interstate 17 and back to the camper. It was good to be home!

Some where off I-17.

The dog in her normal repose.

A map of the two days of travel. Tonto natural bridge is right about where the 87 is between Payson and 260.

 Thanks for following along and so glad that we could share our dream with you guys back home! I figured out this making the pictures bigger stuff so I went back and made some of the panoramas and other pics on previous posts larger so it is easier to see and enjoy.