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
One of the reasons I chose to stay in/near Cottonwood, AZ was because that is where my father learned to fly in WWII. It was near the end of the war and after he exited the pilot training program he never flew again. However, I still wanted to see where he learned to fly. Cottonwood airport is at the top of a large bluff above the town and sits in the shadow of Mingus Mountain. The mountain protects the airport from southerly winds and in the morning it is generally calm anyway. We pulled up and was let into the pilot’s lounge by the last of the Saturday morning regulars. I got to chat with them briefly but it was still fun. Cristy noted it was just like being at Oakdale. I didn’t know them yet those guys and I were talking about airplanes and flying like we’d known each other for years. After getting some gas we headed back to the trailer to eat lunch.
If my dear sister is reading this can you ask Dad if he knew Hank Thompson? He was a flight instructor that was there at the time and the plaque below is dedicated to him.
After lunch we decided to bag another “energy vortex”; Bell Rock. There are two places to park, one is just north of Bell Rock, the other about 3/4 of a mile south. There was no room in the north lot so we parked to the south. This was actually good because we had stunning views of the rock as we walked toward it. As we drew closer we saw people about halfway up the rock on the large flat butte that helps give Bell Rock it’s shape. We also saw were people were climbing up to get to that butte so we also climbed up the rock. No small feat for my bad back and Cristy who is not a climber! Or should I say, wasn’t. She made it with the help of three sweet Mexican women who were visiting, a daughter, a mother, and a grandmother who were just sliding down on their butts where we were about to climb up. I climbed up first and positioned myself to pull Cristy up. When she couldn’t quite reach me the mother interlocked her fingers and made a step with her hands telling Cristy, “here, step in my hands! It’s fine you’re not that heavy!”
Cristy did step in her hands, I grabbed her hand and pulled her the rest of the way up. We scrambled up a few more not so hard climbs and finally got to the large flat area we had seen others on. The view was incredible…
Cristy after climbing up the rock
We walked around the mesa for a bit and sat and took in the scenery for a while until the sun started getting low. The mosquitoes were about to come out and it was about to get cold. More importantly, we were getting hungry so we started to think about heading back. That’s when I saw it. Remember that parking lot north of Bell Rock, I could see it, fairly close to where we were. And leading to it, a nice, gradual trail; no climbing involved!
Well okay then.
We took that trail down to where it met up with the trail that led to the south parking lot and made our way back to the truck taking in the last of the views.
We then ate dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant that was only OK and then headed back to the trailer. If you’re ever in Sedona take some time to visit Bell Rock! I don’t believe in the energy vortex stuff but I do believe God made some beautiful scenery!
Our main goal for Day 4 was to hike to one of the energy vortices that Sedona is known for. We decided to hike to Boynton Canyon as our first to visit. It is located far back on the north eastern side of Sedona. We chose this one as it was more off the beaten track and we hoped we wouldn’t have a parking problem. Also, and here is a pro-tip, we planned to get there around 4:30pm as this is when most of the tourists are leaving for the day. As expected parking was fairly easy and we started our hike.
The first part of the hike was fairly level and very picturesque. Most of the people we ran into were going the other way. About halfway down the trail it began going uphill but still not too bad. Even for someone with an injured back like me!
The closer we got toe the “vortex” the steeper the trail became. Being flatlanders we had to stop every so often to catch our breath but all things considered it wasn’t too bad of a climb. It was all worth it when we reached the top as the views were stunning!
View from the Boynton Canyon Vortex
I was very proud of Cristy as she normally doesn’t do this type of hiking. But her new hiking shoes really seemed to help her with her footing. She was actually doing better than me! As I alluded to earlier, back was injured so I had to take it easy.
Cristy, rocking the rocks!This trea marks where the vortex is generally supposed to be
After enjoying the views for a while we hiked back down before the sun got too low and the air got too chilly.
