Sidewalking in Sedona

Today we set out on foot to explore Sedona, Arizona. Fortunately for us, our chosen RV camp site is just a half mile down the road from town. The morning skies looked dark and ominous as we set out and often scattered drops of rain fell on our straw-hatted heads. Only occasionally did the sun poke through the overcast as we walked, making for a pretty gloomy morning. Still, all the Sedona shops were so upbeat and brightly colored that you couldn't help by feel cheerful at all the sparkle and cleverly designed decor.

Most of the shops are pretty repetitious and it was easy to skip the Chinese-made trinkets in favor of the slightly more upscale shops selling some very nice art that we could in no way afford. I enjoyed the art galleries the most. Speaking as a person who was born with a modicum of photographic ability but came away with little or no talent when applying brush to canvas or clay to potter's wheel. Naturally, I have taken art classes in the past but never caught the spark. My paintings looked a lot like my efforts in the third grade. And trying to produce things like Terracotta pots on the spinning potter's wheel always ended in failure. Most times, I start with a vase and end up with something that resembled an ash tray. Might have been okay if I smoked.

We did have a bit of luck today. Friends whom we met at nephew Marc's house this week also planned to tour to Sedona when they left Carefree today. This was lucky for us since Concetta had forgotten her charging unit to her Kindle back at Marc's house. Our plans were to meet up and have lunch sometime at midday. At the time these plans were made I had envisioned the town of Sedona as much smaller than it actually turned out to be. As midday approached I began to be a tad apprehensive that we would never be able to zero in on the same location to make the transfer in an area that none of the participants were familiar with.

Wonder of wonders! Just before lunchtime we got a call and after a bit of filling each other in on our location based on surrounding buildings, it turned out that both couples were standing about 200 feet from each other. Amazing.

Property transfer out of the way, we learned that the couple, Gordon and Rita, intended to take to the back country and burn some calories. That didn't fit with my intention to ADD some calories to my diet. So, as easily as we had met, we parted company and Concetta and I crossed the street to the Oaxaca Mexican restaurant and proceeded to appreciate the grandeur of the surrounding sedimentary rocks through a large, plate glass window.

Now anyone who knows me knows that Mexican food is at the tail end of my preferred culinary interests. I never like the heavy feeling you leave the restaurant with. But in recent years I've been ordering the fish tacos and that seems to fit better with my desire to eat somewhat lighter. Of course, I couldn't pass up the sopapillas, which sounded just great. The last time we had sopapillas we thought were worth telling anyone about we were in Albuquerque and the year was 1976. Now the sopapillas today were still not as good as we'd had in Albuquerque, but they got close, which is reason enough to eat at Oaxaca if you ask me. By the way, the fish tacos were close to the best I've ever had and I heartily recommend them.

Lunch over, we began our leisurely walk back to the RV park accompanied by a light sprinkle of rain. Now and again when the rain would come down harder we'd duck into a handy art gallery or t-shirt shop and spend a few minutes. Eventually we came to the shopping area known as Tlaquepaque. Though I wasn't interested in the wares on sale there, the architecture was fascinating. Though I'm sure the center is not very old, the builders had endeavored to make it look otherwise. The whole center was laid out in narrow streets, alleys, and lanes and the shops were largely Spanish in style. Though the gray skies made photography difficult, I had a great time grabbing a shot here and there as the sun poked through and gave me a fleeting look at the rustic beauty of the place. Concetta consented, after a time, to rest on a nearby bench while I dashed here and there looking for the perfect shop. Not sure I got it but it was lots of fun trying.

After our foray at Tlaquepaque, we headed back to the RV in earnest. Thankfully it wasn't far for the rain seemed intent on getting us wet this time. Our day in Sedona had gone largely contrary to our immediate plans. It would have been interesting to try one of the many jeep tours, but with the skies threatening, the air less than balmy, and the wind blowing like it had somewhere very important to get to, we decided to curtail our exploration to the local city streets. Tomorrow I think we'll be headed up toward the grand canyon. Maybe we can catch some good weather and try a jeep tour up there. I think Sedona might be worth a return visit someday. We'd really like to get back away from the glitz of main street and see some of the countryside. Until then, we just have to be satisfied with our rainy walk today.

By the way, if you're coming here I definitely recommend reservations no matter what you're planning to do. We just barely found a spot in this RV park. Had we been just moments later all the spots would have been filled. Our friends (who delivered the charging device) told us that they had to stay in Flagstaff, about 25 miles away, as no rooms were available here at a reasonable price. This is a very popular place for the 20-something crowd and people who are interested in back country exploring. They rent 4x4 vehicles of several sorts here to the public and there are a dozen different back country jeep tour companies at your disposal. So, enough said. Come here and have a great time. You just need to plan ahead.