A Week in Wonderful Sedona

Best Things Nearby:
How can you select the best things about this incredibly beautiful area? First, the awe-inspiring red rocks you encounter at every turn in the road, the red rocks that are different from each new perspective and that change with the changing day light. Then, there are the wide variety of ways to experience this beauty: horseback rides, jeep tours, hiking. . . On top of that, you are within easy driving distance of ancient ruins, ghost towns, and last but not least the Grand Canyon. You've got to see it to believe it and even then, it is almost more than your senses can take in.

Best Things About the Resort:
The charmingly designed individual modular units and the gurgling brook. The lagoon spa. The friendly, but not overly friendly, helpful staff.

Resort Experience:
We LOVED the adorable modular units, designed so beautifully to fit into the red rocks. Although the units are not large, for a couple, a unit is cozy and charming and had just what we needed. The kitchen is exceptionally well-equipped -- we didn't lack anything. It was so nice to be able to cook out on our grill and find it cleaned the next day. Adding to the charm was the man-made brook running just outside the bedroom. In the evening with the windows open in the bedroom, the gurgling and splashing of the water on the rocks was soothing and relaxing. Because the units are each separate from each other, there was a lot of privacy.

The staff was very helpful and prompt in every way. Last but not least, the large lagoon spa, for adults only, was warm, invigorating, relaxing, and a wonderful way to get to know other guests.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Good
• Service: Excellent

This restaurant is superb! When we were in Sedona, it was one of the restaurants recommended by the concierge at our resort. We went there for dinner our first night in town and were so impressed that we went back our last night in town. Like all the other structures in Sedona, Savanah's blends beautifully into the red rocks surrounding Sedona. In fact, if it wasn't for their yellow, eye-catching sign, we would have driven right by.

From the moment we walked in, we felt very welcome. Even though we didn't have reservations and it was a Saturday night they had room on the outdoor patio and seated us immediately. There was a hostess and a host and the host, Greg, let us know that his wife is the chef. He is obviously very proud of her accomplishments and as we were to discover, rightly so. The patio behind the restaurant is lovely, shaded by trees and despite the al fresco setting the tables were set with white lines table clothes.

Service was impeccable. We never wanted for anything. Extra bread with delivered to our table without our even having to ask. Now, this is a pricey menu, but there is plenty of food and it is so luscious that you certainly feel that you've gotten your money's worth.

Eating at Savanah's isn't just a meal, it is an experience. Our first evening there we ordered chicken livers in a special sauce and they were delicious. We'd been told there wasn't any seafood in Sedona, but this restaurant had very succulent seafood. My husband had the escolar and I had seared sashimi grade tuna. Each main dish comes with your choice of a wide range of sides and a topping. The night that I selected the escolar, which was delicious, I had a blue cheese walnut butter topping. The sides included crispy spinach (flash fried and melt in your mouth yummy!), creamed spinach, several version of mash potatoes, and each night a special side which from what we experienced is always very creative and wonderful. The second night we were there, Greg the chef's husband comped us a dessert. We were really too full, but we ordered one -- a chocolate mocha mousse pie which was melt-in-your mouth delectable. We had absolutely no complaints about this restaurant. You are missing a culinary treat if you are in Sedona and don't give it a try! We wish we could transport the restaurant to our home town!

This is a fun place to eat, especially if you are an adventuresome diner. We went for lunch and didn't need reservations, but we were told that you definitely need reservations for dinner.

Because we wanted to be able to sample a variety of foods, we ordered three appetizers and our waitress was also kind enough to bring us a sample of their french-fried sweet potatoes -- they were delicious. We ordered buffalo brouchettes, battered and fried cactus strips and nachos. The buffalo was tender and tasty -- it doesn't taste like beef and it may be an acquired taste if you're expecting it to taste like beef. I really liked the flavor, but my husband thought it was just okay. We had similar reactions to the fried cactus strips -- I loved them. Again, it is hard to describe a food that is so different. They are firm yet juicy -- when I ate pickled cactus, I thought of okra, but fried cactus wasn't like fried okra at all. The flavor again is hard to compare because it is so unusual. The nachos were not unlike any other nachos at any other restaurant. We also ordered their special margaritas made with high-end liquors. These were not large drinks and were rather pricey, but they were worth it in taste -- very smooth!