Easily my favorite image from the hike. Looking back up at the vortex
We could do this hike several more times and probably not see the same things twice. Give it a try next time you’re in Sedona.
This was the first full day of our vacation. We could wake up when we want and not drive anywhere if we didn’t want to. It was the first chance we’d really had to take a look at the RV park we were staying in. The night before we just had time to set up before the sun went down. So glad I picked this place!
The view from site 23 at Rain Spirit RV Resort
After enjoying the view for a bit we wanted coffee. We don’t drink coffee enough to actually have a coffee maker. It’s just a once or twice a week thing for us. We decided to head into the old town area of Cottonwood to see if we could find some place to get a good coffee. After some searching we ended up at a place called Crema Craft Kitchen. The coffee was delicious! Cristy couldn’t help herself and ordered a breakfast salad (oh the irony, salad for breakfast?) It was actually delicious! But not a good as the huge, gooey cinnamon roll I ordered. That plus the latte I ordered made for a very decadent breakfast (I usually don’t eat breakfast). If you’re ever in Cottonwood, AZ I highly recommend you give them a try!
Breakfast at Crema Craft Kitchen
After our late breakfast we decided to try to do some hiking. I wanted to hike to a place called Devil’s Kitchen. However when we got to the trailhead in East Sedona we could find no parking. So we drove back towards town a little, found a place to pull off the road and hiked on one of the city’s trails.
View from the city park
After our short hike we headed back to the trailer to take our usual afternoon nap, cook dinner, watch a movie and pretty much call it a day. Well, we did go on a walk around the RV park just before dinner.
The picnic area right behind our RV spot
Sorry it’s taking so long to update these blog posts. My pesky job keeps getting in the way!
I’m going to group day 1 and 2 of our trip into one post because it was mostly driving to get there. Our plan WAS to drive to Barstow, CA the first day and then from there to Cottonwood, AZ the next day. Well, Clarkdale really, it’s right next to Cottonwood. However, the weather wasn’t cooperating. There was a high wind warning between Mohave, CA and Kingman, AZ. I didn’t want to drive through those kinds of winds so we elected to stop in Bakersfield, CA for the night and get an early start the next day.
Eating lunch just across the AZ border from Needles, CA
The next day the winds were gone and we had a save uneventful drive most of the way… Until we passed Williams, AZ. The clouds started to darken and BIG rain drops began slowly falling on us. Then there was lightening and thunder and the heavens poured forth their bounty. The big rigs didn’t seem to mind they just flew through the torrent on the winding mountain highway like it wasn’t even raining at all. Between the rain and the mist the truck tires were throwing up visibility was maybe 100 feet. I just gripped the wheel with my white knuckles and slowed down and took my time. Eventually we arrived in Flagstaff, AZ, the rain had stopped and it was literally all down hill from there. We finally arrived at Rain Spirit RV Resort (ironic name, huh) at 5:45pm. The office closed at 5pm but the hosts came back and checked us in. 7am to 5:45pm on the road is way too much!
We set up the trailer, cooked some dinner, and went to bed. Too bad the thunderstorms kept waking us up all night! More about that in the next installment.
The bad news was that the flying club I belong to is closing down. I hate bad news. To console myself I started browsing Barnstormers.com for airplanes I couldn’t afford. I thought about the powered parachute (PPC) that I owned and I kind of missed it. I started looking at PPC’s on Barnstormers and all were either on the East Coast or where out of my price range. Then I stumbled on an ad for a Six Chuter PPC – call for details. I emailed the guy and got back a detailed list of what he was selling and for how much. His price was firm but it was a very good price for what he was offering. I put a deposit down on it on the spot. I ran the ad by my friend who has been into PPCs for years, got me into it. He agreed it was a smoking deal so I made arrangements to complete the purchase. The only problem, it was two states away from me almost on the Canadian border. About a 950 mile drive. One way.
No problem.
