Sedona Explorations Begin

October 4^th,  Sedona, AZ

Joyce and I had a good night’s sleep in the campground with relative quiet and a full view of the Milky Way from one horizon to the other.  The night before we had gone on a Star Gazer tour given by some local astronomers.  We had been directed to a school soccer field where they had set up camp chairs and blankets near two high-powered telescopes.  It really was a lovely experience and very informative.  I saw three falling stars during that time and Joyce saw two.  So far we felt like we had lucked out on this trip with good fortune and good weather.  Perhaps those falling stars portended more good will to come. 

That morning of Friday we found that we couldn’t lounge around in our tent because it would begin heating up quickly with the sun.  The temps at night were down in the low 40’s but we had been very comfortable and warm.  We took off and headed back north to Sedona (about 15 miles) to browse some shops before the Pink Jeep tour. 

I had been on a couple of Pink Jeep tours back in 2002 and knew that Joyce would love the experience. 

We had to find something to cover our faces for the open air Jeep ride across dusty red rock country and found a cool piece of cloth that is kind of a cotton sleeve that covers your neck but can be pulled up over your mouth and nose as well.  It’s called a Buff.  Great piece of gear if you are in some dusty area or just want a little something when face is cold. 

We ended up getting a great guide who took us out into the red canyons away from town.  I think for

Joyce it was one of her top favorite experiences and I knew I would enjoy it just as much.  Tim, our guide, was a lot of fun and we nattered on about the geology, anthropology and terrain along with all sorts of other diverse topics.  We also came upon the hike we were planning on doing the next day, Fay Canyon. 

Joyce found a book that she couldn’t keep her nose out of called Why Are the Rocks Red?  She learned an amazing amount from that book which while not thick, covered a lot of information.  She found that somewhere in

Fay Canyon was a rock arch.  So, we set up a plan for the following day - scenic drive to Jerome, a red rock canyon hike, a bit of shopping in Sedona and a sunset photography drive following by dinner at our campsite.  Yes, here we were again setting a full agenda for one day but there are so many great adventures to be had we found it hard to curtail ourselves.