Fall Break Day Two

Our first stop on day two was to Tuzigoot National Monument. It was about 5 mintues away from the park where we spent the night. Tuzigoot consists of excavated indian ruins. There is a paved walking trail (yeah!) that you can walk on to explore the ruins. Unlike Montezuma's Castle, you can walk along the ruins and inside a few of the rooms. It's a less known tourist attraction but definitely worth the stop if you're in the area. The kids had a lot of fun climbing around and the view of the Verde Vally from the top is incredible.

Next we headed toward Sedona. We stopped at Red Rock State Park in Sedona. We've been here a few times before; it's one of our favorites. The absolute best time to visit here is in the fall when the oak leaves are changing colors. They were just starting to change when we were there and I think a week or two later would have been ideal. They have a fun, hands-on visitor center for kids and some great hiking trails. Our favorite trail, the Smoke Trail, goes right along Oak Creek. We had a great time throwing rocks into the creek and just sitting on the bridge and listening to the rushing water, a sound you don't hear very often in Arizona.

We drove through Sedona. The main highway that goes through the city was under construction and it seemed like the whole city was torn up. There was no where for us to turn an RV around on a 2-lane highway under construction. So we kept driving through town to Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is a popluar tourist attraction in Sedona. The chapel is built beautifully into the hillside and you can look out over the magnificant rock formations of Sedona. An added bonus: it is a free attraction. But beware if you ever decide to drive there in an RV. The road that leads up to the chapel is narrow and there is no RV parking at the top and no place to turn around. So we obeyed the sign at the bottom of the road that told us to park at the bottom and walk up. Holy cow, I think the hike to Tonto Bridge was easier than this paved road. It was a big..old..long..steep..hill. We looked out over Sedona from the top and looked down on our RV from the top as well. Such a peaceful place.


After driving back through the construction in Sedona we headed toward Flagstaff through Oak Creek Canyon. What a beautiful drive! We checked in at a KOA campground in Flagstaff. We rented a banana bike and the kids had lots of fun cruising around the campground.
That evening we went to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. Another great hands-on museum and a cool movie. We went outside and looked through telescopes with the help of the observatory volunteers. We saw Jupiter with its orange stripes and Andromeda, a galaxy far, far away. I didn't take any pictures here as it was dark but this is the large telescope at the observatory. It is over 100 years old.
Still to come.. Day Three