Author – Grant
From Williams, Arizona
To – Sedona, Arizona
Via – Flagstaff, Arizona
Miles Driven – 60
Today’s Photos – http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157615825629809/
I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that this little corner of the world contains some of the most incredible and diverse scenery I’ve ever seen. Within the space of seven days we’ve been treated snow-capped mountains, the natural rock outcrops at Monument Valley, the inexplicable Grand Canyon and over the next week we’re due to hike through the Red Rock canyons and travel through a dessert to see 50 foot cacti. The life of the professional tourist is unrelenting but in the process we haven’t missed a single episode of Bret Michaels Rock of Love Bus Tour. That’s dedication, people.
Another impressive trait of this part of the world is that even the lowliest of hotels and motels have a swimming pool as standard which is lucky because the altitude makes running anything more than 100 metres impossible and so swimming has become the current exercise of choice. Unfortunately, however, I’m a terrible swimmer. Don’t get me wrong, I can get from A to B but the whole stroke-breath-stroke-breath thing is completely lost on me and hence I swim with my head out of the water at all times and the visual result is that I look like a 60 year old lady protecting her bee hive ‘doo. Still, if it helps negate the effect of last night’s South Western Egg Rolls with Jalapeno Jelly then I’ll continue to doggy paddle my way towards fitness…or at least towards reduced fatness.
We only had a 60 mile drive to Sedona today but we’d heard good things about Flagstaff from various locals so we broke our journey in half with, surprise surprise, a food stop. The compact and thriving town centre of Flagstaff hints that this used to be a cute little place but
, being positioned so close to the Grand Canyon, tourist demand has rapidly expanded the place so the edges have sprawled the usual generic strip mall look which is a shame. Still, if you don’t veer out of the boundary of ‘Historic Downtown’ then there’s a plethora of quaint little shops from which to buy all your energy stones and New Age tat. For lunch, we were once again drawn towards an iconic, shiny, silver, detached, Route 66 diner that served up American diner classics with a side of sassiness. Kate’s Chicken Noodle soup and half a roast turkey sandwich was from the ‘light lunch’ menu yet could have easily satiated a family willing to share. The advantage of ordering this from a proper diner rather than a deli was that the turkey was simply real home roasted slices of turkey rather than the watered down deli variety which turns the sandwich from bland to tasty. My chicken burger was a similar story – it was simply a grilled breast of chicken rather than a chicken/water combo that needs breading to achieve a crust. Unfortunately the addition of several hunks of juicy grilled pineapple and a couple of ladles of Teriyaki sauce resulted in the messiest sandwich I have ever eaten but I was happily licking my elbows for the next few hours.
Onwards towards Sedona which was just 28 more miles down the road yet we had about 4000 feet to drop in elevation. As such, the drive was a seriously wibbly-wobbly affair and not the kind of experience you want to have when carrying a few pounds of undigested diner food. Still, the scenery as we drove down the middle of Oak Creek was in
credible although being flanked either side by towering red-stone canyon walls was a tad claustrophobic and was a constant reminder of our relative insignificance. Our next job was to find accommodation and as Kate has taken a giant step back from any planning recently, it was her call. Being a self-diagnosed control freak, it’s tough for me to relinquish control but, surprisingly, the planning element of the trip is a real bind so sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and enjoy the ride. The net result, however, was a 90 minute tour of every corner of Sedona including a drive up a mountain and a drive to a false address. Perhaps she was doing that thing where you purposefully do something badly in the hope that you won’t be asked to do it again? I mean, how hard is it to just put a little bit of milk in a cup of tea? Still, the place we have finally ended up in is great. It’s 4 miles outside of town, right next to the creek, has it’s own fireplace and BBQ pit and contains a hideously tacky massive red heart shaped jacuzzi. Luckily the said jacuzzi doesn’t work so we’re getting a 25% discount on the room. When originally asked if having a Jacuzzi was a priority for us, we simply answered “no, we’re married”. She seemed to think I was kidding.
