Abreviated;

Cristina and I still had the time off work that was originally set aside for the Colorado trip that fell through so we decided to take a trip so our own local red-rock playground and play tourist. We got a reservation at the Lo Lo Mai Campground, recommended by Nena Barlow, Barlow Jeep Rentals, about half way between Cottonwood and Sedona, and got all set up; (Sorry for the bad pics here but my cell phone has a scratch on the lense)



We then went to scout a little to look for dry camp spots to use because we were near the Double Dub (WW) trail that we plan to run this fall..... After finding 1 place that was decent we headed to Sedona to see Nena and Andy...... They refused to wash the Syota that I got a little muddy scouting camp spots in a monsoon storm but she did show us where some fun stuff to do was. She also had a perfect parking place reserved for me right out front;

Friday we got up and decided to check out some local trails and started off with Cliffhangar on the south end of town;


Some ruins;



Oak Creek was tempting;


We walked around down there to check out the area and took some other random shots;


She was hopin for it to break or me to just fall in;

Headin back up the Cliffhangar obstacle;

Most of the trails in Sedona are pretty short and easy for us so we made good time and headed over to check out Red Rock state park for lunch;
There was some history about this building they called the firehouse, blends in pretty good;


We hiked a short loop that brought us down by Oak creek again;





There are tons of hiking trails here but we took a short one about a mile or so and headed out over to Broken Arrow trail

Broken Arrow is over off the 179 highway and we found it without issue thanks to Nenas maps. We headed in and took the first turnoff to the Sink hole;




The parking lot at the sinkhole;

On the trail the views were awesome;




We stopped at Submarine rock but didnt stay long enough for pics, we then headed out to Chicken point;

We then went up to the playground and here we are going around a rock on the top of a dome;


View of the trail;


Looking back at the slide that we went up;


After the slide was the famous staircase or stairs that we came down only to be good 4 wheelers. Cristina didnt take any pics here because she really, really , really hates coming down stuff on trails........ we headed back out the trail and decided to head over to the Chapel of the Holy Cross down the street

We arrived and noticed how it stands out;



You can see the clouds gathering because they knew we were coming, the inside was amazing as well;



The views from up there were amazing too;


This house is literally accross the street and was built or paid for by a guy who invented lazer surgery we heard;


No lightning struck so hopefully God is still on our side but the weather was threatening....... after the Chapel we headed to wander around another shopping center then to eat and call it another day;

Friday was at the Verde Canyon railroad for a scenic and historic trip up the Verde River, Well next to it, from Clarkdale to Perkinsville....... what an awesome trip...... Winter would be even better, even though colder but the Bald Eagles would be nesting........ We upgraded to first class to see if we could get away with it and they let us...... more room, shorter line at the bar and restroom.......


Eagle Nest;

The 600 foot tunnel was really dark......

Old water tower in Perkinsville;

Now the trip back to Clarkdale;





Back through the tunnel;

Most of you might recognize this pile of crap;





What an awesome trip.

After the train ride we headed up to Jerome to have dinner at the Haunted Hamburger and check out some sights;






We found parking up by the Hotel/Asylum;

The view was awesome;


After dinner we cruised the Hotel parking lot and then went up the 89a to the Mingus Mountain turnoff to check it out;


Old Limo;





The Syota handled the twisties pretty well........ Dinner was awesome. Thanks Andy and Rueann for joining us. great trip up the hill after a great train ride......... We went straight back to our camp after Jerome to relax and get some rest.

Sunday we were gonna head out Dry Creek Rd and hike to some arches but we werent feeling up to the physical challenge of that so we opted for Soldier Pass trail to start;




We followed the directions on Nena's map and went to the end first, wasnt far but I saw something that looked like fun;


We then went back to the 7 pools fall;

Then we headed over to another sink hole;






From here we headed out to go over to check out another mellow trail.

Schnebly Hill Road seemed like a good idea at the time, it is one of the most if not the most annoying roads I've ever been on......... rocks that stick up up to 6" high just to make the ride really suck..... We did however do better than this guy;


Since I was on the good view side all the way up we got more pics on the way down..... At the top there is a view point;



We then took a FS road along the top of the rim that was even more annoying that Scnebley hill but posed more challenge and we got to see these;



We went 100 yards past this one and then a fawn literally jumped out from a brush 30 yards off the road so we looked arounf to find her moma and sure enough;

We stopped at one of the many camp sites;


The view;


Then we headed to another historical point;

While cruisin down the road, Cristina spotted this guy purched in a tree down by the wash lookin for some dinner;


We got back to pavement and decided to check out a campground right off the road in the middle of town and it was nice and level but they had everyone packed in like Sardines...... No thank you.