The decor is what you would expect from a restaurant named the Cowboy Club -- puts you in mind of an old saloon, but a very upscale old saloon. At the bar, there is one stool that looks like a horse's patoot, complete with tail. There are pictures and memorabilia on the wall of the Southwest.

The service was good, but not great. Our waitress was very pleasant, but they were having computer problems while we were there. The food came out of very quickly, which was impressive.

I cannot recommend this restaurant. There was nothing at all special about the food. It was not even mediocre Mexican and the prices were double what I'm used to paying for really good Mexican food. We did get to sit out on the patio, which was nice, but since it was after dark, we couldn't see the red rocks. Our waitress was an airhead, indifferent and inattentive. The atmosphere was kind of tacky, overdone Southwest-Mexican. Javelina is a type of wild pig indigenous to the area, so, of course, tacky, cartoonish javelinas festooned the restaurant.

We shared a huge order of fajitas, which we thought it would be hard to mess up, but they serve theirs with a heavy, cloying sauce that either detracts from the flavor of grilled meal, or hides the fact that it has no flavor. Not sure which.

This restaurant and bar were just opening for business. We thought about eating in the restaurant, but decided we didn't want a full meal and that the bar looked more comfortable. It was a fun, neighborhood bar with two pool tables, and a jukebox. You could sit at the bar or in booths. There was a pub menu but you could also order off of the restaurant menu.

We discovered that this bar had the best margaritas in Sedona -- in our humble opinion. The only food we had was an appetizer off of the restaurant menu -- it was stuffed Korean peppers. We went back on another occasion during our week in Sedona to have margaritas and the stuffed peppers. They were yummy (the drinks and the peppers). There was nothing fancy about the bar, but the service was friendly and prompt.

This is not the most scenic hike. There are some views of the red rocks as you start your hike up the canyon, but those diminish as you hike higher and deeper into the forest. The hike starts off in sandy ground, with lots of low, scrubby brush - manzanitas, pinyon pines, junipers, etc. - and as you climb higher, the path becomes very rocky - much of it along the aptly named Dry Creek - and deep in the forest it also becomes very buggy. The end of the trail is at a plaque commemorating the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Vultee, whose small plane crashed nearby in the 1930s. You have a view of the arch named in their honor, but be alert. It would be easy to miss it.

Above the plaque rise rocks just begging to be climbed. Succumb to that urge and you will be glad you did. You will have a long view to the east down the canyon to where seven canyons merge. There you will see the magnificent red rocks rising to the sky against the clear blue skies. It is a perfect spot to rest before you hike out, sip your water and soak up the gorgeous surroundings.

This is a very picturesque hike. You have constantly changing views of the magnificent red rocks rising above. Unfortunately, the first part of the trail skirts a resort and for a long time we could hear the noise of construction equipment. This hike gets you up close and personal to the red rocks. You hike over it, beside it and under it. It is a bit frustrating because there is so much to see yet you have to be very careful of where you put your feet for a number of reasons. In places the trail is fairly rough and you could easily sprain an ankle, or worse. Also, we saw some fresh animal leavings (don't know what kind of animal) in a few places right on the path. Didn't want to step there.

Besides the red rocks there were so many different types of plants to admire. There was lots of manzanita with its beautiful deep red mahagony colored branches, century cactus, many types of wildflowers everywhere we looked, and huge trees that totally took us by surprise. We came upon an interesting open area where people had built medicine wheels from pine cones and there were many of the rock pile structures. It was so alluring that I built one of my own. We were thrilled to find within very close proximity four-century plants (also known as agave) in three different phases of its life span. One which was sending up a beautiful new flower stalk, which is dark red and green and looks exactly like a giant stalk of asparagus. Nearby was another stalk with blossoms sprouting from the top and then two dying century plants right next to each other.

If you have any interest in plant life, the area of the country is fascinating, with desert plant life within close proximity to forests with large pines and hardwood trees.

We took the sunset tour, which began around 5:30 to 5:45. The six of us claimed our spots in the back of the jeep and we headed out of town while Larry regaled us with stories about Sedona's history. On our way into the canyon wilderness, he took us through some of Sedona's residential areas and showed us some of the homes of stars (they don't live there and rarely visit) such as Robert DeNiro and Madonna - they were just what you would expect - huge and beautiful. All of the homes and other buildings in Sedona blend beautifully into the red rock surroundings so they don't detract from the majestic beauty of the area. In fact, no building can be over two stories high.

