John 7:38 - Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."

We started the day in Prescott with me dropping Doug off at 6 AM back at the bike shop. We have moved into Mountain Standard Time from Pacific Standard. So 6 am here was 5 am in the old-time zone. Also, it is not so hot outside here so we don't need to worry about beating the heat so much. Our time will come when we have another desert to cross. But, I guess we will cross that desert when we get to it (LOL). Doug was able to ride the first section on a greenway that was beautiful and went around on the southern side of Watson lake. He said it was a beautiful greenway. I did not have to leave as early as usual because we are in civilization so he can stop at a store if he needs a drink or a snack. (Unlike some of the first few days when we covered vast expanses of no civilization). I ran some errands procuring ice and some other necessities and filled up the truck with gas. Then it was time to catch up with Doug. I was hoping to catch him at the top of the mountain before he descended the 3700 ft descent to Cottonwood. I almost caught him in Jerome, Arizona. Jerome looks like a hillside village in Europe, there are small winding streets and the homes are built into the mountainside. There are art galleries and small wineries dotting the downtown area. Jerome sits above what was the largest copper mine in Arizona and produced an astonishing 3 million pounds of copper per month in its heyday. Men and women from all over the world made their way to Arizona to find work and maybe a new way of life. Today the mines are silent, and Jerome has become known as "The Largest Ghost Town in America."

I did catch up with Doug in Cottonwood as he had stopped at the Sonic for a smoothie - there were no smoothie stops in the desert so I do like being in a more populated area. The rest of the trip to Sedona was pretty uneventful. I did meet Doug in downtown Sedona and we checked on taking a Pink Jeep Tour but they were expensive and we had a truck to do our own tour. We had not had lunch yet so we went to Grasshopper Point Picnic Area in the Oak Creek Canyon. We did have a nice lunch and I was mildly disappointed that I would not be able to navigate the trail down to the creek. There were bunches of people you could hear enjoying themselves in the creek. Doug did go swimming while I worked on my blog and when he came back he was very cold. He said it was good for him as he usually sits in a cold tub of water after his days ride - today he swam in Mother Natures tub. I don't mind the cold water so I would have loved to be able to swim. Maybe next time….

We went to check into our hotel for the evening and they had reserved a second-floor room for us when I had requested a handicapped access room. Oddly enough there have been several hotels we have encountered that do not have an elevator but have multiple floors. We had to cancel that reservation and look for another place to sleep for the night. It was more difficult than we thought to find another room (it would have been easy if we wanted to spend $150 on a room). We did find the Baby Quail Inn listing an unsold room on the internet for $71/night. So, we booked a room at the Baby Quail Inn for the night.

It was still early so we decided to go to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. The winding walkway to the Cathedral was very difficult but I did conquer it. I was so glad I did. I was sitting inside quietly praying and two strangers came and asked me if they could pray for me. I told them I would be appreciative of all prayers. They had some very powerful prayers for me. After they finished Doug had walked up and we prayed for them. Their names were Jackie and Mike from the Vineyard Church in Northern New Jersey. They were super nice and I enjoyed our time together. I think they are like me wandering aimlessly… As we went outside Doug met a Catholic Deacon that had one more year before he could become a priest and he and Doug struck of conversation about the young man's aspirations. I meandered back down the steep walkway and was blessed to talk with a WWII veteran who was turning 100 years old soon. We had a very pleasant conversation as I listened to him. I blessed him as his car came and picked him up. The trolley tour guide was playing his Native American Flute over the sound system on the trolley. The evening was so serene. Doug came down and then we went on to our Inn for the night.

The Baby Quail Inn was actually very nice - nicer probably that where we had booked. The lady at the desk was so sweet - when we told her we would be leaving before breakfast was served she brought us a to-go basket. It had apples, bananas, muffins, yogurt and plates, napkins and utensils. They also had a jacuzzi just outside our door and it was close enough for me to walk to without my orthotics. I enjoyed sitting in a hot tub for the first time in a very long time. This made up for not getting to swim in the cold creek - sitting in a hot jacuzzi. We enjoyed a dinner of pizza while sitting in the natural area of the inn. After dinner we were both tired so we called it a night. Today was such a blessed day! God is so good!