Roadtrip 2022 Blog post 2: Arizona - Flagstaff & Sedona
Kingman & Flagstaff (Day 3 of Roadtrip)
After leaving Mojave, we finally crossed the border into Arizona - our first new state on the roadtrip.
I had crossed through Arizona a couple times in the past, but both visits were very brief. I was excited to leave California, and to be able to experience this new state at a slower pace.
Crossing the border though - nothing really changed. We drove on a bridge over the Colorado River, but the scenery was the same as the last couple hours of driving through California. A piece of me was disappointed, but I reminded myself that borders are just imaginary lines, and that I need to be patient.
Soon the landscape was different - high desert dotted with splotchy dark green juniper trees - it felt like driving through a Bob Ross painting. A while later, bits of red cliffs and rock faces would sneak into the surroundings - nothing dramatic, but it was an exciting reminder that we were getting closer to the scenery we were searching for.
We took a break for a couple hours in the small town of Kingman, Arizona. While it wasn’t exactly a hotspot of activities, we thoroughly enjoyed the pit-stop here. There was decommissioned train in the middle of a park, that Jun had a blast with, climbing and exploring. There was also the Kingman Visitor Center - which was surprisingly entertaining. It was massive - the gift shop was filled with trinkets, the museum had all sorts of fun facts and history, and there was even a miniature toy train that ran a circuit around the interior of the building. Running back and forth watching the miniature train was by far Jun’s favorite activity of the entire day.
After the break we continued on towards Flagstaff. We could feel the rise in elevation as the highway went up, and the temperature cooled. Pine trees revealed themselves, and it began to really feel like we were in the mountains.
We pulled into Flagstaff a couple hours before dark. The nights here were cold, so we decided to stay at a hotel instead of camp. What we were actually most excited for was the opportunity to shower, the Mojave campground didn’t have any showers, so this hotel was our first opportunity to bathe since we left on the roadtrip.
When we arrived I texted with my brother, who coincidentally was on a roadtrip of his own. He was at the Grand Canyon for the day, but he let us know that he was he’d meet us in Flagstaff within the hour.
We were relaxing and enjoying the comfort of real beds when we heard a knock at the door - my brother, Stuart, had arrived!
It was nice to see a familiar face, and exciting given the fact that our paths were crossing almost by luck.
Together, we went and visited the Lowell Observatory as the sun set (but refused to pay the steep entry fee), followed by walking around downtown Flagstaff and having dinner at a nice brewery. Flagstaff was smaller than I thought, but it had some nice vibes. It had a surprising amount of coffeeshops and some other quaint storefronts with personality. Traffic there was worse than I thought though - it seemed like the main highways were undergoing some heavy construction.
The next day we planned to visit the highlight of the area - Sedona, Arizona. We would’ve gotten a hotel in Sedona, but 5 minutes of research revealed that the cost of lodging there was steep. Flagstaff was much more budget friendly and relatively close.
Sedona is an area I’d heard about growing up, but had never had the chance to visit. Everything I’d read and heard about prepared me for red rock canyons and cliffs, lots of hiking trails, and so-called “energy vortexes”. Apparently there is a large following of people who believe Sedona is the hotspot of psychic energy. We’d have to see for ourselves.
We planned to visit in the morning and take a hike across the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon.
SEDONA HIKE #1 - OAK CREEK CANYON (Day 4 of Roadtrip)
We descended down further and further down the road from Flagstaff. Driving around steep curves, the elevation dropped fast. The scenery began to open up and immense cliffs in the distance revealed themselves. We were nearing Sedona - what I felt was our first taste of true Arizona - the kind of scenery you think of when you hear the name.
We pulled into the parking lot and were greeted warmly by a woman park official with a fascinatingly unfamiliar Southern accent. We parked the car and emerged to the fresh Arizona air, you could feel the excitement from all of us - we were ready to get this hike started!
