Sedona, AZ. April 1st - 9th

One word to describe Sedona...Beautiful!

First, a quick overview of Verde Ranch RV Resort. It's a great resort that can be easily navigated by bigger RVs. Almost 400 RV sites with full hook-ups. 16 Cabins. 10 "glamping" wagons and safari tents. Nice clubhouse with game tables, pool table, shuffle board, arcade, a well equipped gym, and large areas to just relax or do some work. Big heated pool and two hot tubs. Small lake surrounded by grass. Two dog parks. And a shady trail along the river that runs along the resort. Lots of activities for everyone and the staff was terrific. They even added a wine tasting night per Melissa's request.

Remember at our last stop when we had the entire resort to ourselves? Not here. Place was almost totally full with lots of families. It was great to see (and hear) all the kids playing together and enjoying the resort. This is the place you wanna stay if you're visiting the area in an RV. Technically, it's in Camp Verde, AZ which is about a 20 minute drive to Sedona, Cottonwood, and Jerome. Flagstaff is about 45 minutes.

Our first day we hiked the Bell Rock Pathway with some offshoots to get to higher view points. A little over six miles of hiking and then we drove over to see Chapel of the Holy Cross, a Catholic church built into the Sedona mountains. Impressive but crowded. Frankly, traffic sucked, so we decided to head to Cottonwood. It's a cool, walkable town known as the "Heart of Arizona Wine Country". I'm not a wine drinker but Melissa loves her wine, so she found Merkin Vineyards, a great winery built on a hill with incredible views. They also had a full bar and lunch was delicious.

Next day was a visit to Jerome. It's located in the hills so we drove some narrow, winding roads to get there. Nothing crazy. The town has a rich history which started in the early 1900s as a copper mining boomtown. It gained it's nickname as "The Wickedest Town in the West" due to some of the town vices (i.e. brothels and bars). It also became known as a haunted town so we had to savor a burger at Haunted Hamburger, which is consistently voted one of the best burgers in Arizona. The views were spectacular! And we parked right in front of a wine tasting room so Melissa had to try some wine before we left. Dah!

On Saturday morning, I took the opportunity to go fishing with my buddy, George, and his daughter and her boyfriend in Oak Creek Canyon. George and I were fishing (not catching 🤣) but the canyon was beautiful and it was great catching up. Melissa made the best of it by...wait for it...doing a wine tasting tour. Shocking! 😛 She loved the tour. The shuttle picked her up right at our RV site before picking up the others. Three wineries later, they dropped her right back at the our RV site. Fun, fun!

We obviously missed being with family for Easter Sunday but we made the most of it with a visit to Flagstaff. It's got lots of shops, bars, and restaurants set in a mountain community with snow skiing near by. It's got a cool college vibe since Northern Arizona University (NAU) is located there. Not the friendliest dog town but we found a place for lunch that welcomed the dogs on the patio.

Monday I took the car and drove to Tempe, AZ. It's about a 90 minute drive. We have a rental home there and I needed to check on it. Also gave me the opportunity to have breakfast with an old friend and lunch with another.

Tuesday we put the girls in doggy daycare and then had a mom and dad day in Sedona. We started with lunch at Mariposa Restaurant. It's Latin inspired dining with a patio that has UNBELIEVABLE views of the red rock mountains. If you wanna do dinner there, be sure to make reservations a month in advance. I found this out the hard way.😛 Then we strolled Uptown Sedona where we had cocktails at L'Auberge Hotel before finishing our day with 90 minute massages. Perfect day!!

Yesterday was beauty day for Melissa so her nails and hair look AMAZING!! She is BEAUTIFUL!! I really mean that, but I figured that I'd also gain a couple points while I could. 😁😍

Tonight we rolled back to Cottonwood to explore some more of the town and have dinner at Pizzeria Bocce. The restaurant came highly recommended. We both agreed that it was good but we didn't think it was amazing. Still a nice way to finish off our time here.

Our stay in Sedona has been wonderful. We've been here for eight days so lots of pics in the "Pictures" section. Now we head to Lake Havasu City, AZ, where we'll spend four days having fun with friends on the lake. Can't wait!

Until next time....