Well - here we are, in Sedona and guess what? It's raining !!! However it is the Monsoon season in Arizona that happens in August & September every year so we will have to lump it.
We arrived at Phoenix airport OK in blazing lovely heat. Aahhhh. We picked up our rental car and immediately got lost! Eventually after yet another left turn we hit highway 17 north & Peter got us out of Phoenix as the sun set. Driving north in the dark we could see sheet lighting over the hills ahead. As newbys to Arizona I am glad we stayed in the speed limit as the same highway patrol car passed us twice on his nightly round of bringing misery to those in a hurry. We turned off 17 on to the road for Sedona, arriving in pitch darkness. This was when the Tom Tom decided it would turn up it's toes and refuse to tell us where the Hotel was. We were fortunate to find a tourist information centre still open - it was 8.30pm. In the UK they all close at 5 just when all the tourists are trying to find somewhere to stay. They were very helpful and we arrived at our Motel with just enough time to rush to the nearest restaurant & get something to eat. We tumbled into bed thankfully at around 10.30pm unaware of the scenery.
Next morning we looked out of the window WOW!!!
Peter's turn: amazing rocks and buttes in red sandstone, which reminded us of Petra in Jordan - but of course, being American they are bigger! Went for breakfast in the local diner (surprisingly good once Gill got really hot water for her tea).
After walking round the village it started to rain - see above. Then it really did begin to rain, having dodged in and out of the gift shops we gave in and bought umbrellas. Just before this we'd booked a Jeep safari with Pink Jeep Tours - nothing to do with Barbie or willowy young men who are good their mothers. We saw people coming back looking damp in plastic ponchos and wondered if this was such a good idea.
Me again: (Peter's chatting to a local in the bar, where we are partaking of some liquid refreshment) We were lucky and hit a bit of a gap in the rain although not the low cloud that obscured some of the obviously awesome views, however the thrill of the ride over some very rough terrain made up for that. Our driver/guide told us that a lot of the early cowboy movies starring the greats such as Jimmy Stewart and of course the one and only John Wayne were made here in what is now a National Park. Later on we went to an incredible Catholic Church built on top of a rock the front of which was an enormous concrete cross and overlooked the town of Sedona.
We finished the day by eating buffalo steaks with sweet potato & spinach. Nothing to do in the evening. We get the feeling that all of America goes to bed early. We end up watching an old Cary Grant movie on TV!