Last days in Sedona

We know that we left you wondering if we actually took any of those trails we wrote about in our last post.  What?  You weren't wondering??  Well,  you get to hear about it anyway.  Yes, we did take advantage of those 300+ miles and walked the Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte trails for a day's total of around 5 miles.  The trails are rated moderate which means elevation climbs, rocky areas, etc.  The scenery was great and the trail wasn't too hard.  We were going to go for an 8 mile hike today but decided to be lazy instead, so we are tucked into a table at the Wildflower Bakery eating fresh pretzels and slurping coffee/tea and looking at Cathedral Rock outside the window.  But we'll share the pictures from the other day.

Bell Rock

Courthouse Butte

Along the trail

Up to this point we had been sharing the trail with mountain bikes...

...but horses are allowed along the whole trail.  Be careful where you step!

Cathedral Rock (also the view from the bakery)

By the way, if you are guessing what makes the rocks red around here, it is the high level of iron oxide staining formed when flood plain deposits of iron mineral mixed with oxygen at that time (around 280 million years ago).

Later that afternoon we drove over to the Chapel of the Holy Cross.  This is a small Catholic church built in 1956 on a spur of rock about 250 feet high.  It juts out of a thousand foot red rock wall.  There was no dynamite used to dig out the space.  The church is still used weekly for masses and holds around 100 people.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

We were told by many locals that we shouldn't miss seeing the sunset from the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout.  So, off we went to watch the sun go down...with about 200 of our newest friends.  Looks like the locals tell everyone about the sunsets.

Looking north

Heinz and friends...

Going...

Going...

Gone.

Friday was our wedding anniversary (11 years, my how time flies).  In true married fashion we spent it doing what we enjoy doing.  Heinz went fishing on Oak Creek and I went shopping in Sedona.  He caught nothing and I snagged a great pair of turquoise earrings.  We then met up in the afternoon and had an early dinner at Elote Cafe in Sedona.  They serve true Mexican rather than Tex-Mex and the food was fabulous.  Melt in your mouth tender carnitas and juicy slices of medium rare carne.  Their signature dish is called Elote (go figure) and is made of roasted corn, spicy mayo, lime juice, and cojita cheese.  It is served as a dip for your tortilla chips.  I found the recipe on line and have included it at the end of today's entry although I haven't tried making it yet.  

Saturday we took off for Prescott.  This was a town that was on the list of potential retirement places, but we took it off the list pretty quick.  There was just not much there that appealed as a place to live, but ok to visit.  We did check out the "Art for All" art history mural.  It was a collaborative effort between a group of artists and the local community to create a public work of art.  The artists surveyed the community to find out what should go into the mural, researched historic figures in the local museums, and then designed three murals for the community to vote on.  The painting of the mural then took two and a half years to complete.  Much of the painting during the summer months was completed at night due to the heat and glare and was occasionally halted during the winter months due to cold and snow.

Prescott mural

Prescott mural

Speaking of snow, there is still snow in the mountains around here.

After leaving Prescott, we drove over to Jerome.  The town is located on top of Cleopatra Hill at an elevation of 5200 feet.  It was a copper mining town in the 1800's producing 3 million pounds of copper per month.  It had a reputation as the wickedest town in the west.  It was once the fourth largest city in the Arizona Territory and now has a population of around 300.  The copper ran out and everyone left except those who managed to hang on and turn the town into a tourist attraction.  Lots of artists and artisans have shops in the middle of town, but the edges are full of empty houses and abandoned mines. 

 

Jerome, AZ

Of course, here's our friend of the day, from the ghost town of Jerome, AZ.

Recipe Corner.  This recipe was found on the Boston Globe website and was adapted from Elote Cafe.

Elote

6	ears fresh corn, husks intact
1	cup mayonnaise
1	tablespoon cholula hot sauce
2	tablespoons lime juice
1	teaspoon salt
1	teaspoon black pepper
1	teaspoon sugar
1/4	cup chicken stock
1/4	cup ground cotija cheese or Parmesan
2	tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
	Pinch of pure ground chili powder, or to taste

1. Soak corn in water for 10 minutes.  Over a medium hot grill, roast the corn in their husks for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until the husks are well charred. Take care not to burn the kernels inside; set aside until cool enough to handle.  If too cold to venture out to the grill, you can roast the ears in a 500 degree oven.

