We hit the road around 7:30am or so. We were about to drive through the windiest portion of the trip home. Winds were manageable but were forecast to pick up as the day went on hence the early (for us) start. We did encounter higher winds between Barstow and Tehachapi. I kept my eyes on the traffic moving in the opposite direction looking for RV’s specifically. My thought being that they were coming from where I was going to, if they made it, I could make it. The wind was on our nose the entire way. The truck had to stay in 3rd gear just to maintain 60 MPH! We stopped for lunch and ate it in the trailer. I can’t even remember where that was. Some rest stop out in the desert. When we finally hit Tehachapi it was such a relief because the wind just stopped. We climbed up to the pass and made the long decent into the Central Valley and finally into sunny skies. We finally got home around 3pm.
Closing thoughts
We truly enjoyed our trip to Sedona and surprisingly Cottonwood. It was a wonderful time of reconnection with ourselves and with nature. We enjoyed our hikes and the beautiful scenery. We had long conversations. We discovered new things about ourselves. This year’s Sedona trip helped us begin an exciting new journey in our lives. This trip opened up within us a new resolve to not only seize the day, but to seize every moment; carpe momentum.
We began the bittersweet drive home. It was hard to leave the Cottonwood/Sedona aea but we missed family. I was a little worried by the weather forecast. Winds were forecast to be 30mph gusting to 40. I really didn’t want to tow a trailer in that kin of weather. The saving grace in all this was that the wind was mostly going to be coming directly at us. Bad for gas mileage but good for stability. And indeed as we drove to our intended destination the winds proved to be manageabe.
Our plan was to drive to Barstow and spend the night and then drive home the next day. We drove ost of the day and finally arrived at Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner at around 4:30pm or so. Let me just say it’s not the prettiest place to overnight but there is a LOT of room to park and it’s free. We picked a spot off to the side and at the back of the parking area. We kept our shades drawn due to the incredible amount of trash around… and big rigs. Again… free. And safe. But not quiet.
We ate dinner at Peggy Sue’s. It was okay. Not great but tasted good after a long day. We lingered and talked over dinner and then headed back to the trailer and fell asleep to the sound of the freeway and helicopters landing at the US Marine Logistics Center across the street.
This was our last day in Sedona. We wanted to find another energy vortex and though I was tempted by the Red Rock Crossing vortex we opted instead for the Airport Mesa vortex. We had visited it last time we were in Sedona and it was a challenge for Cristy to make it up the rocks. She wanted to return to gauge her increase in physical stamina, see if it was any easier climbing to the vortex. In short, it was.
We drove all the way up to the airport to park. There are several paid parking areas there, we opted for free parking up at the airport. I put on my AOPA hat as camouflage. Yeah, I’m a pilot! Well… I am! Then we walked down to the vortex trail. The trail is all downhill to the vortex so in that sense it’s an easy trail. But I’m going to call this a moderate hike because the trail is littered with rocks. LOTS of rocks all about the size of a soft ball or basket ball. As an added bonus, last night’s storm had left it plenty muddy. Happily we were able to avoid the rocks and mud and make it to the bottom of the path, about 1/2 mile. My respect for the ladies I saw wearing sandals and flip flops!
The hike down the trail provides stunning views of the red rock buttes and cliffs…
Views of Sedona and surrounding buttes on the Airport Trail
Once you arrive at the mesa there is a parking area (where there is NEVER any parking available) and an overlook that give you stunning views to the east and south…
Bell Rock is visible between the two distant buttes in the second picture
After pausing to drink and let some folks descend the trail leading up to the vortex rock we began the long (maybe 5 minutes) arduous (there are safety cables to hang on to) climb to the top of the Airport Mesa vortex. We tried to just take it all in. Enjoy the silence. We took our shoes off to feel the rock on our bare feet. We stayed and soaked up the views for 30, maybe 45 minutes but there were some “guides” there that wouldn’t shut up about “how healing, and peaceful the vortex is”. It might have been if they would ever shut up! 🙂
After spending some time in the relative peace and quiet it was time to head back up the trail. We must be in moderately better condition than last time we were here because the hike back up the hill wasn’t that bad.
The Airport Trail, you can see some of the rocks I’m talking about.
After we got back up to the airport we thought about having lunch at the airport cafe but it was pretty crowded and I didn’t think Cristy would care for “pilot food” so we drove back down into the NON-touristy section of Sedona and found a nice Thai restaurant to have lunch. I was quite proud of Cristy that it was later than she normally ate lunch but was still feeling fine! After lunch we headed back to the trailer to start making preparations for the long bittersweet journey home. We hated to leave but we missed our family.
On Tuesday we stuck close to home and did more shopping in Cottonwood. We bought a decoration for our trailer and a gift for Angela. I won’t write about the stores we visited because there are so many. What I will write about is how friendly everyone was. In Sedona he shopkeepers can be kind of snooty. I guess that’s the crowd they cater to; rich tourists. Not even a hint (okay, maybe a hint on one shopkeeper) of that in Cottonwood. Everyone was very warm and loved to talk.
Main drag through Cottonwood’s Old Town
Afterwards we headed back to the park because thunderstorms were starting to roll through. We also wanted to rest up before our last hike in Sedona the next day. We slept through two thunderstorms before enjoying a beautiful sunset courtesy of the day’s storms. We cooked pizzas in the trailer’s conventional oven (which we had never used until now). Then watched Memphis Belle and called it an evening.
We waited until this day, Monday, to try going to the Sedona tourist district. Cristy was a little crestfallen because some of the stores she really liked closed up as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. One store in particular used to sell shirts dyed with the red dirt in Sedona. They were high quality really nice T shirts and blouses. I spent most of my time going from bench to bench on the side walk.
Where I spent much of my time on Monday…
I bought one piece of Malachite from a gem store to make a bolo. Even though it’s crowded and touristy there aren’t many shopping districts that offer you these kinds of views…
On the way back we stopped at a kind hippy looking store that sold drinks, teas, and coffee. Cristy bought some chocolate and we both come some drinks. I can’t remember what mine was. It tasted good yet somehow odd. This was actually our favorite stop that day. We ran into some heavily tattooed folks out front who didn’t look like they would have much in common with us. He was talking about Facebook being offline most of the day. I offered that Bank of America and many other institutions had been offline as well. He raised both arms and exclaimed “Yes! It’s finally happening!” Apparently he is part of the Great Awakening happening in America today.
Later that night a fairly decent thunderstorm hit. I had left the awning out and the sound of it flapping woke me it. It has a wind sensor and will automatically retract but I decided to go ahead and do so myself. Not 10 minutes later huge
Air Prayer 