Sedona

Our first day in Clarkdale, near Sedona, started out cloudy, spitting bits of rain.  We had seen a cute little old town shopping area close by, including a bookstore, a phenomenal rock shop with specimens from around the globe for sale, a pet shop where Colleen got a serious kitty fix from a very friendly cat named Gabby, and the most fantastic antique shop which had two acres of everything from rusting farm implements and gas station pumps to antique jewelry.

Gabby was very happy to purr in Colleen's lap.

So we decided to browse and shop while we waited for the weather to clear.  Which it did not!  By afternoon we were watching the most spectacular thunder and lightening storm we drought stricken Californians have seen in a very long time.  We drove around exploring the area a bit with rain pounding on our windshield, watching dramatic flashes of lightning in the storm darkened sky... then returned to our sweet little apartment to be bums for the rest of the afternoon.

View from our deck on a sunny day.  The mound in the foreground is the ruins of the Tuzigoot Pueblo in Tuzigoot National Monument.

Our second day dawned cloudy but with the promise of dryer weather.  First we explored Montezuma
Castle National Monument.  We took the short walk to Montezuma Castle, a cliff dwelling ruin named for the Aztec Emperor who has no connection whatsoever to the area.

Montezuma Well, also within the park, is the most amazing desert spring, fed by 1.5 million gallons of warm water a day bubbling up from underground and providing a home for several species not found anywhere else on earth.  The entire area was home to a thriving agricultural community from approximately 1200 to 1450 AD.

At first glance, the well looks like the crater of a volcano. It is actually a mountain and crater built up by layers of calcite in the water.

This dwelling is built into the walls of the well next to the only natural outlet, a tunnel through the rock feeding a stream that pops out of the side of the hill. There are still irrigation channels visible that were built 1,000 years ago.

Our next stop was a walk through Sedona's dramatic Red Rocks.  We chose a 4 1/2 mile loop that circled two of the most dramatic formations... Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte.

We saw this huge intriguing plant only in one very dry area along our walk...

...we don't know what it's called, but with inch-long thorns, you definitely don't mess with it.

Ed had spotted a Thai restaurant near our home of the moment, so evening approached we treated ourselves to a delicious Thai dinner, then settled in for the night.