As we pass the red rocks Larry points them out, tells us their names and interesting facts about them. Then we get to the really good part. We are off the beaten path on roads only a jeep could traverse and we occasionally stop to take in the views and learn more about how this unique landscape was formed and also about the intriguing vortices (vortexes?) that are purported to be in abundance in this area. Along our journey deep into the canyons we saw a roadrunner, mule deer and a coyote.

Finally, after an exciting trip down a very rough dirt "road" we reached a hill in the middle of the wilderness. Larry told us that this is thought to be the site of a vortex and has been considered to be a very holy place by the Native Americans or ancient ones. We climbed this hill as the sun was setting. I don't know what I think about vortexes, but this was a beautiful, otherworldly spot and after being there for awhile all of us became very quiet and contemplative. Maybe it was the vortex, maybe it was the beauty surrounding us. We were all hesitant to leave the spot and return to the jeep. This was one of the most worthwhile experiences of our Sedona vacation.

Even if you don't think that you are interested in old ruins, give this site a try. It is easy to get to, just a few miles off of I40 near Flagstaff. Before you descend the Island Trail to the ruins, make sure that you go into the museum room (you have to go through the building to get to the trail, so go ahead and stop) to learn more about the intrepid ancient ones who inhabited these cliffs. It will help you to gain more respect for what they did and assist you in visualizing what their lives must have been like living on the sides of a canyon. The trail, which descends many feet into the canyon, is made up of many steps. Going down isn't too bad but coming back up is arduous. I think the sign said it was the equivalent of walking up 18 flights of stairs. However, if you can manage this it is worth the trip.

The island is a large outcropping of rock into the canyon with a deep overhang. Here the ancient ones made their homes. They hauled up rocks and used clay to seal them. The soot from their fires still marks the "ceilings" of the rooms. Across the canyon on the facing side, you can see many other rooms that were built into the overhangs. The tenacity of these people bringing up families on the face of a cliff is astounding. There is also a hike along the rim to other ruins, but we didn't hike to that site.

In Cottonwood, follow the signs to the ruins of Tuzigoot and the Tavasci Marsh. The ruins were discovered and excavated in the mid to late 1930s. The Sinaqua Indians built their homes on the top of the hill in the Verde Valley near the Tavacsi Marsh approximately 1100 years ago and disappeared about 400 years later. No one knows what happened to them. Living above and adjacent to the marsh was a perfect place for these ancient ones. The marsh supplied for their daily needs.

The homes that the Sinaqua built here were without doors or windows. The roofs were flat and there was a hole in the top through which they entered. This hole also served as ventilation. They used ladders to climb up and down. As their numbers grew, they built more rooms (one family to a room, thank you) using native rocks and clay. They traded with other peoples near and far as evidenced by relics found in the ruins -- seashells, pottery shards, and parrot remains.

There is an excellent museum on site that brings these people to life and displays many of the artifacts uncovered during the excavations. A hike along the Tavasci Marsh trail is fun and instructive. You will see many lizards and desert plants along the path and then be surprised by the lush green marsh below. This site has excellent informative plaques describing the formation of the marsh, the plant life you will see, how it was used by the ancient ones, and the way of the life of the Sinaqua at this site.

From the first surprising view of the Red Rocks, it is hard to get enough of the majestic beauty of this area. Each bend in the road offers a new vista. The changing light throughout the day presents a different perspective. Surprisingly, the location of the red rocks and Sedona is such that until you are upon it you don't see it. It isn't something that you glimpse in the distance as you are driving to the area. You turn a bend in the road on 89A and suddenly there you are amongst the red rocks.

During our week in Sedona, we attempted to sample the beauty at various times of day and in different ways. The overlook on airport road is a great way to get a greater view of the area. You are looking down on Grasshopper Flats where much of the newer part of Sedona is and it is surrounded by red rock formations on all sides. One morning, I was up before the sun and rode throughout the area, up Airport Road, up Oak Creek Canyon and then into the Seven Canyon area via Dry Creek Road. I got some great pictures of the red rocks in very early morning. I had to force myself to finally return to our resort because I started feeling pulled to explore more and more. Another day we went up Airport Road in the evening for some terrific views of the area as the sun was setting. We also experienced the area from our car as we rode around oooing and ahhhing over each new vista, we hiked into a couple of the canyons, and we took a jeep tour. We hated to leave when our week was over. We had fallen in love with Sedona and the stunning red rocks.