Sedona, Arizona - September 13th to 16th, 2023

Sedona is a touristy town surrounded by gorgeous red rock scenery and popular hiking trails. If you like shopping, eating, drinking, and hiking all in the same area, this is your place. But don’t expect to be alone. It is a very popular area.

Wednesday, we moved campgrounds from Homolovi State Park in Winslow to Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood. The campgrounds are only a little over two hours apart. However, we needed to drive down to Scottsdale on the way to pick up Ann’s new laptop. We also had some Amazon purchases waiting for us at a Whole Foods pickup location just a couple of miles from the Apple Store. That turned our two hour drive into a five hour drive.

From Winslow, we headed south on highway 87, through Payson. It was a beautiful drive. The ever changing landscape kept us entertained. We started out with the desert landscape, dotted with sagebrush. As we rose in elevation into the mountains, the sagebrush gave way to short juniper trees. At even higher elevations, we found ourselves surrounded by forests of tall evergreen trees. Then we descended into the Phoenix area. The juniper trees returned. Than the sagebrush. Then, all of a sudden, we were surrounded by saguaro cactus. It was like someone turned on a switch. The cactus were everywhere.

We picked up our Amazon items first. They consisted of a flashlight (one of ours stopped working), another DC fan (paid link), some clothing, and four 10 liter (2.6 gallons) collapsible water containers (paid link). We didn’t keep the five gallon (19 liters) collapsible container that we carried with us in Red Tail Lodge One (our VanDOit camper van). With a 50 gallon fresh water tank, we didn’t think we needed one. But there are times when we are at campgrounds that only have water spigots for filling containers, not for filling fresh water tanks. We went with the smaller ones this time because we thought they would be easier to carry across the campground, since they are about half the size. If we did want to carry five gallons, we would have one container in each hand, thus balancing out the weight. Water is heavy (8.3 pounds per gallon or 1 kg per liter, which means about 22 pounds in each hand). The new containers should be much easier on our bodies.

We ate our lunch inside Red Tail (our Winnebago EKKO) before heading over to the Apple Store. The store was located in a large shopping complex. The majority of parking in the area was in parking garages. Red Tail is too tall to fit in most parking garages, and these were no exceptions. Luckily, Ann thought fast as we were driving by the Apple Store. She quickly hopped out and let Keith drive on. If nothing else, he could circle around for a while until Ann was ready to be picked up again. Keith did manage to find a small parking lot quite a ways away where he could search for a closer surface lot on his phone. We should have scoped out the area using the satellite view in Google Maps before arriving. Hindsight is twenty-twenty. However, the Apple Store had Ann’s laptop ready in no time. She called Keith that she was ready to be picked up before he had a chance to reach the surface lot. He swung by, Ann climbed in, and we were on our way again.

We hadn’t been in a large metropolitan area since Albuquerque. After being away from cities for so long, they seem so hectic and stressful. We were glad when we headed out of town. We took interstate 17 back north to reach Dead Horse Ranch State Park. The interstate was not quite as pretty as highway 87, but the scenery was not bad. As we gained elevation again, the saguaro cactus suddenly disappeared, just as quickly as they had appeared on our drive to Scottsdale.

When we reached Dead Horse Ranch State Park, the rains hit. We had some rain showers during our drive, but some really heavy rains came through that evening. We hung out inside Red Tail. Ann kept busy most of the evening trying to get her new laptop setup.

Thursday we drove over to Sedona. First we went on a hike, then we checked out the town.

The hike was the Courthouse Butte Loop Trail. It encircles Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock. The Bell Rock Trailhead is located along highway 179, just south of Sedona. We arrived just a little after 10 am and managed to snag a parking space. The trailhead is in a National Forest fee area, but our interagency pass allowed us to park with no additional fees. We just needed to display our pass in the windshield.