Oak Creek Canyon is very appropriately named, as the hike consisted of
1) Lots of oak forest
2) Lots of creek crossings
3) Lots of canyon & steep red cliffs
Though it was a warm day, the oak trees and cliffs offered enough shade to make the hike more enjoyable despite the sunny weather.
The scenery along the entire hike was a sight to behold, I’d never seen such tall, red cliffs - towering so casually above the shallow creek the winded its way alongside the trail. It felt great to simply take in the fresh air and walk in this unique Arizona landscape, the time passed by like it was nothing.
We hiked for roughly three hours, which was one of the longest hikes we’d done this year considering we have a two-year-old (thankfully the trail was also flat). We eventually found a nice spot along the creek, where we sat down and relaxed before heading back. Jun took his shoes off and explored the fresh cold water with his mama. The birds sang and the light glowed and reflected off the canyon surrounding us.
SEDONA HIKE #2 - DEVIL’S BRIDGE (Day 5 of Roadtrip)
We bid farewell to Stuart at the end of the the previous day. Our second day in Sedona, we decided to hike the “Devil’s Bridge” trail. The main attraction here is a beautiful photogenic arch at the end of the hike.
This hike was more brutal than the first. We started the hike midday, while the sun was beating down - and unlike the previous hike, there was absolutely no shade or water.
To make matters worse, the first half of the trail was actually a dirt road that had never ending traffic of 4x4s and off-road vehicles, which would inevitably kick up clouds of dust into the air.
It was during this hike that we taught Jun what a Jeep was (a car that goes over BIG bumps), he would remember this, as he had a toy jeep, which became one of his favorite toys for the rest of the roadtrip.
The second half of the hike, while free of vehicles, was entirely uphill. Our muscles burned, and we had to take multiple breaks to catch our breath and drink water.
Fortunately the last 15 minutes of the hike were very scenic, and made the rough patches seemingly worth it. There were several lookout points that had gorgeous views of the surrounding valley and cliffs. The arch at the end was incredibly photogenic, but it also came a price (waiting in line for 25 minutes for a photo op).
It’s not a photo-op for those afraid of heights. One woman attempted to strike a pose on one foot, but couldn’t keep herself from wobbling. After multiple failed attempts, she gave up and took a normal photo - the crowd of us in line all took a collective sigh of relief - her wobbling had us all holding our breath and looking away.
DOWNTOWN SEDONA
Here was our conclusion of Downtown Sedona after spending some time there over the course of two days:
Downtown Sedona - The Good
The scenery around the town is simply jaw-dropping. Downtown Sedona is almost entirely surrounded by stunning red cliffs/mountains, each direction with its own unique rock formations and scenery. It almost looks too perfect, like a landscape that was crafted for a theme park or film set. It’s easy to see where the stories started about the unique energy of this place. You could spend weeks here, every day picking a new direction to explore.
Downtown Sedona - The Bad
The beauty of Sedona hasn’t gone unnoticed. We spent a frustrating amount of time stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic while visiting town. Parking was also a challenge on multiple occasions. Lodging and restaurants were very expensive, tourists flocked up and down the streets, all the surrounding campgrounds were full. I imagine the perfect time to for an extended visit would have been a few decades ago. The two days we spent in Sedona felt like enough, we were ready to escape the crowds and head to someplace more lonely.
CONCLUSION
I would recommend Sedona to anyone visiting Arizona. The scenery is unique and stunning, there’s no shortage of amazing hikes (we only scratched the surface), and the scenery around downtown has to be seen to be believed.
You may be disappointed if you’re expecting to be sucked into an energy vortex, but that’s not to say there isn’t something special about the “vibe” here. There certainly is, and people have caught wind of it - if you don’t mind the crowds, then there’s even more reason to come and visit.
After spending three days exploring Flagstaff/Sedona, we packed our bags and headed North. Our next stops would be the Grand Canyon and Page, Arizona.
To be continued in the next blog post!