I asked Mrs. Flying Dutchman if she was up for a road trip. She hemmed and hawed a bit until I told her she could just ride with me half way and then stay in Bend, OR, our first overnight spot and spend the day shopping while I drove the rest of the way to pick up the PPC. She was sold.
We left home at the crack of 7:30am and started driving north from central California. Past Sacramento and up the Central Valley. We stopped off in Williams, CA to have lunch at Granzella’s. Delicous Reuben sandwiches and nice restaurant as well as the deli where we got the sandwiches. We stayed on I-5 until we got to Weed, yes, Weed and then jumped over to US 97 and took that past Klamath Falls all the way into Bend. It was kind of a whirlwind journey.
Klamath LakeUS 97 just goes on and on and on…
We got to our hotel in Bend, The Hampton Inn in the Old Mill District. We had dinner and pretty much fell into bed exhausted. We did take in some sights before crashing for the night. I got up and hit the road at 4:30am the next day and didn’t get back until midnight. It was a grueling drive up to Chewalah WA which is about 30 miles north of Spokane, and about 30 miles from the Canadian border! I didn’t take many pictures. Here are a couple I managed to grab on my way up.
Cristy enjoyed her day in Bend however. Here are a few photos that she took.
So all that driving… what the heck did I come home with?
Got a PPC, a trailer to haul it on, and a bunch of engine overhaul tools for much less than half what I paid for my original PPC
When we finally got back home we were completely exhausted but at least I know I got a great deal. Now to go over it with a fine tooth comb and make sure it’s airworthy. More to come!
I was looking for a place a place for Cristy and I to go this weekend. I originally wanted to go back up to Durango RV Resort up in Red Bluff but they were booked solid for the weekend. I called around and found that Yanks had ONE MORE SPOT open for this weekend so I booked it. It was a long weekend with a my normal Friday off and then Monday being a holiday. Seems everyone had the same idea. I picked up the Lance on Thursday evening after work and drove it home to plug it in for the night. I also turned the refrigerator on to get it cooled down before we put food in it on Friday morning.
Friday
We loaded food and clothes up on Friday morning and after I checked all the air pressures in the tires we finally hit the road around 10:30am. The drive down I-5 was easy as the wind was at our backs. Driving over Pacheco Pass was fairly stress-free as well due to the lag of big rigs crawling over the steep incline. I was white knuckles the first time driving over but this time I felt very relaxed. We pulled over once for a potty break in the trailer and then finally pulled into Yanks at around 1:30pm. Note that one new change they have implemented is that you now pick up your check-in paperwork outside the front gate rather than in the front office. The nice lady told me they were supposed to call me. Nope. No call. And no big deal as I walked back out the front gate picked up my packet which was basically the park map with our site indicated and the best path to get to it. We drove right to it and quickly settled into the spacious 70-foot pull through site.
We were situated on the very end right next to the (super-clean, brand new) combo bathroom and shower rooms. Each bathroom has a toilet, sink, and shower with marble floors and walls. Very nice and clean. We also had a great view of the hills to the east and Pinnacles National Park. We spent the first day taking a nap, walking around the park, grilling burgers on our Blackstone griddle, and then watching a movie. We watched the marine layer (San Francisco fog basically) roll in while we ate dinner. And that was pretty much it for the first day. My favorite kind of day!
Saturday
On Saturday we slept in and then headed down to Paso Robles to get some lunch. We’ve been through Paso many times over the years but have never been to their downtown area. We headed down 13th street and found some free street parking and then started walking through the small but lively downtown area. Even in the age of COVID it’s a pretty nice place, it must have really been something before the lockdowns. We settled on a restaurant called Fish Goucho on Park Street. It was very good and very pricey! That’s okay, God has blessed me with work throughout this pandemic so I’m happy to help out businesses who are struggling to stay open. Afterwards we strolled down to City Park. It was remarkably clean and free of homeless folks. The centerpiece of the park is the Public Library, which, is closed. Still a beautiful park. Then we walked back to Park Street and stopped at Brown Butter Cookie Company. Cristy bought some gluten-free chocolate-mint cookies with sea salt. I bought some regular cinnamon cookies. All of them were very good but a little on the sweet side. We then walked up to Spearhead Coffee for a couple of latte’s. We drank our coffee at one of their sidewalk tables and watched the fog burn off. The warm sun and the warm coffee felt very nice after the chilly foggy morning.