There are quite a few different trails that start from the same parking lot. The Bell Rock Loop seemed to be a popular trail. It was not really a loop. It led you up Bell Rock, with a small little loop at the end. People at the trailhead said that some scrambling on your hands and feet were required. Most of the people were on the shorter trails near the trailhead. After we branched off onto the Courthouse Butte Loop Trail, we were mostly hiking by ourselves, passing just a handful of people.

The area is gorgeous. The sun lit up the red-colored rocky cliffs all around us. The views were ever-changing as we made our way around the buttes. As we reached the far side, dark clouds came rolling in. It never did rain on us which was a good thing because we were lazy and didn’t bring our rain jackets with us. The sun poked out again to light up the buttes for us before we completed the loop.

The hike was 3.9 miles with an elevation gain of 348 feet which we completed in just under two hours. It was hike number 46 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2023.

It was past lunch time by the time we finished our hike and we were hungry. We were in the mood for pizza and looked up a place called Hideaway House in Sedona. It was a ten minute drive from the trailhead. However, as we drove past it, there wasn’t an obvious place to park as the lots looked tight, with nothing flat. We continued on to Uptown Sedona. Shops lined highway 89A, with paid angled parking. There were signs indicating parking lots, but we hesitated turning down the narrow streets, not being sure how much space there was behind the buildings to maneuver our rig. We drove past the end of Uptown, turned around, then turned up one of the streets. The first parking lot we came to had signs posted that RV’s were not allowed to park in the lot. We tried calling the Sedona Visitor Center to ask where to park, but we only got an answering machine. We went to the city website and found a lot that allowed RV’s, Lot 1, on the corner of Jordan & Schnebly.

We were parked about a mile from the Hideaway House, but decided to walk there anyway. We were glad we did. It was just outside of Uptown, on highway 179. It was a cute little place, with outdoor seating that had beautiful views of the surrounding rocky cliffs. However, it was a slightly longer wait to get a table outside, so we took an inside table.

The kitchen must have been on a different floor of the building, because the food arrived in a dumb waiter. We haven’t seen one of those in quite a while. It was interesting to watch it in operation.

The pizza was delicious. It was definitely a step up from the pizza we had in Winslow (Winslow, Arizona - September 9th to 12th, 2023). We are so glad we made the walk, despite being tired, thirsty, and hungry.

After our late lunch, we wandered around the town. First we headed a little further down the road to Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village. The village was designed and built in the 1970’s to resemble a Mexican village. It was done very well. The buildings and courtyards are intriguing, leading you around the next corner and through the next archway. The place feels much older than it is, like it has been there for centuries. Even if you don’t want to wander into the fine art and jewelry stores, or eat and drink at the restaurants and wine shops, Tlaquepaque is a wonderful place to just stroll and explore.

From there, we headed back up the hill to Uptown Sedona. Uptown has a much more modern feel, with the usual touristy shops and restaurants. It is also where you’ll find the Pink Jeep Tours. We already knew where we were headed because we passed it on the way to Hideaway House. It was the Black Cow Cafe. The sign indicating they had house-made pies as well as house-made ice cream caught our eye. We debated about whether to have pie or ice cream or both. It was a warm day, so we opted for the ice cream. Keith had a malted vanilla shake while Ann tried a scoop of prickly pear ice cream along with Belgium chocolate. It was all delicious. We’ve tasted prickly pear before, during a hike (Navajo State Park - October 13th to 16th, 2020). The prickly pear fruit is mostly seeds, so we’re not sure how they make ice cream from it. Does it take a lot of fruit after you remove the seeds or are the seeds ground up as well? We’re not sure. However they do it, it is tasty.

We continued our stroll around Uptown as we made our way back to Red Tail. The lot we were parked in was right next to the Sedona Beer Company. So we stopped in the brewery for a drink. Keith had the Shifty Brewers, the only pilsner on the menu. Ann ordered the prickly pear soda, but they ended up serving her the prickly pear hard cider. She was trying to order a non-alcoholic beverage so she could drive Red Tail back to the campground without any worries. Oh well, she tried. The hard cider was tasty. Instead, we just drank slowly. One drink over a long time on a full stomach shouldn’t impair our driving much.

