Tuesday September 26th 2017

It was a rare cloudy day in Arizona today. The temperature topped out in the 80s. The gloomy nature of the day and my continued fascination with the book I started yesterday kept me at home until early afternoon. I finally broke away from the book to do some more touring of the area.

I drove twenty miles or so north to the village of Sedona Arizona. This is a destination area known for its upscale shops, boutiques and art galleries. Visiting these types of places are not on my must see list. What I wanted to see was the surrounding country side. The town is set in an area of red rocks and cliffs. The red coloring is a much deeper red than many of the areas I’ve already visited to the north in Utah. The approach on route 89A from the southwest is probably the least spectacular of the three approaches, but a broad red strip in the cliffs above the town is clearly visible.

Approaching town from the southwest.

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Area to the south of town.

I found conditions less than ideal for viewing the scenery. The time of day and the nature of the town made finding parking very difficult. The roads are designed to keep speed down. There are many roundabouts and shops seem to be clustered and set back from the road with small parking lots. The parking at the trail heads and scenic viewing areas were all full. The cloudy day was an added negative to enjoying the views. I will probably try to get back to Sedona at a better time of a better day while I’m in the area.

On the way back to camp, I stopped in Cottonwood for breakfast supplies. I had to resort to cooking muffins to go with my coffee this morning. Cooking them isn’t the problem, it’s eating all six for breakfast that’s the problem. My excuse is they don’t keep well.