The Tour de Sedona left us with just a couple of hours of daylight to ex
plore one of the many local trails through the canyon but it seems like our hotel finding experience was to spill into our trail finding experience as the first trail we attempted was cut short thanks to a treacherous fast-flowing river caused by the recent snow melt and our second walk halted when faced with a 500 foot sheer drop off a cliff face. It was third time lucky though as the Wilson Canyon walk was a beautiful three mile round trip that gently rose through the canyon to the base of Mount Wilson.
Now we all know what some exercise means…more food. Dinner was at the rather swanky Silver Saddle (just in case you needed reminding that we’re still in the heart of the wild west) which was the fine dining arm of the Cowboy Club. Well, I say fine dining but the only difference between the two areas was that it didn’t serve burgers or fish & chips, apparently to keep the kids out. Shame as we both quite fancied some nostalgic fish & chips although it would have come with fries rather than chips and set off a tirade of abuse. No need to wo
rry though as the meal we were about to enjoy was seriously good and dirt cheap. Somewhat out of character for this joint, the meal started with an amuse bouche of a goat cheese filled olive on roasted red pepper puree – all a bit swanky for a bar but very welcome nevertheless. Our shared starter (i.e. my starter that Kate will have a tiny taste of) were slivers of breaded and deep fried cactus flesh served with a ginger and tequila dipping sauce. I was a bit sceptical about how this would work but any fears were soon put to bed when they hit the table as they were delicious. The initial crunch of the batter yielded to the juicy flesh and the dipping sauce was heavily accented with cilantro which I may be addicted to. A couple more pints of the local Sedona pale ale and I could have retired a happy man…but our main courses were still to come. Not before, however, a palate refreshing lime and tequila sorbet – another very welcome surprise for bar food. For mains, I ordered some excellent yet severely lardy chicken and bacon creamy cayenne accented pasta with the feeble pretence of carbo-loading for tomorrow’s hike despite clearly having been carbo-loading for the past 32 years. Kate, still sulking about the inability to have fish & chips, ordered the rotisserie half chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans which was all good and the beauty of her ordering half a chicken is that I usually get the leg. I think this is the main reason that being in a relationship is bad for a man’s physique. All this, including a few beers, came to about $50 – what a crazy bargain.
From Williams, Arizona
To – Sedona, Arizona
Via – Flagstaff, Arizona
Miles Driven – 60
Today’s Photos – http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157615825629809/
I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that this little corner of the world contains some of the most incredible and diverse scenery I’ve ever seen. Within the space of seven days we’ve been treated snow-capped mountains, the natural rock outcrops at Monument Valley, the inexplicable Grand Canyon and over the next week we’re due to hike through the Red Rock canyons and travel through a dessert to see 50 foot cacti. The life of the professional tourist is unrelenting but in the process we haven’t missed a single episode of Bret Michaels Rock of Love Bus Tour. That’s dedication, people.
Another impressive trait of this part of the world is that even the lowliest of hotels and motels have a swimming pool as standard which is lucky because the altitude makes running anything more than 100 metres impossible and so swimming has become the current exercise of choice. Unfortunately, however, I’m a terrible swimmer. Don’t get me wrong, I can get from A to B but the whole stroke-breath-stroke-breath thing is completely lost on me and hence I swim with my head out of the water at all times and the visual result is that I look like a 60 year old lady protecting her bee hive ‘doo. Still, if it helps negate the effect of last night’s South Western Egg Rolls with Jalapeno Jelly then I’ll continue to doggy paddle my way towards fitness…or at least towards reduced fatness.
