07 - Sedona, AZ

Ah....Sedona!

We found a great State Park in Cottonwood, about 25 miles outside Sedona. Cottonwood itself is quite an eclectic town, featuring antique shops, jewelry and artwork, as well as lots of little cafes & wine tasting shops. To get to the campsite we had to pass by the Old Hippie Emporium...  Our campsite's location was ideal in that we could tour the local historic sites, national monuments & parks in the same or less distance it would take to drive to Sedona.  Having heard so many positive reviews of Sedona I knew I would have a great time checking out the local artistic scene, hopefully Dave would too!

Pueblo & Cliff Dwellings:

Tuzigoot, (1125-1400 AD) was a 2 story pueblo where you entered from openings in the roof (no exterior doors!). This ruin was just a few miles from our campground.

Wupatki National Monument, 25 miles North of Flagstaff a well preserved ancient ruin



One of the features at Wupatki, is a ball court!



Wupatki ruins, usually consist of a 3 story 100 room pueblo. Wupatki means "long cut house"

Walnut Canyon, 10 miles East of Flagstaff. Cliff dwellings from 1125-1250 AD

Walnut Canyon, archeologists believe the Sinagua women built the houses & the men did the farming!



Montezuma's Castle built by Sinagua farmers is a 5 story, 20 room dwelling in 1100 AD




Montezuma Well, 5 miles away from the castle has traces of Hohokam Indians (1100 AD) & Sinagua (1125-1400 AD)



Our four days in the Cottonwood/Sedona area consisted of visiting various ruins, some villages made of stone, others carved into the sides of mountains. We found it interesting to hear native Indian tribes flourished in the area back in the 1100's then all of a sudden some bands just simply disappeared without a trace. Some think it was due to weather (drought conditions) that caused them to migrate while others think either disease or war. Only our imaginations can take us there and it was interesting to learn about what has been re-discovered as their way of life.

We also enjoyed taking scenic driving trips with short hikes at various stopping points. Catalina especially enjoyed trying to climb Bell Rock...I think she's part mountain goat!

Bell Rock outside Sedona, our initial ascent...only got 1/2 of the way up!

View across from Bell Rock

Perched on a ledge on Bell Rock, Catalina taking a "cat" nap!

Driving down into Sedona

Sedona of course has it's own visual appeal; a striking city in a breath taking setting. I also took Dave's breath away with a little bit of shopping at an artist section of town!

We ventured North to Flagstaff where we were surprised to still see snow on some of the mountain peaks. Around the Flagstaff area were many interesting ruins built around 1100 AD!

Leaving the Sedona area we wanted to get our hiking on and start doing some scenic & energetic trails. Next stop, Glendale, UT our base for Zion & Bryce National Parks.



Catalina Excavation Services...note size of gopher hole middle & to the right



A little renovation/expansion for the prairie dog family...

Voila! A new & improved hole that's been sniffed tested too (no charge!)

Catalina after a hard day's work...