Paso Robles has a wonderful downtown area
We headed back to the truck and then drove back to the RV resort. We took showers in their bathroom which is very nice! Nice to take a LONG HOT shower. The rest of the day was just kicking back in the trailer watching the wind blow outside. We watched another movie I had downloaded. Then after dinner clean up and did pretty much nothing until bed time.
I love days like that.
Sunday
We slept in on Sunday morning and then watched our church services online. After lunch we decided to drive up to Pinnacles National Park. It was a little cold and damp but we’d never been there so we wanted to try it out AND it was only a 30 minute drive from our RV park. When we got there we found that the park and visitor center was closed although, they were allowing free access to the hiking trails. We parked along side the road just outside the gates as the parking lot was full. Apparently a lot of people knew there was no charge to enter the park at this time. We just decided to hike one of the smaller loops as it was pretty damp and chilly up there. The peaks there spend much of their time in fog that comes down from Monterey Bay. After our decidedly short time at Pinnacles we headed back down. We spent the remainder of the day relaxing even MORE when we got back to the trailer.
Monday
Monday was travel day heading back home. We pulled out of the park at about 10:30am and made the 3 hour drive back home. Traffic was heavier going home but still not too bad. Not much to write about on travel days. They are what they are. I will add that my personal travel maximums are: drive no more than two hours before taking a break, travel no farther than two hundred miles, stay no less that two days. It’s my 2:2:2 rule. I don’t always abide by it but it’s my goal. Well, that was our trip to Greenfield, CA and Yank’s RV Resort. On to planning our March trip. See you next time.
This past week was our 33rd wedding anniversary. We decided to spend it at an RV resort. I chose Durango RV Resort in Red Bluff, California for no other reason that it looked nice on Google Earth. Google Earth did not lie, this was a great little RV resort! I booked three nights there, Thursday through Sunday.
We drove up on Thursday and had no issues. It was about a 3 and a half hour drive. The hardest part was getting past Sacramento. Before and after that was smooth sailing. We pulled into the resort about 20 minutes before their official check-in time of 2pm and they were fine with that. They checked me in quickly and within 5 minutes of arriving I was being guided to my site. It wasn’t the site that I reserved but that’s okay. It wasn’t a bad site. In fact, in the end it tuned out slightly better than the site I booked because it was quieter.
After setting up, as on all travel days, the first order of business was a nap. We spent the rest of the day reading and catching up on political intrigue as this is an election year here in America. It was warm and very windy so we decided not to take a walk around the park until after sunset.
Our site well after sunsetThree large fountains in the center of the park
The next day was our actual anniversary. We drove down to Nancy’s Cafe at the Willow’s Airport for breakfast. I was a little disappointed. Even though they are still open during the present COVID-19 crisis, the food being served has suffered greatly due to supply issues. I’ll have to take Cristy back when things return to normal. After that we drove up to Redding for a surprise massage I had booked for her. She REALLY enjoyed that.
To round out the day we did some grocery shopping and then cooked dinner. Then it was time for my anniversary present, spending some time in the resort’s hot tub! It felt so good on my muscles.
Enjoying our day in the park
On Saturday we just decided to hang around the park. We spend the day reading, watching movies, and taking walks around the park. Just doing nothing!
Just hanging out
We drove into Red Bluff to buy some ice cream for dessert and took a quick drive through the downtown district.
I spent more time in the hot tub that evening, we took another night time walk, and then called it a day.
Sunday morning we ate breakfast, dumped the tanks, and then hit the road home. All in all a very restful and enjoyable weekend.
Air Prayer 