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| Mather Point Grand Canyon |
It's been over 30 years since we've been to Sedona so we've forgotten how stunning the geological formations around the city are. We visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on our way to Sedona and we had wonderful weather and loved having the park to ourselves. The park was not affected by the Government shutdown thanks to the state of Arizona, which maintained all park services. The Grand Canyon is actually pretty Daisy friendly since there are so many paved paths at the major lookouts. We entered from the south from Williams, crossed east along the Desert View Scenic Drive, then exited south to Flagstaff. Mather Point, Yavapai Point, and the Watchtower at Desert View all offered beautiful vistas of the snow covered Canyon.It was nice to see the Canyon in a different season than our last trip two years ago.
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| Oak Creek from Slide Rock State Park |
The next day we drove down to Sedona along the Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Drive, Hwy 89A. It's a spectacular drop of 4500 feet to the canyon floor. At the bottom of the canyon we passed the parking lot for the West Fork Trail, which is a moderate hike that we have to do next time. Further down the canyon we stopped at Slide Rock State Park which is surrounded by beautiful cliffs and provides walking access to Oak Creek and its rock bed. It was here that we realized that Arizona State Parks and any use of National Forest land in Red Rock canyon charges a day use parking fee. We spent the rest of the day at four trail areas in Red Rock Canyon including the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Yavapai Vista, and the Bell Rock/Courthouse Butte Loop.
Day 3 was our attempt to reach Devil's Bridge. The overall round trip hike is just over 4 miles if you don't have a high clearance 4WD. It's a flat walk from the parking area to the trail head along a sometimes rugged dirt road or you can take a more scenic route along the Chuckwagon Trail. A 4WD vehicle will eliminate this part of the hike. From the trail head, a 3/4 mile moderate incline takes you to the base of the bridge. From here, there are two sets of steep stairs, the second requiring the use of hands and feet. Unfortunately Karen stopped at this point. At the top of the stairs you are rewarded with a fabulous view and are at the same level as the top of the arch that is the bridge that you can walk across. People say it's wider than it looks, about 5 feet, but it looked like a balance beam to me so I did not attempt to cross it. Everyone else up there did. Total elevation gain from the trail head is about 650 feet.
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| Cathedral Rock |
Post Devil's Bridge we visited Crescent Moon State Park for a nice view of the Cathedral Rock Butte. However, the $10 view is only marginally better than the one from a free lookout a mile up the road. We took a chance at Montezuma's Castle and Well National Monuments on our way to visit friends in Prescott, however, both monuments were closed due to the Government shut down.
Day 3 was our attempt to reach Devil's Bridge. The overall round trip hike is just over 4 miles if you don't have a high clearance 4WD. It's a flat walk from the parking area to the trail head along a sometimes rugged dirt road or you can take a more scenic route along the Chuckwagon Trail. A 4WD vehicle will eliminate this part of the hike. From the trail head, a 3/4 mile moderate incline takes you to the base of the bridge. From here, there are two sets of steep stairs, the second requiring the use of hands and feet. Unfortunately Karen stopped at this point. At the top of the stairs you are rewarded with a fabulous view and are at the same level as the top of the arch that is the bridge that you can walk across. People say it's wider than it looks, about 5 feet, but it looked like a balance beam to me so I did not attempt to cross it. Everyone else up there did. Total elevation gain from the trail head is about 650 feet.
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