Trip stats:
* Mileage this segment: Las Vegas, NV to Sedona, AZ —> 276 miles
* Cumulative mileage: 643 miles
* Cumulative gallons of diesel gas: 113 gallons
Sedona, Arizona. What a truly special town nestled amongst a spectacular, unique setting.
We were wowed on our drive in from Las Vegas, NV, as we went through mostly expected desolate desert in Arizona, when, out of nowhere, on the I-40 East, the desert turned to a lush pine forest rolling over mountainous terrain. Neither of us had any idea how diverse the landscape in Arizona was and how quickly it could change. We took the “scenic route” into Sedona via AZ-89A and it was amazing – the sun was also setting which made everything even more dramatic. Pine forest, stunning valleys, beautiful rivers, and hairpin turns lead into the quaint town of Sedona, completely surrounded by the breathtaking backdrop of white and red rock sandstone formations that glow orange in the morning and night sun. Before we even stepped foot on the ground we could tell Sedona was a special place.
Today, we took a walk and short free trolley ride (very handicap accessible trolley, I might add) into town and strolled through “Main Street” peeking our heads into several art galleries and just plain enjoying ourselves. One thing about Sedona is that no matter where you are in the town an Ansel Adams-esque award-winning landscape is never more than a head turn away. Throughout the day, we kept saying, “This is so beautiful.” We were looking for a museum to learn more about Sedona and saw a sign for Sedona Heritage Museum pointing up the road. The walk turned out to be about a mile longer than we had anticipated, but the museum was great as we were the only people there and the enthusiastic volunteer team was more than eager to give us the gold-star tour that focuses on the families that settled Sedona in the late 1800's and early 1900's. (Did you know Sedona was actually a woman's name? Yes, Mr. Schnebly — the post master — had the town named after his wife, Sedona. So glad he didn't pick Schnebly for this gorgeous town!)
We ended the day with some homemade ice cream and an early dinner at a great Mexican restaurant overlooking the Sedona valley. As always, Gwendolyn was great all day long and had a blast seeing all of the sites and taking it all in. And she thoughtfully passed out (see bottom picture) on our walk back to the RV, which gave Victoria and me time to relax and unwind outside with a glass of wine before settling down for the evening. What a memorable family day for us all!
Tomorrow, it's off to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Another destination that Victoria and I have always wanted to visit…