February 21 – February 23, 2023
Last night we camped at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, huge campground (mainly RV’s) but the tent area was quiet with view of the desert.
We left in the morning for Sedona, but first stopped at Red Rock State Park. A short trail following Oak Creek River leads you to a view point of” Cathedral Rock”, a sandstone rock formation.
[Click on the picture to open gallery]
SEDONA
[Click on the picture to open gallery]
Sedona’s main attraction is its array of red sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. The red rocks form a popular backdrop for many activities, ranging from spiritual pursuits to the hundreds of hiking and biking trails.
The town has become a mecca for people believing in the area’s vortexes, said to be the world’s greatest hot spots for psychic energy.
A vortex is believed to be a special spot on the earth where energy is either entering into the earth or projecting out of the earth’s plane. Vortexes are found at sacred sites throughout the world – the Great Pyramid in Egypt, Machu Picchu in Peru, Bali, Stonehenge, Uluru/Ayers Rock in Australia, etc. It is believed that the vortex energy moves in a spiral, moving up or down. The Native Americans believe that spiritual transformation can occur more quickly and easily in Sedona because the veils to other dimensions are thinner here.
We then took the Red Rock Scenic byway (road 179), stopping at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built in the rock then further down at a view point for Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, two famous attractions.
[Click on the picture to open gallery]
There is a severe weather warning for the area, signs were up in town and strong winds and heavy rains are forecast for this evening and tomorrow. The sky was already turning dark and we found a place to camp on BLM land ( public land where you are allowed to wild camp).
We had a bad night with 75 miles per hour winds rocking the car and shaking the tent but no damage. Still windy this morning and a lot cooler. We looked at the forecast for the region and it is not good. Our initial plan was to go up to the Grand Canyon but heavy snow has blocked some of the roads further north so we are going SOUTH in search of warmer weather !!! Yuma it is, as it is the only place showing decent weather for the next week or so.
We headed for Jerome, an old historic mining town. Founded in 1876 when copper was discovered. It was once the fourth largest town in Arizona with a population of 15,000 in the 1920’s. Booming years ended after World War II and Jerome became a ghost town with a remaining population of less than 100. Its revival started in the late 1960’s and the town is now a thriving tourist and artist hub.
It is located near the top of Cleopatra Hill and snow was on the streets in town. (elevation 1,500 m)
The scenic road to Prescott went through a couple of passes in higher elevation, plenty of snow by the side of the road and snow flurries coming down but the road was clear. Prescott, 1600m is nestled in the Ponderosa Pines of Prescott National Forest and offers breathtaking landscapes complete with granite mountains, lakes, streams, and rolling meadows. We stopped in town for a break but were still battered by cold winds so we moved on.
We arrived in Yuma by late afternoon and found a nice spot near a small lake on BLM land.
