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Mar. 20th, 2011
This is actually *last* week's trip. So much fun stuff!
Last Saturday we went to Walnut Canyon. This is always a great place. More than 700 years ago, an entire village lived in dwellings nestled into the cliffs above a bend in a river. If visiting ruins isn't bittersweet anyway, it's all the more so here because the riverbed is now always dry, dammed further upstream. I would love to see it flowing naturally again. We walked along the "island" loop trail, which loops down and around the horse-shoe bend of the river. We also were able to go along the Rim Trail for the first time since we've been there (newly paved & accessible).
One thing that we never even suspected was that there are additional cliff dwellings below the trail when you're on the Island trail! We could see them from the Rim Trail, but never guessed in the many other times we visited.
Last Saturday we went to Walnut Canyon. This is always a great place. More than 700 years ago, an entire village lived in dwellings nestled into the cliffs above a bend in a river. If visiting ruins isn't bittersweet anyway, it's all the more so here because the riverbed is now always dry, dammed further upstream. I would love to see it flowing naturally again. We walked along the "island" loop trail, which loops down and around the horse-shoe bend of the river. We also were able to go along the Rim Trail for the first time since we've been there (newly paved & accessible).
One thing that we never even suspected was that there are additional cliff dwellings below the trail when you're on the Island trail! We could see them from the Rim Trail, but never guessed in the many other times we visited.
Then on Sunday, I returned to Fay Canyon, this time with B. Since we were there in the middle of the day, the awesome resting spot at the top/inside of the canyon was less awesome - totally in the sun. But it's still a great walk in a great location.
Bar food with a view
Mar. 20th, 2011 08:05 pmMy former boss S & her husband were in Arizona this past week (yay!), so we met up for dinner a couple times. And where did we meet? Well, not in Sedona. My favorite Sedona restaurant so far, the Wildflower Bakery/Restaurant, is pretty good for a chain, albeit a local chain, but not the awesomest shmawesomest place to take visitors. The dinner pastas are amazing, but the ambience is a little Panera-esque.
So where do we deem appropriate to bring visitors? Bar food with a view, apparently. Namely:
Wednesday: Jerome: Haunted Hamburger. Looking out over the Verde Valley past Sedona to the San Francisco Peaks.*
Thursday: Flagstaff: Ski Bowl Lodge, at the bottom of the San Francisco Peaks. It was wings night, and we didn't even plan it that way. Their blackjack jerk seasoning is amazing enough that I'll willingly order wings, which says a lot. That & a mountain of nachos is enough to feed four, for sure.
So where do we deem appropriate to bring visitors? Bar food with a view, apparently. Namely:
Wednesday: Jerome: Haunted Hamburger. Looking out over the Verde Valley past Sedona to the San Francisco Peaks.*
Thursday: Flagstaff: Ski Bowl Lodge, at the bottom of the San Francisco Peaks. It was wings night, and we didn't even plan it that way. Their blackjack jerk seasoning is amazing enough that I'll willingly order wings, which says a lot. That & a mountain of nachos is enough to feed four, for sure.
So. I'm sure we can find actual good food, but given the option, we go for the view every time.
*ETA: Followed by heading back to our place and splitting a bottle of local wine. Cottonwood is becoming quite the wine center. Yummy.
*ETA: Followed by heading back to our place and splitting a bottle of local wine. Cottonwood is becoming quite the wine center. Yummy.