Southwest USA Trip - September 2015: Day 11 - Flagstaff to Sedona, Montezuma Castle, and Prescott, AZ

Today was another absolutely beautiful, warm day in Northern Arizona. The morning started out with a quick breakfast at my hotel in Flagstaff before heading out for Sedona.

Sedona is a VERY easy drive South of Flagstaff and I've made a point to visit Sedona every time I've been in Flagstaff. So like the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, this is also my 5th visit to Sedona. I just love the change of scenery you experience between Flagstaff, which sits in the middle of a Ponderosa Pine forest, and the huge Red Rocks of Sedona. And the drive between the two is about an hour or less so like I said, its a very easy trip. Even if staying in Flagstaff, it easy to just drive down for the day for several hours and drive back to Flagstaff.

As I neared the edges of Sedona, the sights of all the pines and the sun rising up behind them were too beautiful to me to pass by without stopping. So I found a spot to pull over and walked among the trees a bit to try and get some sweet shots of the sun between the trees. See if you think I succeeded.

Just down the road further there was an overlook that allowed you to pull over at and provided some great shots of the drive down through the canyon and into Sedona. A little further down, still more spots where you can pull off and get some nice shots of the Red Rocks as they start to appear around each and every corner.

Then you enter the Sedona limits and are immediately right in the center of their downtown, or "uptown" as they call it, with all of its shops and restaurants. I decided to come back to the shopping district later in the day after I had made my way to some of my favorite viewing locations. And at the top of that list is the Chapel of the Holy Cross church whose sanctuary is built right into the rocks. Not only is it a beautiful and unique church to photograph, but also because it's atop a hill, provides an excellent location for viewing and photographing the rocks around it. So I've included several pictures of the church itself as well as pictures taken from its vantage point.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in Sedona just driving around and looking for special opportunities for some great shots. This usually requires going off the beaten path a little bit and driving up or down all sorts of roads and side streets. Once I felt I had enough for my collection, I went and parked in the uptown shopping district, then stopped for an iced mocha and enjoyed the views from the little cafe.

The shopping district provided another opportunity to photograph the many building around town and many of the bronze sculptures that adorn the area. Also, of course, were all the shopping opportunities too. There was an olive oil store that I stopped in that had any and every sort of flavored olive oil and balsamic vinegar that you can image. Some of the balsamics were so thick and sweet, they tasted like candy. And the oils were amazing too. But at almost $30 a bottle, I just sampled.

I also found a great T-Shirt shop that actually sold some nice T-Shirts for less than $30 a piece! Sad that I found that amazing but after all the shops located at all the National Parks and small towns I've visited, you'd think their T-Shirts were made from golden thread. So I picked up a couple shirts and the young girl that was checking me out (at the register I mean....HAHA) asked where I was from. When I told her Dallas, she said today was her last day because she was moving to Austin tomorrow. She was really looking forward to the move saying there really wasn't much to do in Sedona, though it is a beautiful place. I wished her well and said she'd love Austin and would find plenty to do there.

Once I'd have enough of Sedona and knowing I had other places to go, I headed out of town and found another scenic overlook just on the outskirts of town. I stopped to capture a few last minute photos and from that viewing location, I could see the Chapel of the Holy Cross off in the distance, It was nice to be able to get another vantage point from far away so I've included those photos.

As I headed South from Sedona, I was heading to the area known as Lake Montezuma and Camp Verde. The Montezuma Castle National Monument is located there and it has the remains of an ancient cliff dwelling. The walk from the parking area/entrance back to the actual Montezuma Castle is very short, which at this point in my journey I was very thankful for. It was very easy to see from the path and again, some great pictures. Just further down the path is another section of ruins along and within the sides of the rocks and cliffs. We also noticed a huge bee hive built in one of the openings in the side of the rocks. I zoomed in and caught a few shots of it. It was pretty cool to see that hanging with all the bee activity going in and out. Check them out.

By early afternoon, it was time to head towards Prescott which would be my final destination for the night before starting to head back in the direction of DFW tomorrow. I chose to stop at Prescott since it was in the area, was a bit larger of a town, and I had never been here before. I must say that it will be nice to go have a few good options for dinner tonight but I don't have any other plans for trying to locate anything else in or around Prescott.

Tomorrow, as I start to head East, I will be stopping by the Metor Crater off of I-40 just East of Flagstaff, then a quick stop in Winslow just so I can stand on that famous corner in Winslow, Arizona, and finally, drive through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert which I've also visited numerous times in the past. But I just can't drive past without at least getting another view and maybe even a new perspective. Tomorrow night will be in Albuquerque, NM.

So as I always say, please enjoy the pictures, share with your friends if you like, and thanks again for reading and following along. Just knowing I have friends and family out there following along makes me feel like I'm not alone on this journey.

Until tomorrow then, I'll keep on Rollin' With The Homies!!!