Yep, still trying to avoid the heat here in the Valley of the Sun. Pat and I decided since it still gets too hot for me to hike in this area we would head up to Sedona for the day. We proceeded to try to find a hike that wouldn't be too long, and we could be done before the sun got to me. All of our regular spots in the Sedona area are in NATIONAL FORESTs, oh what gorgeous areas they are and so plentiful we never have to do the same hike twice. Guess what they were all closed YES closed just like the Grand Canyon, so we had to find a state park to hike in. Low and behold we found Red Rock State Park and it was open and we had never been there and so off we went. It turned out to be a very interesting park and one we probably would not have gotten to for some time, leaning more towards the National Parks when we hike. There were multiple trails and they all sort of winded around linking up with each other and so you can hike any length of time to suit your needs. One of the hikes went past this wonderful looking stone house, that was fenced in and no admittance was allowed and well that didn't make me happy because that is just the sort of thing I like to dig around in. Turns out the house has a legend and you can read about it here. The house belonged to Jack and Helen Frye. Jack was the "father" of TWA and Helen at one time was Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. I believe there is a story there, but you will have to read the legend to find out.
I love red rock country.
Also love a creek on my hikes.
Trail Closed doesn't stop him.
Did I mention the Grand Canyon and all National Forests are closed? That would pretty much cover most of Northern Arizona. We found the tourists who got turned away at the GC, they ended up at Red Rock State Park!
They fenced me out.
A closer look at what I am sure was a magnificent home in the middle of Red Rock Country.
On our way home we went through Old Cottonwood to look around. There was another pleasant surprise. I think Jerome gets way more publicity and tourists, however, Old Cottonwood was a very cute little town with a lot of old stone buildings. There were also lot of wine shops and wine tasting rooms and so on. Since I am not doing all that well with my acquiring a taste for wine, we skipped that, looked around town for a bit, had lunch then headed home.
Look how cool this stone building is. If I remember correctly it is a Community Center. Probably play bingo there on Friday nights.
This was a motel, had a really nice courtyard area with dark creepy stairways to the second floor all done in stone.
This is the old jailhouse turned tea room.
It was a fun Sunday exploring new areas. Take the road less traveled you never know where you will end up.
