The Rainy Desert — The Towering Travelers

Story by Nicole

On Saturday, we drove from Denver to Sedona. Jason has been to Sedona, but I have not, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was an 11-hour trip with frequent and sometimes terrifying rain. We later realized that the flight to Vietnam (we have a trip planned for November 2015) would be even longer with less legroom, which was an alarming thought.

Sunroof reflections. (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Arizona’s refusal to switch to Daylight Savings time led to much confusion. Our phones, along with Jason’s car, had no idea what time zone we were in, and thus we had no idea what time we were getting to Sedona, which resulted in an unnecessarily late dinner reservation. When we started coming down the canyon into Sedona, there were low clouds and heavy rain obscuring the scenery, but I was able to get an idea of how stunning the canyon is.

Driving into Sedona in the rain. (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

Our room in Sedona is massive. I can’t remember if I got a massive room on purpose, but I’m hoping it’s not far more expensive than I thought it would be. We have a small kitchen, dining room, living room, porch, bedroom, and bathroom. It’s much larger than our apartment.

Our resort is immediately next to Tlaquepaque, which is some sort of upscale “traditional Mexican village” shopping experience. It’s very quaint, and cute, and full of expensive art shops. Staying here made me feel uncomfortably rich and white, but it is nice, in a surreal sort of way.

Tlaquepaque. (Photo/Jason Rafal)

On Sunday morning, we woke to light rain and fog. We had been fairly concerned that it would just rain the entire time we were in Sedona, but it seemed to be lightening up. We took advantage of the break in the weather to hike to Devil’s Bridge, which is a fantastic natural stone bridge against a hillside. We spent a few minutes talking to an excitable woman from the Czech Republic who was traveling alone. She was very excited to see the bridge, and asked me to pose with her while Jason snapped some pictures with her camera. She had come in from California, and had already been to Big Sur. She said there would be lots of bridges.

Along the road to the Devil’s Bridge trailhead. (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Muddy reflections. (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The Devil’s Bridge. (Photo/Jason Rafal)

During lunch in a Tlaquepaque café, we noticed a storm was headed in, so we quickly ate and headed out for another hike. Doe Mountain was supposed to have amazing views, and we wanted to make it to the top before the inevitable rain. As we climbed, we watched the curtain of rain move toward us across the valley.

The view from the top was, indeed, incredible. I appreciated the fact that I was not afraid of heights; some other hikers winced watching me go up to the edge. We snapped a couple of pictures, felt the storm beginning to blow rain at us, and started running off the mountain.

Rain approaching Doe Mountain. (Photo/Jason Rafal)

While we drove away from Doe Mountain, we decided to head to Slide Rock State Park, which was reputed to have a lovely stream on a rock bed that allows people to slide over the rocks. It was far too cold for swimming, but we did walk along the stream and hop across on some rocks.

Oak Creek at Slide Rock State Park. (Photo/Jason Rafal)

We finished this blog while drinking a bottle of Asti Tosti, which was supposed to be a fancy bottle of bubbly to celebrate the beginning of our trip. It is almost gaggably (totally a word) sweet. We’re going to finish it anyway. Tomorrow: California.