2. Shuck the corn. Cut the kernels off the cobs and transfer to a saucepan.

3. Add the mayonnaise, hot sauce, lime juice, salt, black pepper, sugar, and chicken stock. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, just until warm.

4. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with cheese, cilantro, and chili powder. Serve with chips for dipping.

Goodbye Tucson, Hello Sedona

The last couple of days in Tucson were pretty low key.  Friday saw us wandering around the RV sales lots while Heinz worked out a case of Class A envy.  Actually, we did check out a few because, who knows, if we continue to like this full-timing lifestyle, we may need one of those behemoths some day.

Friday afternoon found us back up at Rose Canyon Lake for a spot of fishing.  I did a little spin casting and managed to catch nothing but my line on some reeds.  Heinz worked on his casting and caught one...I'll let you be the judge of whether or not it could be called a fish.

Rainbow Trout, catch and release for sure!

On Saturday we got up and lazed around some, then took off for Oro Valley (a suburb) and the Oro Valley Artists Coalition Arts and Music Festival.  Saw some really neat jewelry, some fabulous photography, and some pretty good painting, along with the usual arts festival kitschy stuff.  Kept the purse strings shut, but our eyes open.

After leaving the festival we spent some time down in the Lost Barrio doing a little window shopping.  This is an area of town with some import/export shops, art galleries, and outright junk shops.  Kind of a cool place to wander around in.

On Sunday we packed up and moved on, sort of, we managed a whole 120 miles north to Phoenix.  We camped at the McDowell Mountain Regional Park.  It's a county park just outside of Fountain Hills, a suburb of Phoenix.  We arrived just in time for cooler temperatures and rain.  But the view from our door was gorgeous and hard to beat.

Tucked in for the night by a saguaro

Sunrise in the McDowell Mountains

Sunrise from the trailer doorway

We only stayed in the Phoenix area for two nights.  Monday it rained all day and we spent most of it doing some shopping at all the best shops...REI, Bass Pro Shop, Cabela's and The Desert Sportsman.  Gotta be sure you have all the right ties to catch those big trout.  Tuesday we stopped in at Taliesin West in Scottsdale on our way out of town.  We've both wanted to see this creation of Frank Lloyd Wright's for years and it didn't disappoint us at all.  What a marvelous bit of architecture that tucks itself down into the desert as if it's always been there.

Front of house

Breezeway, designed so that the convective breezes from the valley floor flow up the mountain side and through the breezeway, creating an area with temperatures that can be up to 20 degrees cooler than on the valley floor.

Heloise Crista Sculpture

We are now camped out at the Distant Drums RV Park in Camp Verde.  Yes, aren't you proud of us, we managed to travel another whole 92 miles!  We got in just in time for the Indian casino across the highway's $10 prime rib night.  While waiting for a table (people came out of the woodwork for this deal), Teresa managed to more than double her money at the quarter slots and therefore got to pay for dinner.  Don't get too excited for her folks, her $20 investment climbed to $40.50.

Today we drove around the Sedona area, scoping it out and planning for the next few days.  If you've not been to Sedona before, add it to your bucket list immediately.  I'm planning my tours of the shops as Heinz plans out his fishing expeditions.  We're also researching which hiking trails to try.  We have only a mere 300+ miles of them in the area according to the forest ranger at the Coconino National Forest.  There's also an old copper mining town that is now a ghost town that my camera and I are itching to check out along with all sorts of all other attractions to choose from.

Drive into Sedona on 89A

View from the edge of town

Slide Rock north of Sedona

And of course, our friend of the day...

More Tucson Adventures

We left you hanging, wondering breathlessly I'm sure, did Heinz catch a fish?  Did he bring me dinner?  Well, yes to both questions.  Unfortunately, the fish were too small to keep and the dinner was a Jack in the Box spicy chicken sandwich.  But he did say that he had a great time and has realized that fly fishing is a lot like gambling...one more throw and maybe it'll net the big one.

