Sedona

And then it was time to head for our previously planned trip to Sedona to stay with Mike’s cousin Kathy, otherwise known as “Aunti Kaffee” by her youngest nephew. The Arizona roads from Boulder City to Flagstaff were terrible, full of potholes that were hard to avoid and then we hit snow! Just what we were trying to avoid. Almost all the way to Sedona! 

Auntie Kaffee is a great hiking enthusiast and is familiar with the hiking scene in Sedona so we anticipated a lot of hiking with her in and around Sedona. We really looked forward to being there for our 5 day stay. 

Originally, we hadn’t planned on having a trailer and a dog in tow….let alone a dog learning how to walk and run on three legs. Also, Kathy had rented an Air B&B. The owners were okay with us parking the trailer in their driveway and having the dog in the backyard but they didn’t want him in the house, which we totally understood. It was still quite cold in Sedona when we were there which was fine for us all nice and warm inside the house in the evenings but Marley had to stay outside. He didn’t like that much and tried pawing the door to get in with us. Thankfully, we’d brought along his crate so when he became too persistent, that’s where he went. 

Marley has never, to our knowledge, been in a fenced yard. Once he got used to it, he went berserk, doing spins and even the occasional somersault. He behaved like a circus animal, up on his hind legs, dancing around, running. He’s so agile!!! He surprised us. He loved the grass and couldn’t stop rolling around on it, big doggy smiles on his face. And then….he started grazing…like a cow….and….DIGGING!!!! He had to stay in his crate unless we were out there to supervise. Cousin Kaffee and Marley became the best of buddies especially after Marley started whispering sweet things into her ear.

That very first day, late afternoon, we went out Kathy’s back door and hiked up the trail to Castle Rock and stayed for the sunset. Spectacular! Popular place – there were quite a few other people there taking pics and enjoying the sunset. The sunset hike became an almost daily ritual.

We loved our time in Sedona…wandered downtown, window shopping, wandering in and out of art galleries and shops. Marley was a great attraction & very well behaved. Everyone wanted to visit with him and everyone had a treat for him. All the shops were very welcoming and had water dishes outside their doors. After that, he behaved like a movie star, expecting treats and attention from everyone who crossed his path. 

Sedona is known for its spiritual bent…all kinds of new age healing practices, organic food shops and restaurants, spas, crystal shops, and everywhere there were vortexes….must be the vortex capital of the USA! We were both blown away by the energy after visiting “Crystal Magic”, a shop featuring every kind of crystal/rock/stone you can imagine. 

We hiked the Scorpion Hike close to Kathy’s. It was lovely. A good hike for all of us after the longer, more difficult “Little Horse” hike of the day before. Also close to Kathy’s place was a park with….another vortex….and a beautiful river running through. Marley got to experience a fast flowing river!

Explored the Tlaquepaque shopping area. Love that place with all of its beautiful art galleries! Again Marley did well with being a superstar….everyone we came across wanted to pet Marley.

Sadly, our time with Auntie Kaffee was at an end. It was time to head for our next stop, again with family, in Benson, Arizona.