Weekend in Red Rocks Country

After the cold front came through plunging the temps in southern Arizona down into the teens, I had a decision to make—either start to head home, or find a warmer place to extend my trip.  A call back home confirmed that Chicago was still trying to dig out from the blizzard, so looks like I’d be “stuck” in Arizona a while longer!  So I decided to head north to see some new sights and get some warmer temps.

 
I set my sights on the Sedona “red rock country” for the weekend.  I had been to Sedona a few times before, and when I arrived this time, even though skies were overcast, the rocks were still gorgeous, and a short drive up and down Oak Creek canyon was still spectacular.


While Sedona has lots of boutique shopping, spas, and hotels, it doesn’t offer that many options for RV parking, so I decided to explore the Cottonwood area about 20 miles south that had far better RV options.

I easily found a site at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, and spent the next day exploring the park and town.

There was a dog park nearby that actually had some real grass (something Millie had not seen in over a month, so she was eager to run and play Frisbee). On our way back to the RV, I spotted these pretty trees near the banks of the small Verde river that runs through the park--

But the best was saved for last—the magnificent sky just after sunset:

I really enjoyed the town of Cottonwood.  While not as scenic or upscale as Sedona, it offered plenty of shopping options and had a more casual slower-paced vibe.

On Sunday, I decided to take the scenic route south into the mountains to get to Phoenix via the Prescott valley.  The little town of Jerome is only about 10 miles south of Cottonwood, but is halfway up the very steep mountain range.  Houses and road are literally built into the cliffs.  This is a town where I was thankful to have a short motorhome to navigate all the switchbacks without taking somebody’s mailbox out!


I quickly drove through Prescott and didn’t have time to stop and explore much, but it looked like a nice town to explore next time I’m out here and I also enjoyed finding more jumbo rocks!