Day 4

Next we headed to Sedona. A couple of hours south, Sedona is described as the Grand Canyons little cousin. A combination of more vibrant red rock formations and being down in the canyon looking up actually made Sedona a more beautiful than its bigger cousin. The different monolithic rock formations that are scattered throughout the town are known by their fitting nicknames. Some names have obviously been around a while like Cathedral Rock or Castle Rock, other like Tea pot and Snoopy were a little newer. Many of the rocks are believed to have energy vortices that are popular for people to meditate and relax upon.

Having had the car for a few days now I was getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road and strange practices like turning right on red lights. Also having the car offered a feeling of security as we continued on our road trip through busy tourist destinations in high season with no reservations; after all we could always sleep in the car. It turns out that accommodation in Sedona is equally as expensive as near the Grand Canyon, maybe even more so with luxury resorts and golf clubs dotted around like green oasis's in the otherwise dry landscape. This was starting to look like a problem, all the campsites were full and the only available rooms were either in over priced motels or posh 5* resorts.

Just as it was starting to look like a cramped night in the car, a spot of good luck came our way. We had been talking with a guy at what appeared to be a tourist information booth when he offered us a place to stay in a 5* Resort Villa for free! All we had to do was attend a presentation the next day, with no obligations. It sounded too good to be true and when we checked in it got even more unbelievable. We had been put in a one bedroom luxury villa with dinning/living room, kitchen, massive bathroom, patio, shared pool access and all important laundry facilities!

That night we made use of the kitchen which was a far cry from hostel kitchens with one pot and a blunt knife. I knocked up a huge bowl of spag-bol which fed us for the next fewdays and we chased it down with a bottle of red.

The next day we had to get up and attend the presentation that paid for our nights stay. Basically they are a holiday/time share company trying to sign us up to a very expensive scheme. We had managed to blag our way this far by pretending to still be employed and earning good money, so at first they were reluctant to take no for an answer, offering us better offer after better offer. Eventually they gave up on us and sent us on our way with a full refund for the room. Probably our most luxurious stay turned out to be our cheapest, not bad for two hours of our time!

Day 5

Moving on from Sedona we continued on a loop back up towards the town of Ash Fork and back to Route 66. Along the way we took in a few local villages and sights before getting caught in the worst storm of my life. Lightning was striking fields either side of the road and the rain was so heavy that wipers made little difference. Worried to be driving I pulled over at the next opportunity, a gas station was probably not the best place in a thunderstorm but it soon passed and we were back on our way.

That night we had planned on sleeping in the car but driving through 'hicksville' outside of Ash Fork we were reminded of the movie Deliverance so changed our mind and opted for a cheap motel.