Castles & Critters: Sedona to Phoenix

 

We headed South out of Sedona on Thursday back to the AZ capital and stopped at a couple of sites near Camp Verde.

Montezuma Castle National Monument is the well-preserved 20-room dwelling carved into a limestone cliff by the Sinagua Native Americans sometime between 1100 and 1400 AD. 

We then swung by nearby Out of Africa Wildlife Park. After our delightful trip to the Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert in December (and in part due to my discomfort with zoos in general), we didn't have really high hopes for this one; however, we thought it would be fun for the kids and were pleasantly surprised by the place. 

We were instructed to hop on a "Safari bus" from which we were given some acacia leaves to feed one of the friendliest giraffes in the park, Pilgrim (Giraffes are my favorite animal, and the kids were excited for me!).

Check out that foot-and-a-half long tongue! 

Up close and personal! Soooo  pretty!

The "savanna" area included many zebras...

... as well as other antelope and water buffalos.

Ostrich

Long-horned cow

Farewell butt

Some of the other animals we could view included a white rhino named "Jericho," which amazed Kelvin (and which was the main reason we went to the zoo in Palm Desert) and was not really advertised despite its rarity (I blanked on seeing wild rhinos on two trips to Africa).

We made it to Phoenix by mid-afternoon and checked out the SEA LIFE Aquarium, which reminded us a lot of SeaQuest, which we visited in Sacramento in November.

They had a touch-tank where Iver felt the Sea Stars (Niall wanted no part!).

Pot-bellied Seahorse 

Moon jellies

Lionfish

Grouper?

Black-tipped Reef Shark

Eel

Desert Millipede

It's been a bit jarring going about a state without a mask mandate, one less strict than California when in comes to COVID. While I appreciated our policies in the pre-vaccine and pre-Omicron era, it's nice to "relax" a bit on vacation... we practiced going maskless and felt a small taste of post-pandemic life as tourists (it felt surprisingly good and even normal despite some initial anxiety! I appreciated Emily Oster's timely take on risk tolerance when masks are optional)!  

Red Rock Country: Sedona through Rain and Snow

We headed south from the Grand Canyon to the scenic town of Sedona, Arizona, on Tuesday to be greeted by the lovely red rock formations (due to oxidized iron) all around and surrounding the town (as well as some winter weather).

Cacti

We headed up to the Airport Vista to get some views of town-- and, through the raindrops, saw perhaps the most glorious rainbow of my lifetime!

The kids wanted to spend all of their time climbing, jumping, and rolling around on the red rocks...

... but we talked them into a few family photos.

After lunch in town, we headed to the office of Pink Jeep Tours for our two-hour "Scenic Rim" tour east of town. 

The trip, on extremely bumpy Schnebly Hill Road, took us up to some lovely viewpoints over the city, while we got to hear about the city of Sedona (and its interesting "vortexes" or energy centers) from our engaging guide, Laura.  We were joined by two women from New York.

Niall's favorite, "Batman Rock."

We had some sleet and rain during the drive but the sun came out and blessed us with some views like this:

I couldn't believe that this guy was put to sleep by the rocky ride.

Laura took this awesome Panoramic shot of us three (while Niall was still asleep in the back).

(A heavy lift-- also Laura's idea)

Look who woke up for the return ride!

Iver's Jeep-inspired art

In the late afternoon, we went on a small hike to Bell Rock, which was really close to our AirBnB condo in the Village of Oak Creek just south of town.

Jumping with excitement at more opportunities for rock scrambling!

Iver was, as always, an energetic and climbing expert.

Niall wanted to be "just like brother" but was a wee bit nervous when hoisted onto this ledge.

On Wednesday, a winter storm blew through the area. Was it going to stop this family (well, me... Kelvin was content to hang out indoors) from exploring? No. We purchased two umbrellas and were off to Red Rocks State Park, which we pretty much had to ourselves!

In the afternoon, we went on a four-hour train trip on the Verde Canyon Railroad through old mining and ranching areas around Clarksdale, Cottonwood, and Jerome.

The cabin was a nice place to stay warm while it snowed outside! 

"Old timey photo" for an old-timey mode of transportation!

Complimentary snack trays and a toast kept us and the kids occupied.  When we asked Niall (the Thomas the Train lover) what his favorite part of the trip was, he replied, "the brownies and sparkling cider!"

We could pop out to the outdoor car to view the canyon, and attempt to bird watch (alas, no eagles spotted) whenever we wanted to get some fresh air (and precipitation on our faces).

Niall was getting a bit bored at the 3-hour mark and we listened to some tunes through shared air pods.

As we drove the ~ 30-minutes back to Sedona (which is at about 4,500 feet of elevation), the storm was behind us, and the formerly red rocks were dusted in snow (the pictures don't do the sights justice!).

Over the past few days, Iver has said multiple times, "Arizona is the best! Can we move here?!" 

It seems the trip has been a hit so far!