Friday we drove into Sedona again for another hike. We heard that Sedona can get crowded on the weekends, as people from Phoenix drive up to get out of the heat. So we opted to hike on Friday and skip Saturday. Originally we were going to hike Fay Canyon, but our waiter at the Sedona Beer Company the day before recommended Soldier Pass. So we went with his suggestion.

The parking at the Soldier Pass Trailhead is limited. In fact, they close down the parking lot Thursdays through Sundays. Apparently too many people were parking illegally in the neighborhood and too many cars were being towed. So they started a free shuttle service from Posse Grounds, a mile away from the trailhead. Initially they ran the shuttles constantly, but the Forest Service decided there were too many people on the trail. The shuttle now runs only once every 50 minutes and only holds about 20 people per run (check their web site for the latest info: https://sedonashuttle.com/). Don’t worry, there is a one mile trail from the shuttle parking to the trailhead which you can take. Just keep in mind that it will add over two miles to your hike.

We arrived at the shuttle parking just after the 8:40 am shuttle left. So we had plenty of time to get ready for the 9:30 am shuttle. There was a park volunteer at the shuttle stop, explaining all the trails and what to expect. She was very nice and helpful. By the time 9:30 rolled around, there were more people than there was room on the shuttle. About half a dozen or so didn’t make it on the shuttle. We know some of them walked to the trailhead, but we’re not sure if all of them did.

There are several different trails that start at the Soldier Pass Trailhead. Our plan was to just hike Soldier Pass Trail. It goes by the Devil’s Kitchen, the Seven Sacred Pools, and up to Brins Mesa. Devil’s Kitchen is a large sink hole. The Seven Sacred Pools are a series of puddles settled in indentations along a series of rock shelves. Tadpoles were swimming in one of the pools. We even saw tiny frogs hopping around. One of them still had its tail.

There is a spur trail along the way that leads up to a cave. It is a well-traveled social trail, so it is not marked. If you want to find it, you might want to take along a GPS tracker, such as AllTrails, to help you. We passed on by the spur trail on the way up, planning to hike it on the way back.

There are lovely views from most of the trail. The Soldier Pass Trail dead ends into the Brins Mesa Trail. That was where we planned to stop for our lunch and turn around. When we reached the junction of the two trails, we were a little disappointed that we were too far from the rim for any kind of views. There was a family at the junction, checking their maps. They overheard us talking. They had come up the Brins Mesa Trail. The family let us know that there were wonderful views from the top of the mesa, just about half a mile from the junction. So we followed their advice and continued another half mile.

We stopped at the rim, where the Brins Mesa Trail started its steep descent back down. It was a much better spot to sit and eat our lunch. A shout out to the hikers who recommended continuing on. Thank you!

After our break, we debated about whether to go back the way we came or continue the loop. Distance-wise, it was about the same. However, from what we could see, the Brins Mesa Trail looked steeper. So we decided to go back the way we came. Since we added extra distance to our hike, we decided not to hike up to the cave. We’re not sure what we missed. We overheard a lot of hikers raving about going up to the cave. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether it is worth the extra climb.

By the time we returned to the trailhead, we had gone 5.7 miles with an elevation gain of 758 feet in three hours and 50 minutes. It was hike number 47 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2023.

When we were initially waiting for the shuttle at the beginning of our hike, we overheard the park volunteer talking about working that evening at the Red Dirt Concert at the Posse Grounds Pavilion. We looked it up. It was a free concert from 5 pm to 7 pm, every Friday evening in May and September, featuring local artists. Local Honey was the name of the band playing that evening. The concert sounded like fun and it was in a beautiful setting.

