The day before we had learned from the park ranger that the hand prints on the rock wall along Panorama Trail were probably made by “ancient cowboys” instead of Indians. So, we had decided that our remaining hike was not going to happen this time around. Thus, we were ready to leave Kodachrome State Park and Bryce Canyon National Park early the next morning. We were all sad to say goodbye.
Our first pullout was at the Glen Canyon Visitor Center where the grandeur of the 710′ concrete gravity-arch dam is very close when viewed through the huge windows inside. It was fun to watch all the gawking geeks ogling at (In an engineering lustful way!) the engineering marvel spread out so close in front of you.
Arriving at Dead Horse Point State Park in Cottonwood, AZ we were able to relax after supper and listen to the rumble of thunder as the lightning ripped in the high clouds overhead just to the southwest of our position.
We had a very leisurely morning watching birds. We saw Albert’s Towhee, Wilson’s Warbler, Verdin, and a Black-chinned hummingbird. We happened to pass Gayle’s Chocolates in Cottonwood on the way to get coffee and gas and to decided to investigate it further. It turned out to be the an excellent stop as it is a unique shop full of marvelous chocolate creations.
Before our day in Uptown Sedona we needed to sync our souls for shopping. We stopped at Crescent Moon Day Use Area to take the short hike up Oak Creek to the Red Rock Crossing Vortex. With Cathedral Rock towering over Oak Creek it certainly is a magical place if one ignores discarded snack food wrappers, energy drink containers, dog p@@p, and loud humans.
With the shamans satisfied we were ready for Sedona shopping! That is until Lucy and Ethel stepped into “The Dream Catcher” boutique to look at jewelry. Behind the counter was a young woman reading a book titled: “Enchantment-Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age. As she looked up at them she suddenly smiled brightly and gave a “chin flick” (wiggling her finders at them and weirdly moving hers eyes around). Ethel and Lucy felt like a spell or hex had been cast in their direction.
We moved on to other shops and ate lunch at Sedona Pizza and Pasta Bar before returning to the “The Dream Catcher”. Undaunted by the previous mystic encounter Lucy and Fred went back inside to get something they had looked at earlier. The same young lady looked up at Lucy with a mischievous smile and repeated the same the finger wiggles. Then she disappeared from sight and later returned like she had walked through the walls! Break out the patchouli, Peruvian flute music, smile, say “Ohm”, and pay in cash.
Dinner was as always an exceptional experience at The Hudson. The leftovers would be very welcome at Villanueva on the night after next.
Upon Returning to Dead Horse Point Campground we found a motorcycle rally in full swing just across the Verde River at Riverfront Park. The Harleys were very, very loud but the cover band was excellent and things got extremely quiet later that night as the aging bikers went to sleep.
The next morning Fred and Ricky left at sunrise to hike the Soldier Pass to the Seven Sacred Pools. Ethel and Lucy stayed back in the campground to bird watch. When Fred and Ricky arrived at the Solider Pass trailhead parking lot a barefoot shaman walked out of the woods. He was wearing a Andean looking poncho and a filthy looking pair of yoga styled harem pants. He marched past and hopped up on a large red boulder and assumed a cross legged yoga pose with his forearms propped on his knees. His hands made the “ok” position and he tilted back his head and with closed eyes started meditating. This struck us both as funny as his perch was within easy smelling distance of the parking lot pit toilets!
After we completed our hike we returned to pick up the girls at 9:30 to go Sedona SHOPPING!
We arrived early and got an excellent parking spot at the Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village. The name means: “The best of everything”. The market is designed to reflect an Old Mexico air with vine draped archways, cobble stone paths, moss covered fountains, a chapel, adobe walls, high end shops and a central plaza mayor with a carillon bell tower solemnly striking on the half hour.
We were on a vison quest for a GIANT Leland Whitaker, Kinetic Wind Spinner for Cynthia like the ones we saw outside of Cannonville, Utah near Kodachrome Basin State Park. The patinaed collection we found at Rowe Fine Art Gallery was stunning. The one she liked the best was $1,200.00 which caused us to backtrack to the bright copper one we saw earlier that cost $160.00 figuring that letting it develop its own patina was a lot more cost effective. The gallery was located just above the cookie store where that morning we ate some delicious cookies and cupcakes.
After making a few more purchases we left for some follow up shopping in the city center. First we had flights of beer at Sedona Brewery on the “dog porch” along with chips and salsa.
Our last shopping stop was at Safeway to pick out some local brews before we went to The Vault for a most excellent dining experience on their lovely patio which boasts some of the best views of the surrounding mountains. We returned to find that most the bikers had cleared out of the campground. Early bedtime as tomorrow was shaping up to be another awesome day. Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
One Response
You never know what kind of people you may have encountered. Yall were deep in the heart of portal, vortex and wormhole country. All those places look amazing!