April 2, 2013

Boondocking in Sedona, AZ
 

I woke up shivering from the cold.  When I saw it was only in the 40’s I turned on the furnace and in no time we were warm and toasty.  We lounged around in the morning just soaking in the view from our window.  I packed us a picnic lunch and we set off around 11am.

 

 

We took the dirt road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and turned in the direction of Highway 89A

 

 

 

 

  

toward Sedona.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 When we arrived in town we stopped at a Visitor Center.  There are a few of them sponsored by different resorts.  The one we stopped in at was sponsored by Sedona Pines.  We were given a free map of the area and offered complimentary 1^st Class tickets on the Verde Canyon Railroad in exchange for sitting through a 90 minute sales pitch.  We have sat through these spiels before in Orlando and New Orleans in exchange for gifts and have found it a great way to receive comp tickets.  We are up front from the beginning that we are not going to buy into the time share and so don’t feel guilty about accepting the comps. 

We made an appointment to go to the resort at 3pm.  To ensure we would show up for the sales pitch we had to leave a $20 returnable deposit.   

We had a couple of hours before we had to be at the resort so I entered “parks” in our GPS and within a few minutes we were sitting at a picnic area in Sunset Park eating lunch.

 We followed the main road and I spotted a sign for the official Visitor Center. 

We went inside and got some valuable information along with booklets and brochures.

 

 

Still having some time to kill we decided to take a ride to the Chapel of the Holy Cross built on the side of a mountain in 1956.  We had toured the chapel a few years ago but I had forgotten how unique it was and what spectacular views there were from the top. 

 

 

 

There was a long line of cars waiting for a parking spot but the wait wasn’t too long. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

This is a private home owned by a retired doctor!

  

 

 

 

These are some items available in the gift shop. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See if you can spot the eagle's head. 

There were hundreds of coins on the side of the mountain.

I tossed a coin for good luck.   

 

We arrived at Sedona Pines a few minutes early and got checked in.  Our $20 deposit was refunded to us.

  The resort is very nice and has all the usual amenities including a heated swimming pool, planned activities, etc. and our saleswoman, Pat, was great.   As soon as we sat down we told her we were not going to buy into time share and assured us that there would be NO aggressive sales pitch.  And she kept her word. 

At the end of the 90 minutes, we shook hands and were given our vouchers (a $180 value) for the train ride on Thursday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to take a ride to the depot so we would know how much time to allow on Thursday.  On our way we passed through charming Old Town Cottonwood.  We plan on leaving extra time to explore the town before the train ride. 

 

 

 

After finding the depot we came upon a sign for Tuzigoot National Monument and decided to check it out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived at the Visitor Center at 4:45 and were disappointed to find it already closed even though the sign on the door listed the hours of operation were from 8am to 5pm.  

 

  

I was mostly disappointed the office was closed because I wanted to stamp my National Parks passbook. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 It is not that far out of the way so maybe we will stop back on Thursday before our train ride. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were able to walk the trail and roam through the pueblo. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Tuzigoot is an Apache word meaning “crooked water”. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

It was so named by an Apache member of the excavation crew referring to nearby Pecks Lake.

On the way on we stopped at the Giant gas station in Cottonwood to check out the free dump station they offer.  We were informed that it is the only place to dump tanks in the area.  Because of its location on a busy corner it is going to be a challenge to get into the station and a real problem if another RV is already there using the dump station because there is no place to wait.  I am going to research on the internet and see if there are any alternatives.

It was starting to get cool when we got home so I only sat outside for a short time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



while Monte went on the roof and dusted off the solar panels.  Our batteries were at 99 and within a few minutes of the panels being cleaned reached 100%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Views from the roof.

 

 

A man pulled into our area and asked if we would mind if he and his two young daughters set up a tent across from us.  Monte assured him that it was no problem.   He said he always likes to ask because he has had problems with people objecting to his children in the past. 

 

 

I made stir fry for dinner and as we were washing and drying the dishes Monte asked me a question that changed our lives.  “Have you seen Pumpkin?”

 

 

 

 

We weren’t too worried at first because he has hidden from us in the past.  We searched every possible place.  Monte went outside with a flashlight calling for him.  It was getting really dark and after two hours of walking around in the dark and cold calling his name, we gave up.  It broke my heart as the two little girls camped next to us started calling for Pumpkin.  They were really upset because they had recently lost their cat. 

As I am typing, my heart is breaking thinking about all the different things that could be happening to Pumpkin.  He has always been an indoor cat and has no hunting skills.  There is no water available to him.  But what is really terrifying me is that we heard coyotes howling and Pumpkin has no way of defending himself. 

This is the last picture taken of Pumpkin just before I started preparing dinner.

 

We plan on being here a few more days and my fervent hope is that he finds him way back to us.