Gina Likes it Rough

I guess I should have said that Gina likes to rough it in Arizona. (For those of you that may be mispronouncing Gina…it is sounded out like GEENA.)

We are parked about 10 miles south of Sedona in the Red Rocks area and it is stunning! Gina found a quiet secluded area to park and keep us cozy—which she is. The temperatures range in the 60’s and 70’s during the day and 30’s to 40’s at night.

First time for the awning

Sedona is definitely a destination. Tourists galore on the weekends. Some entrepreneur captured a great audience in the form of Pink Jeep tours. EmBee and I ran across one such excursion half a mile from our campsite and the driver/tour leader was courteous and helpful. He must have thought they were deep in the desert because he was quite worried that we may not have had enough water and offered us more. It was satisfying to know we had tucked ourselves in an area known for its isolation!

Yesterday I toodled down Forest Road 525 to visit two ancient ruins and pictographs—Palatki and Honanki. The Palatki site offered a charming lady ranger interpreting the pictograph site but the cliff dwelling site was inaccessible due to geological concerns (i.e., snapping and cracking of the overhanging rocks which leads them to believe that large rocks are imminently going to crush the site. Sad.

Honanki ruins were fabulous. A nice trail meandered through the pinion pines and cypress trees to the base of the ancient dwellings. Originally thought to be three stories tall, the ruins have crumbled and are reduced to a mere half to one story. Being a former potter I thoroughly appreciated the masonry held together by a mixture of clay and sand.

The highlight was finding one spot where you could see the craftsman’s finger strokes on the end of one joining, as well as a nonconforming triangular rock next to his or her “signature.” Quite astounding!

Craftsman's signature

Ancient ruins at Honanki

Ancient ruins at Honanki

Ancient ruins at Honanki

The main reason for heading to Sedona was to meet up with EmBee’s sisters, whom I love and enjoy as much as my own. While EmBee embarked on a hike with his bro-in-law we ladies headed out on a superb hike just outside of town. Susie, being the tour guide extraordinaire that she is, pointed out all the interesting rock formations–Coffee Pot Rock, Cathedral, Chimney Rock. I think my favorite was one called The Dirty Old Man. There’s a saying that when men have a large paunch it is called a “dinkie-do”. This guy definitely had a dinkie-do!