Since we wanted to hang around Sedona until the concert, we decided to eat out again. We drove back to parking lot 1, since we knew we could get our rig in there and have an early dinner at Sedona Beer Company. Ann noticed some people eating burgers there the previous day and they looked delicious. So Ann had the Double Dad Bod Burger with avocado and sweet potato fries while Keith had the Brewpub Báhn Mì with parm fries. This time Keith tried the Sedona Sunrise, a light lager, which he liked better than the Shifty Brewers he had the day before. Ann thought about trying to actually receive a prickly pear soda this time instead of the prickly pear hard cider. However, she was pretty thirsty from the hike, so she ordered a Coke, hoping for free refills. But the Coke was served in a can, so that plan backfired. But the food was great and filling.

We drove back to Posse Grounds, in plenty of time before the concert. We set up our chairs early. The pavilion was a wonderful, intimate setting for a concert. The beautiful mountains provided a nice back drop. Local Honey was a reggae band. We loved all the music they played, from covers to original tunes. Dozens of people were on their feet dancing. Rain in the distance provided a rainbow and the sun set made everything glow. It was a wonderful evening.

Since we heard that the hiking trails around Sedona can get crazy busy on the weekends, we hung out at Dead Horse Ranch State Park instead. Most of the trails around the park looked like they were intended for mountain biking and horse riding, so we stayed off them. The three lagoons were mainly for fishing. They allowed canoes and kayaks on the lagoons, but no paddle boards were allowed. The lagoons were pretty small, so they would not have been very interesting to paddle in anyway.

Keith took the opportunity to putz around Red Tail. He replaced the awning batteries, as we had pulled the fuse a few days before when the low battery alarm was going off. He mounted another fire stick, this one in the bedroom between the beds on the side of a step. He swept and mopped the floor and cleaned off the Maxx Air fan screen and blades. With so many displays of nesting behavior, Ann asked Keith if he was pregnant. He said he wasn’t.

Keith also traced the wires from the solar controller into the electrical area under the bench seat and inside the battery compartment. He was trying to plan out how he would bypass the solar controller and route the solar panels through the controller in the DC to DC charger. We haven’t been happy with the performance of the Xantrex solar controller, so he was hoping the Kisae DC to DC charger (paid link) would do a better job. He managed to locate all the necessary wires, but didn’t perform the switch over yet.

Meanwhile, Ann went for a bike ride. She rode the campground loops, then rode over to the three lagoons and circled around them. Along the way she spotted a roadrunner. Since she was near Roadrunner Road, that seemed appropriate. She attempted to go down the Verde River Greenway trail, but it quickly turned into deep sand lined with prickly plants, so she turned around.

At the end of the King Fisher Road, she walked the short trail down to the Verde River. There was water in the river, but not enough to paddle in. The banks were lined with trees, providing nice shade. A handful of people were there enjoying the shade and wading in the cool water. As Ann glanced down the trail alongside the river, she spotted a javelina. It spotted her at about the same time and we both stood there for a moment trying to decide what our next moves were. Ann turned around and headed back while the javelina vanished into the trees.

The lagoons were pretty, lined with cattails and trees with mountains in the background. A few ducks were swimming in the calm water. A bald eagle flew over and landed in a distant tree. As Ann tried to get in a better position for a better view, the eagle was gone.

The rest of the day we just relaxed at our camp site. As Dead Horse Ranch sits at a slightly lower elevation than Sedona, the temperatures were a little warmer. So we plugged Red Tail and turned on the air conditioner to keep the inside comfortable. After the sun set, the temperatures cooled off again. We were able to turn the AC off at night and enjoy the fresh air coming in from the windows.

We normally don’t like crowded areas, but we thoroughly enjoyed Sedona. It was an issue finding a place to park our 23 foot RV sometimes, but we managed. The trails we hiked were not overly crowded, but we avoided hiking on the weekend. Camping at Dead Horse Ranch gave us a quiet place to retreat to in the evenings. We’ll come back some time to explore more trails in the area. It’s hard to beat the beautiful red rock scenery.

Check out our related video: Sedona, Arizona

(Ann)