May 24th is another early rise and the kids are anxious to get going. Actually, "anxious" is a fairly strong term, but we're all adequately up, ambulatory, coffee'd, and fed.
It's amazing how the changing position of the sun and light conditions change pictures of the same scenes (Ann hiked down the path a ways for this one). We saw the same point in the canyon yesterday from an angle somewhat off to the right, but this is much different this morning.
As we are departing, the park is coming to life for another day, although it seems not all park employees are particularly gleeful.
We asked about the mule schedules and found they all get a day off every so often. Judging by the looks of these troops, it must be their Wednesday.
The flight to Sedona is short, but strewn with a prohibited area, some wildlife no-fly areas, a few taller peaks and so on. The plan is to fly south to a point about 20 nm west of Flagstaff, then zig direct to Flagstaff, then south to a point where you can go between some mountains to Sedona. This part is pretty easy and the view gets better and better as we close in.
Our final turn puts us on a direct line for a straight in to runway 21 at Sedona. I've heard this airport called the SS Sedona and from the angle of our approach it is clear why. The whole airport is located on top of a carrier-shaped mesa not unlike a flatter version of the brown hill above.
It is windy again today, so we go around once before putting her on the ground.
The views in Sedona are smaller but more colorful than the Grand Canyon. We don't make it more than a mile from the airport when we drive by a pull off where by unanimous consent we pull over for a few pics.
Another successful bag drag and we're off to see the city. Sharon learned at the wedding this is a shopping Mecca, so that is the first order of business. It's a pretty small town when you get right down to it, so getting around is pretty easy.
I had been told Sedona had a lot of artists among the natural wonders, and the shopping centers we visited certainly bore that out. The first was part of a Hilton development.
In this sense, they have a bit in common with Scottsdale. There is a pretty wide range of art to see. Our second stop and main target for the afternoon was Tlaquepaque, a very upscale shopping and arts center. I mainly stuck to getting pics of the art outside in the courtyards and walkways, but even that was impressive. The work in the shops was even better,
although based on what I saw below, many of the local residents seemed too busy to take more than passing notice.
They seem to have a preoccupation with wild pigs in Sedona. There are all manner of pigs located throughout the downtown area. This one was located in Tlaquepque, but there are others in all the colors of the rainbow all over town.
I chatted with one lady in an upstairs shop who was in a talkative mood, she and her dog. (That's not her below.) The pup was willing to sit or lay calmly for as long as she talked and as long as I was willing to scratch her behind the ears (the pup, not the lady). Seems Tlaquepaque was originally built for artists who were intended to live upstairs from their downstairs shops.
Over time, the economics of the situation led to the upstairs areas being opened to shops as well which is the way we found it. At around 1500 we found a restaurant with a small outdoor patio area and parked for late afternoon drinks and a chance to chat.
Tonight we are going to dinner with our friends Hal and Kathy Schillreff. The Schillreffs actually live in Naples FL where Hal is a retired AF officer, and Kathy is rector at St Monica's Episcopal Church. We had just seen them in February in Naples.
As luck would have it, they have a time share right there behind the Hilton development we visited earlier, and were in Sedona the same time we were coming through. We met them at their time share for drinks and snacks before going to dinner. What a terrific view. You'll have to take my word for it -- I neglected to bring the camera.
Very nice restaurant called Shugrue's Hillside. Great food and service, and most important, terrific company for the evening.
Tomorrow morning we are going on a Pink Jeep tour to see the local terrain and some Indian ruins.
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