(view from our room!)
For a last hurrah for the summer, we took a short vacation, weekcation, to Sedona, AZ. We had been there years before staying only one night just to soak in the local beauty, but I really don't remember much beyond that. This time we stayed 3 nights. Booked The Best Western Inn of Sedona online. They had a good rate of $119.00 per night which is pretty middle of the road. At first I was like, I want to stay some place in town, but everything was so expensive closer to $200.00 per night and hey, this is not a major vacation, so $119.00 was just in my price range, even if it was a short drive out of town, which turned out to be only about less than a mile and really not a necessity to stay in town if you have a car. We drove from Las Vegas. Mapquest said 288 miles, or 4 1/2 hours with a warning about the dam construction. We took the dam anyway, hoping the delays wouldn't be that great, which it did slow us down for about 45 minutes. We stopped in Kingman for lunch and then it was about another 1 1/2 hours to Sedona. The drive after you turn off 40 to 17 and then to 89A was magnificent. The drive winds down from an elevation of 6500 to about 4500 in Sedona. I had to reign in my impatience at the slow cars that seemed to crawl even if it was posted 30 mph and just soak in the scenery and boy it was beautiful. We arrive at the Best Western and the nice lady said she upgraded our room to the second level terrace. Definitely ask for either the 2 or 3rd level rooms, they have the best views. We climb a short flight of stairs to be greeted with a magnificent view of the red rocks. It was gorgeous! The room was spacious and clean enough. The only bad comment I have to make is that the air conditioning unit roars rather loudly and therefore, I didn't have restful sleep. But all that aside, it was the view that made the room worth it. A large front of the room terrace was nice where you could sit out and watch the sun rise over the mountains and at night count the stars. They have free continental breakfast from 7-10 and free Internet in the rooms, which my daughter loved. The pool is small, but adequate with a nice hot tub.
But enough of resting, the next day it was off to Slide Rock State Park about 6 miles up the mountain you came down the previous day. Entrance to the park is $20.00 per car (up to 4 people). We were told to make sure to head out early because once the park fills up, they stop allowing cars in. W
e got there at 11:00 am dressed in surfer shorts and tankini's, water shoes and towels, we made the short trek to the river bed. On the way is a market where you can get snacks, drinks and stop for a pee break before heading down. There are no words to describe the awesome beauty of this place and imagine that they actually let you swim and slide your heart out in what should be a historically preserved park. It was beyond me. To be swimming among the red rock, walking over rocky shelves and swimming in nature's river was amazing. Be careful tho, the rocks are really slippery and you could break an arm or leg. The water is really cold but it didn't matter, because it was so beautiful to be swimming in such a natural place. We stayed till about 2pm, by then we were so starving. We drove back and stopped at the Dairy Queen, which turned out to be some popular tourist spot with a few local vendors selling jewelry. The service is excruciatingly slow so be patience. I think the guy takes the orders, makes the orders and takes the cash all while mopping the floors!
e got there at 11:00 am dressed in surfer shorts and tankini's, water shoes and towels, we made the short trek to the river bed. On the way is a market where you can get snacks, drinks and stop for a pee break before heading down. There are no words to describe the awesome beauty of this place and imagine that they actually let you swim and slide your heart out in what should be a historically preserved park. It was beyond me. To be swimming among the red rock, walking over rocky shelves and swimming in nature's river was amazing. Be careful tho, the rocks are really slippery and you could break an arm or leg. The water is really cold but it didn't matter, because it was so beautiful to be swimming in such a natural place. We stayed till about 2pm, by then we were so starving. We drove back and stopped at the Dairy Queen, which turned out to be some popular tourist spot with a few local vendors selling jewelry. The service is excruciatingly slow so be patience. I think the guy takes the orders, makes the orders and takes the cash all while mopping the floors!
We wanted the next day to do the tubing, but unfortunately, we started out too late. The tubing company, Sedona Adventures Outfitters along route 89A suggest to get to the tubing location by 10:30-11:30. It's about an hour drive from Sedona toward Camp Verde, off highway 17. Tube rentals are $25.00 pp CASH only. We got side tracked by seeing all the monuments at Village at Oak Creek, Bell Rock, Chapel of the Holy Cross, that we never made it out and by the time we got to Camp Verde it was nearing 1:00. So instead we had a nice lunch at the Sonic in Camp Verde across from the Indian Casino. Get the foot long chili dog, yum!
Dining tip, the best Mexican restaurant in Sedona, The Javelina, try the green chile tamales, to die for! Nice patio dining.
Sedona, a beautiful place, wonderful scenery, and amazing fun, what more can one ask for?
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