We only had a 60 mile drive to Sedona today but we’d heard good things about Flagstaff from various locals so we broke our journey in half with, surprise surprise, a food stop. The compact and thriving town centre of Flagstaff hints that this used to be a cute little place but
, being positioned so close to the Grand Canyon, tourist demand has rapidly expanded the place so the edges have sprawled the usual generic strip mall look which is a shame. Still, if you don’t veer out of the boundary of ‘Historic Downtown’ then there’s a plethora of quaint little shops from which to buy all your energy stones and New Age tat. For lunch, we were once again drawn towards an iconic, shiny, silver, detached, Route 66 diner that served up American diner classics with a side of sassiness. Kate’s Chicken Noodle soup and half a roast turkey sandwich was from the ‘light lunch’ menu yet could have easily satiated a family willing to share. The advantage of ordering this from a proper diner rather than a deli was that the turkey was simply real home roasted slices of turkey rather than the watered down deli variety which turns the sandwich from bland to tasty. My chicken burger was a similar story – it was simply a grilled breast of chicken rather than a chicken/water combo that needs breading to achieve a crust. Unfortunately the addition of several hunks of juicy grilled pineapple and a couple of ladles of Teriyaki sauce resulted in the messiest sandwich I have ever eaten but I was happily licking my elbows for the next few hours.Onwards towards Sedona which was just 28 more miles down the road yet we had about 4000 feet to drop in elevation. As such, the drive was a seriously wibbly-wobbly affair and not the kind of experience you want to have when carrying a few pounds of undigested diner food. Still, the scenery as we drove down the middle of Oak Creek was in
credible although being flanked either side by towering red-stone canyon walls was a tad claustrophobic and was a constant reminder of our relative insignificance. Our next job was to find accommodation and as Kate has taken a giant step back from any planning recently, it was her call. Being a self-diagnosed control freak, it’s tough for me to relinquish control but, surprisingly, the planning element of the trip is a real bind so sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and enjoy the ride. The net result, however, was a 90 minute tour of every corner of Sedona including a drive up a mountain and a drive to a false address. Perhaps she was doing that thing where you purposefully do something badly in the hope that you won’t be asked to do it again? I mean, how hard is it to just put a little bit of milk in a cup of tea? Still, the place we have finally ended up in is great. It’s 4 miles outside of town, right next to the creek, has it’s own fireplace and BBQ pit and contains a hideously tacky massive red heart shaped jacuzzi. Luckily the said jacuzzi doesn’t work so we’re getting a 25% discount on the room. When originally asked if having a Jacuzzi was a priority for us, we simply answered “no, we’re married”. She seemed to think I was kidding.The Tour de Sedona left us with just a couple of hours of daylight to ex
plore one of the many local trails through the canyon but it seems like our hotel finding experience was to spill into our trail finding experience as the first trail we attempted was cut short thanks to a treacherous fast-flowing river caused by the recent snow melt and our second walk halted when faced with a 500 foot sheer drop off a cliff face. It was third time lucky though as the Wilson Canyon walk was a beautiful three mile round trip that gently rose through the canyon to the base of Mount Wilson.Now we all know what some exercise means…more food. Dinner was at the rather swanky Silver Saddle (just in case you needed reminding that we’re still in the heart of the wild west) which was the fine dining arm of the Cowboy Club. Well, I say fine dining but the only difference between the two areas was that it didn’t serve burgers or fish & chips, apparently to keep the kids out. Shame as we both quite fancied some nostalgic fish & chips although it would have come with fries rather than chips and set off a tirade of abuse. No need to wo
rry though as the meal we were about to enjoy was seriously good and dirt cheap. Somewhat out of character for this joint, the meal started with an amuse bouche of a goat cheese filled olive on roasted red pepper puree – all a bit swanky for a bar but very welcome nevertheless. Our shared starter (i.e. my starter that Kate will have a tiny taste of) were slivers of breaded and deep fried cactus flesh served with a ginger and tequila dipping sauce. I was a bit sceptical about how this would work but any fears were soon put to bed when they hit the table as they were delicious. The initial crunch of the batter yielded to the juicy flesh and the dipping sauce was heavily accented with cilantro which I may be addicted to. A couple more pints of the local Sedona pale ale and I could have retired a happy man…but our main courses were still to come. Not before, however, a palate refreshing lime and tequila sorbet – another very welcome surprise for bar food. For mains, I ordered some excellent yet severely lardy chicken and bacon creamy cayenne accented pasta with the feeble pretence of carbo-loading for tomorrow’s hike despite clearly having been carbo-loading for the past 32 years. Kate, still sulking about the inability to have fish & chips, ordered the rotisserie half chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans which was all good and the beauty of her ordering half a chicken is that I usually get the leg. I think this is the main reason that being in a relationship is bad for a man’s physique. All this, including a few beers, came to about $50 – what a crazy bargain.Tomorrow I’m climbing Mount Wilson, the highest peak in the area whilst Kate does some more foot-friendly exercise, namely shopping. We can be quite the stereotype when we put some effort into it.
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