Sedona, Arizona

November 2-6, 2015

Sedona is a place to relax, rejuvenate and there are plenty of hiking and mountain biking trails to explore.  Sedona's main attraction is its array of red sandstone formations and if you catch them in the early morning or at sunset the photos can be amazing. Many people believe that Sedona has several vortexes or power spots, making it a highly sought-after spiritual and metaphysical destination.



Rancho Sedona RV Park entrance

 We stayed at Rancho Sedona RV Park, http://ranchosedona.com/  a highly rated, quiet park, right in the Sedona area. Well- maintained but pricey for the lack of any special amenities. They have excellent cable, Wi-Fi, showers and laundry but no pool. Our site #78 was large and backed up to Oak Creek, a nice bonus because you could easily hear the sounds of the creek but they charge extra for these spaces.  Not all of sites can accommodate large coaches so I would recommend calling ahead or making reservations. I wasn't overly impressed with the park because we recently stayed at some very nice parks in Cottonwood and the Verde Valley that were a better value and within 30 minutes of Sedona, an easy day trip. My  overall rating would be 3.5/5 because of the price but if you want to be right in the Sedona area this place would be worth the splurge.
 

Large, shaded site

After we arrived and settled in we went into Sedona for happy hour at 89Agave and had an excellent dinner at the Silver Saddle Room at the Cowboy Club.

Weather came in which eliminated any chances of getting out for a hike but it was nice just to relax and enjoy the rain and the cooler temperatures.  I did sneak out before the rain and visited Tlaquepaque http://www.tlaq.com/.  It was even close enough to our RV park that I walked there. Tlaquepaque is an arts and crafts village with restaurants and upscale shops selling local art, jewelry and unique items. 


Outdoor art -Tlaquepaque

Iron Art Display at Tlaquepaque



The 2 days of rain and cold temperatures left a light dusting of snow on the higher elevations around Sedona.

Finally we were able to get out and check out some trails. We decided on a short, easy trail called Huckaby Trail.

Mike is still tentative with his knee, especially with our ski season approaching, so we had to choose a conservative hike but it still had scenic views and even some elevation change to challenge our heart rate.

The nights were cold by Arizona standards, it even dipped down to the mid 30's the night before we left so we were able to use the furnace and fully test the Aqua Hot system using diesel. Everything worked as it should which was a relief since we will surely need it on our trip to Utah at the end of the month.

We are settling in nicely to the RV life and with some of the new equipment we installed, things are looking good. I should mention some of the upgrades made so far since Mike, the chief engineer, has been working hard and spending a lot of time over the last few months to get these done before we leave.

-Inverter upgrade: Magnum MSH3012-  Our previous inverter was ok but had older technology and was coming up on 10 years old. We knew when we bought the coach we would eventually have to replace it and rather then wait until it failed and have to replace it on the road at probably twice the cost, we decided to upgrade it now with the new technology. Mike found what he wanted at a great price and installed it himself.

-External Tank Sensors: SeeLevel 709-   The black tank sensor wasn't working when we bought the coach but then on a 10 year old coach it's not a surprise. The tanks on RV's come with internal sensors and over time they get dirty and eventually don't work and are difficult to replace.  Most people learn to manage without a black tank sensor but when our grey tank sensor recently failed we decided to remedy it once and for all with external sensors. Mike installed external sensors on all the tanks, mounted the new monitor in the bathroom and we now get excellent, reliable readings on all our tanks. No guessing anymore when we need to dump.

- Installed a Winegard Rayzar Automatic antenna: This 1st piece allows us to  pick up any local digital channels in the area and when we get to Utah we will set up the 2nd part which is the Dish satellite. We tested the antenna on our Verde Valley trip and got excellent channels but not so good in Sedona. Our site had a lot of trees which probably blocked our access to good signals. Our neighbor was having a hard time picking up anything on his satellite because of the trees. The park included cable so it wasn't an issue on this trip but having the antenna and satellite set up will be more useful to us when  boondocking and traveling.

There are still lots of items on the to-do list, but the chief engineer says everything looks good and we are on schedule for our drive north to Utah after Thanksgiving.