Grand Canyon & Sedona - Aug 2005

We spent 5 days in Sedona, with an overnight trip to the Grand Canyon. Overall, this was one of the most satisfying and relaxing vacations for us. Sedona is a great small town nestled among the red rock formations. Regardless of where you are in town, you have great views of the rock formations. A jeep tour on many of the surrounding trails was very enjoyable. For the adventurous, you can navigate some of the same trails with the right kind of vehicle and a pass allowing entry. Slide Rock State Park offers an enjoyable, unique, cold swim that is very fun. The Grand Canyon can be seen as a day trip (about 2-hour drive), but it is best seen by staying at least one night. Midday, the south rim areas can be very crowded with day trippers that come in by car, bus, and train. In the early morning and evening, the crowds clear out and the low sunlight offers the best views of the canyon. We stayed directly on the rim at Kachina Lodge, right next door to El Tovar.

Quick Tips:

If staying at the Grand Canyon within the park, book well ahead of time, since many of the accommodations fill up quickly. Parking can be difficult; therefore, if you find a decent spot, keep it and use the shuttle buses to move around the south rim.

Best Way To Get Around:

In Sedona, a rental car is necessary to get to many of the hiking trails, parks, restaurants, and shops. Some of the resorts, such as Aroyo Roble, are within walking distance of some of the shops/restaurants.

Kachina Lodge is one of the four available lodging options directly on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The other three are Bright Angel Lodge, Thunderbird Lodge, and El Tovar. El Tovar is by far the most upscale of the choices. If you are going strictly for the beauty of the canyon and just need a convenient, comfortable place to sleep, the three cheaper alternatives will suit you just fine. Maswik Lodge and Yavapai Lodge are also within the park, but not directly on the rim (about a quarter mile away).

Kachina was very comfortable, offering two queen beds, a mini refrigerator, and fairly good-sized bathroom. The building itself reminds you of a college dormitory, but the location cannot be beat. There are no food options at Kachina. There is dining service available at El Tovar and Bright Angel Lodge, which are within walking distance. Maswik and Yavapai Lodges also offer cafeteria-style dining, and are reachable by the convenient shuttle buses in the park.

Best Things Nearby:
The restaurants and shops of uptown Sedona. Oak Creek is directly behind the resort, and Slide Rock State Park (6 miles).

Best Things About the Resort:
The location is wonderful, since it is within walking distance to uptown Sedona; however, when you are in the resort, you don't even know that the town is there. This is because the resort is nestled down a steep hill where the sights and sounds of the town are not apparent. The setting of the resort is garden-like, with plenty of trees, grass, and fountains.

Resort Experience:
Arroyo Roble is an older but comfortable resort that serves well for a home base while in Sedona. We had a two-floor, two-bedroom unit with the bedrooms on the second floor. The only minor problem is that the units are fairly dark, with dark earth-tone colors, but they have plenty of room and are clean. The staff was very friendly and helpful. A nice indoor/outdoor pool, hot tubs, free internet access, pool tables, and tennis and racquetball courts are some of the available amenities. We did not use the tennis or racquetball, but I believe the resort had equipment that could be rented.

Many shops and restaurants are within walking distance, although the hill out of the resort can be strenuous for those not used to walking or the altitude. August is one of the wettest time periods for Sedona, so try to get out in the mornings for any planned activities. During our week, the clouds began to roll in during the afternoon, with rain and/or thunderstorms that rolled through mid-afternoon. It usually gave us a great time to chill out at the resort before heading out for dinner. The evenings were usually very pleasant and rain-free.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

The Coffee Pot Restaurant is most famous for its 101 omelet options for breakfast. It is also open for lunch until 2pm, but we only visited for breakfast. The omelets are well sized and very good. My choice among the 101 options was the ham and pineapple, accompanied by a nice portion of hash browns and toast. The parking lot is undersized, so you may be forced to park next door or park in the nearby strip mall like us. There is a small gift-store area that makes the time waiting for a table go by easier. We ate out on the back patio, which was very enjoyable with the warm, sunny weather.

The Broken Arrow Tour, which is the most popular of the tours offered by Pink Jeep, did not disappoint. The driver picked us up at the resort and we drove through town about 5 minutes to begin the tour. Once we drove through a small neighborhood, the road quickly changed to a dirt road and we were off! Not only was the off-roading fun, but the driver/guide was very informative regarding the plant and animal life found in the area. We had to stop once to allow a tarantula crossing the path to safely get across.

There is a stop on the tour on top of a rock formation to stretch your legs, have a drink of water, and get some great pictures. The overall tour lasted about 90 minutes. If you see one of the Pink Jeep brochures, you will see a picture of a jeep coming down from a rock formation at a 45 degree angle. You will experience the pictured situation on the Broken Arrow tour.

About 6 miles north of Sedona on Highway 89A is Slide Rock State Park. There is a $10 fee to enter the park. The park has a swimming area in Oak Creek. As the name implies, there is about a 30-foot natural stone slide that has formed in the creek bed. The stone can be rough in the back side, therefore, it is recommended to wear a swimsuit or shorts that you won't mind getting some wear and tear. Water shoes or sandals are also helpful. Be careful regardless of your footwear, since the rocks can be very slippery. We witnessed many kids slipping and falling. There is also a section of the creek that is deep enough to jump into from the rock walls.

During our August trip, the swimming area began to get fairly crowded by late morning, so we arrived early morning and had a couple of hours of low-crowd conditions. There can be times that the swimming is closed due to water quality - there is a number to call to check the status before you go.

If you are going to enter/exit the Grand Canyon by using the East Entrance to the South Rim instead of the more crowded South Entrance, the Cameron Trading Post is a good place to stop and shop. It is just 1 mile north on Hwy 89 of the Rt 64/Hwy 89 intersection. They have a large selection of clothing, Indian/Southwest trinkets, art, and jewelry. It also has food available, but we were there early in the morning and did not have a chance to sample it. Another review stated that the Navajo Taco is very good, huge, and can feed two people easily.