Over the past couple of days we've stayed busy as usual.  We went out to the Sonora Desert Museum.  It's a combination zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden devoted to animals and plants native to the Sonoran Desert region.  There's over 2 miles of paths over 21 acres of desert.  According to their brochure "look closely--you may see native animals scurrying across pathways."  According to their signs along the path "look closely--beware of rattlesnakes".  Now that's one that got my attention!

Totem Pole Cactus

"Young" saguaro, only about 70 years old

Purple throated hummingbird

Heinz in front of an organ pipe cactus

That visit took most of the day (considering that our day "started" around 10 that morning...ya gotta love retirement).  The rest of the day we spent lazing around the trailer chatting with the neighbors.

On Wednesday we went out to the Mission San Xavier del Bac to give me a chance to take some photos.   The mission dates from the early 1700's when a Jesuit priest, Father Kino arrived to start a mission for the Tono O'odham Indians in the region.  In the mid-1700's Spain kicked out the Jesuits and let the Franciscans take over control of the mission.  The current church dates from the late 1700's and was designed by a Spanish architect and built by a workforce of O'odham Indians.  It is the oldest European style building in the US.  The Franciscans were evicted in 1837 by the Mexicans and the church was abandoned.  In 1854 the US bought southern Arizona from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase.  Soon after, the Bishop of the Santa Fe Diocese heard rumors of a miraculous white church in the desert outside of Tucson known by the locals as "the white dove of the desert" and that it had been left there as "a gift from the angels".  He came to investigate and found this church which had been preserved by the local Indians, including the statues and vestments that they had hidden from the Mexican Army.  In 1866 regular services were again held in the church and have been ever since.  The Franciscans were granted stewardship of the church again in 1913.

Mission San Xavier del Bac, the right side is missing the dome due to the Franciscans being evicted before the church was finished.  The outer walls are 3 feet thick, the tower walls are 6 feet thick, fired brick covered with painted stucco.

Front altar, all frescos were painted by the Indians, the statues were made in Mexico City of wood and dressed in gesso robes.

Christ standing over St. Xavier del Bac

Statue of St. Joseph

Statue of Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows

Rosette fresco on the ceiling of the apse.

After touring the church, we wandered out to the parking area where the local Tono O'odham Indians have stands selling frybread.  This was our first experience with this local treat.  Glad we tried it, but don't think this will find a place in my cookbook.

Stretching the dough

Into the grease

Ready for the plate and toppings, I had honey, Heinz got cinnamon.

For dinner that night we enjoyed another local treat at another fine restaurant...Sonoran style hotdogs at 

El Guero Canelo’s.  

El Guero Canelo's

A Sonoran Hotdog...

a hotdog wrapped in bacon and sausage with beans, onions, tomatoes, mayonnaise, mustard, and jalapeno sauce with a roasted pepper on the side.

"Inside" the restaurant, a covered patio with picnic benches and a salsa bar.

Suzi, this one's for you and Sammy:)

We also spent some time at the Tucson Festival of Books over the weekend.  400 authors, 300 booths, magicians, circus performers, musicians, speakers (we went to hear Scott Simon from NPR), 80,000 book lovers.  I was in heaven!

Today we are contemplating going back up to Rose Canyon Lake so Heinz can try his hand at fishing again.  We had planned to be on the road by now, but Heinz ordered some prescription sunglasses and they won't be ready until today, so have decided to hang out until Sunday morning then drift north.  Might just have to check out the Farmers Markets tomorrow, there's only 7 in town on Saturdays.  

I did get ambitious this morning and made us some Banana Nut Waffles for breakfast.  Several people have asked for the recipes to keep coming so here's my mom's waffle recipe tweaked for bananas and nuts...Serves 4

2 cups flour

2 cups buttermilk (or soured milk if no buttermilk, add 2 tbsp lemon juice to 2 cups milk and let sit for 3-4 minutes)

2 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 stick unsalted butter, melted, added after above ingredients have been mixed well (if not the hot butter will cook the egg)

1 banana, preferably overripe, mashed well

1/2 to 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Mix all ingredients well.  It will be a fairly thick batter.  Pour into waffle iron and cook per waffle iron instructions.  

There is plenty of butter in the recipe and we find that additional butter is not usually needed.

Friends of the day pictures...

Cactus wren

Seen running around the Desert Museum grounds

Mourning dove