The Crack, Fay Canyon, and More Sedona

Before we get started, I just want to make an observation about naming conventions in the Sedona area. It seems they pick a theme and then beat it to death. About half the landmarks and businesses are either Red Rock this or Oak Creek that. South of Sedona is the Wet Beaver Wilderness area with Beaver Creek, Dry Beaver Creek, and Wet Beaver Creek, confusing much? Apparently creative thinking wasn’t the founding fathers’ strong suit. Lol.

On Tuesday, 4/9, we set out on one of our “must do” hikes – Bell Trail to the Crack on Wet Beaver Creek. (Insert sophomoric jokes as desired. 😊) In 1932, Charles Bell constructed the trail to move cattle to the Mogollon Rim. The trail is 6 miles each way with 1200 feet of elevation gain in the last two miles. Lucky for us, the Crack is about 3 ½ miles in and before the steep climb. The first couple miles look the part of a cattle trail - flat, featureless and hot with little shade. Not Riley’s idea of fun, so he kicked back in the RV while we sweated. Further along the trail is much more scenic as it climbs along the edge of a red rock canyon and then drops down to Wet Beaver Creek.

The first part of the trail was long and hot.

Climbing into the red rocks was much more scenic.

The trail skirted the edge of the canyon.

Say cheese! We traded picture taking duties with a fellow hiker.

On the trail. (Thanks for the picture, David!)

Some really cool erosion patterns in the cliff wall. 

The Crack is a spot where Wet Beaver Creek funnels through a narrow break in the rock and forms a deep swimming hole with excellent opportunities for crazy folks to jump from the perfectly lovely sun-warmed rocks into the exceedingly cold water below.  By the time we made it to the Crack, we were both ready to cool off. Rog is, of course, crazy folks and did the high jump several times. I was content to wade in and when I unintentionally slipped and ended up sitting down in the creek, decided it wasn’t so bad and just stayed there. Lol.

The crack. 

Rog contemplates the view and the jump.

Looking down. :)

And there he goes!!!!!!!!

Rog got in some mountain biking on Wednesday, while I hung out at the Sedona library. I am becoming a huge fan of public libraries. I used to hunker down at a Starbucks, drinking endless cups of coffee while I sucked up the free wifi. At Borrego Springs, Yuma, Sedona, and now in Flagstaff I’ve hit the public library instead and it’s been great. Comfortable workstations, fast wifi, and no need to overdose on caffeine!

Rog biked from our campsite to the trail system and then rode several of the loops for a total of around 19 miles. He can cover a lot of ground on the bike and saw some absolutely amazing scenery. Of course, around Sedona ALL the scenery is amazing! Did you know there are remnants of ancient Cypress forests in some of the narrow canyons? They have retreated to higher elevations as the climate has gotten warmer and dryer. He also encountered some crazy weather. Yes, out of blue skies it SNOWED on him! It was 86° yesterday when we hiked the Crack and today it’s snowing. He stopped to take some photos and video and just laughed, springtime in the desert!

The trail goes up!

Somebody is having way too much fun. Lol. 

Fantastic panorama. 

With this kind of payoff, I may need to start mountain biking. (Nahhh.)

Remnants of a 10,000 year old Cypress forest cling to the cooler, wetter heights.

Another amazing pano!

What a view!

It's SNOWING!
Riley must be dancing in the background. Lol.

We spent our last day taking Riley on a hike into Fay Canyon. The trail was only a couple of miles long with plenty of shade along the way and a short spur to a natural arch. What we didn’t realize was the spur wasn’t a maintained trail, but a steep scramble up a rocky hillside to the arch. Riley was a trooper though and made it almost to the very top. I really think he could have done the last little bit, but we were worried about getting him down. As it turns out, his four-paw drive works better than expected. Next time he might not get a pass. Lol.

Fay Canyon.

The arch (look just above the trees).

We made it!

View from the arch.

One hot puppy on the rocky spur trail.

This is more Riley's style! Lol.

After the hike Riley was rewarded with some playtime in the (not so) Dry Creek and then we headed back to the RV. Rog and I cleaned up and went into town to check out the shops and have dinner out.

Dry Creek isn't. (Yet)

We got a chuckle out of all the new age crystal shops and psychic readers. Tours to the energy vortexes are a big draw, I’m convinced the only real vortexes around here are the traffic circles! Just like the naming conventions, they got hooked on an idea and waaaaay overdid it. On the visitor’s map of the Sedona area I counted 23 traffic circles!  I swear coming into town they installed a traffic circle anytime a cow path crossed Hwy 260, literally one every mile or two! Maybe all that driving in circles contributes to the positive energy flows. Lol.

We had a nice dinner out and then walked the town. There are some beautiful art galleries, but also lots of T-shirt and souvenir shops. We stopped in to watch young artists making hand carved candles at the Magic Candle Shop. A little later we stumbled across another one and then another… we found SIX Magic Candle Shops and I’m sure we may have missed a few. See what I mean about overdoing a good thing? Lol.

Awesome fossils, the ubiquitous Magic Candle Shop, and
your choice of crystal vortex or red rock.

Fun sculptures, the only cactus garden I want is at Cake Couture, and Pink Jeep adventures.

Even with all its quirks, we really did love Sedona and hope to visit again soon. There are so many things we didn’t get to do – Red Rock State Park, the historic mining town of Jerome, Camp Verde, and about a million trails. Our next destination is an RV park in Flagstaff. After 10 days of boondocking we need to dump tanks, take on water, grocery up, and do some maintenance and chores. I’m sure we’ll find some fun stuff to do too!