My friend Liz has a milestone birthday coming on Christmas Day. Yup, Christmas Day. It isn’t the best day to have a birthday and not just because of the double-duty present thing. It’s hard to celebrate with friends when they all want to be in their own homes doing their own Christmas thing. So Christmas babies get gypped out of presents AND a party on their day. Kinda sucks. So her birthday wish was a trip to New Mexico and Arizona, and October seemed a good time to go. Oh, and they asked us to join them.
One shopkeeper told me of an apartment in town they couldn’t keep rented, as the ghost of half a man crawls into bed with the occupants at night. My obvious question was, “Which half?”
Certain friends bring out traits in me that lie dormant when we’re not together. And since Liz lives in Atlanta we’re not together as often as we’d like. I consider myself pretty funny, and Liz is hysterical, so when she and I are in the same room I somehow get funnier and we can get on a sidesplitting roll pretty quickly. So our week in Arizona with them included a great deal of hilarity, beautiful scenery, great food and more fun than should be allowed.
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Base camp was a condo resort in Sedona, and we did side trips to Jerome and the Grand Canyon. Jerome was a copper mining town, and when the mine closed it became a ghost town with only 50 or so inhabitants. Now it is an artist’s Mecca and hasn’t lost it’s ghostly roots; they do Halloween big there and have real ghosts in multiple locations. The Ghost City Inn and The Spirit Room are a couple of its businesses. One shopkeeper told me of an apartment in town they couldn’t keep rented, as the ghost of half a man crawls into bed with the occupants at night. My obvious question was, “Which half?” Kinda creepy either way. The views from 5,200 feet were beautiful, but the winding road into town had Liz in a panic. The public works department was stingy with the guardrails.
We met an artist at her workshop in the old high school, her name is Janie Layers and her whimsical clay animals captured my heart. I have a tiny donkey on my office shelf.
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I’d flown over the Grand Canyon, but had never gotten up close and personal. We entered the park about 20 miles from the easternmost tourist area on the south rim, and drove along Dessert View Drive, stopping to gawk and be amazed, and eventually visited the 70 foot high Dessert View Watchtower to take in the 360 degree views from the top. This Mary Jane Colter designed structure was built to replicate an ancient Pueblo watchtower and is stunning in its design. We climbed to the top and watched ravens playing in the thermals, dipping and diving around each other and coming quite close to the windows of the tower. And there was a particularly well-fed Raven hanging out in the picnic area.
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We had a quick bite at the Trading Post Snack Bar on site, and we were all surprised at the quality of the food. My spicy chicken soup was more like a chili and was quite delicious.
Photos can’t do the canyon justice, it really needs to be experienced in person, but we gave it our best shot.
The red rocks of Sedona are a spectacle in themselves. Just driving through town was a treat, with vistas in every direction. I particularly loved the Chapel of the Holy Cross built into the buttes.
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Try Javelina Cantina for outstanding Mexican if you’re ever there, and the Coffee Pot for awesome breakfasts. 101 omelets! Sit on the patio! And the shopping in Sedona wasn’t too shabby, either.
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Liz loved Sedona, I think she’d move there in a heartbeat. The other thing she loves is snow. So a fitting birthday gift and a souvenir of our trip was the photo Magic at the Crossing, the Sedona landscape in snow. The photo is the third from the bottom at the artist’s website: Eclecticimage.com.
Happy Birthday, Goose! Thanks for a fun trip!
AKA “Canyon Babe”
My thanks to Charles Sherman for providing many of the photographs for today’s post.
Well, all I can say, Deb, is that you certainly do get around! So glad you are there–and not here–as the weather has changed: BIG RAIN and temps expected to drop considerably. Thanks as always for sharing your travel delights.
Thanks for sharing your trip WEST with Liz for her birthday.The West has a special soft spot for us. The space, color, rock, cactus, food, temps, and artwork are spectacular, I remember lodging at El Tovar on the rim of the Grand Canyon and having native Trout for breakfast…. little bit of heaven. We were never in Jerome but we did tour Sedona, Outstanding! That is the way birthdays should be, friends spending time and travel together. Love the artist whimsical works.
Now I am smiling, on this windy, raw day in PA.
Thanks, Linda!
The trip was fantastic, but we both agree that the company was what made it the best! You and Steve are so easy to be with, and we do bring out the crazy in one another 🙂 My birthday photo makes my heart so happy and I cannot thank you enough for such a special gift! As I have said many times, I thank God every day for the amazing people in my life who love me more than I deserve, and you dear girl top the list! Thank you for so many years of friendship, and for celebrating this milestone birthday that I am very grateful to have! Love you two!
Right back at ya, sweet girl!
D.
So beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Glad you had such a wonderful trip.
Some years ago we visited of the spots you mentioned, and my most memorable was the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Enjoyed the pictures!
Annette in SC