Tlaquepaque - Sedona, Arizona

Pronounced Tla-keh-pah-keh and meaning the "best of everything". Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village was built in Sedona to resemble a traditional Mexican village. Located inside the beautifully decorated buildings are stores, galleries and restaurants.



Looking down from the second floor



Aztec wall relief?



Colorful reflection and glass wall art



Some interesting looking metal and glass sculpture

But I just enjoy walking through Tlaquepaque, having never been to Mexico, I can walk around this make believe village and pretend I’m south of the border. The architecture is quite beautiful and I’m amazed at all the attention to detail. I love art and to me Tlaquepaque itself is art. I’ve actually never even gone inside any of the stores or galleries, I’m more interested in the structures themselves and all the unique details.



A building that looks like a church or chapel



Sycamore tree and building



Looking through a gate



A pot on a ledge



A decorated fountain



A pot underneath the stairs



Colorful tiles on stairs



A walkway in between buildings



A frog statue blowing a kiss



Another shot of that interesting looking metal and glass sculpture, I really like it


Some of the photographs in
this post were enhanced or
manipulated using photoshop.

Relaxing around Sedona, Arizona

Ah, warm weather today - almost 70 degrees. The muscles are doing OK from yesterday’s 7 mile hike but motivation to do a hike today is very low. Mike decided to relax by the pool and soak in one of those bubbling chlorine-bacteria baths.



Breakfast



Lunch



Afternoon chocolate and a book break



Holiday decorations in Sedona



I’m like a cat, I don’t go near the water. So I spend the day relaxing as well but in a different way. Breakfast on the patio with a view. Followed with some light reading regarding tomorrow’s trip to that very popular big hole in the ground called The Grand Canyon. I’ve been there twice already but wanted to make sure we didn’t miss anything since I’ve never been able to spend the whole day there like we are planning on doing tomorrow.



The pool



The hot tub

Then Lunch (pizza and beer) on the patio with a view. Followed by a walk around Sedona, then some more reading and chocolate, then dinner, then packing the stuff for tomorrow's drive to The Grand Canyon.



Aliens in Sedona

Leaving Coyote Buttes via House Rock Valley Road

This is part 4, see my previous three posts for the complete story.



Unique rock formations at Coyote Buttes



Contrails over Coyote Buttes



Orange rocks, white snow and blue skies - what a beautiful combination



These rock formations ended up being my favorite for this area





No one around for miles and miles

It was approximately 4PM when we pulled out of the parking lot at Wire Pass Trailhead. Now parts of the House Rock Valley Road lay in the shadows. Some of the snow that had softened today in the warm sun, and melted under the friction of tires, had now transformed in to slick and shiny icy spots. We had about an hour or so of daylight left. We were glad to see that there were still two vehicles left in the parking lot, at least we weren’t the last ones to leave. Then, a few minutes down the road we passed a pick up truck going the other way, I noticed the graphics on the side of the truck, I think it was a ranger. He pulled over in to the deep snow so we don’t have to leave the road, that was nice. He also gave us a weird look. He was probably amused that we were out here on this road driving this car. I'm sure the Illinois license plates explained it all -tourists.



There were many rock formations here that looked like huge bun cakes with sugar glazing



At 4PM the sun was hanging low on the horizon

A few minutes later we approached the first big hill in the road. But we couldn't make it to the top. The tires were spinning out just as we got near to the top of the hill. Mike backed up the car all the day to the bottom of the hill and tried climbing it again this time with a little more power. Just as we get close to the top of the hill the front wheels lost traction again. Mike backed the car down the hill again and gave it even more gas this time. We are almost up the hill when the tires slid out and now we were stuck almost sideways in the middle of the road.



The only animal I saw today was this jackrabbit

We both got out of the car to examine the situation and we both almost fall on the ground as our legs tried to get traction on the icy road. The pictures don’t show it but the road was pretty much iced over. Mike got back in the car and tried to straighten it out but the tires are spinning us further sideways. And the ditch wasn't too far way. Since we have no sand or kitty litter, no shovel we just stood there contemplating our situation. We only stood there a few minutes before the ranger pulled up behind us. He said he wasn’t surprised to see us stuck. He had a chain and was going to try and pull us up the hill. If that didn’t work he’d have to call a tow truck. I crossed my fingers that the chain would work. Once the Acura had the chain secured on, the pickup took off and up the hill the car went. I was still standing in the road, trying to walk up the hill when I fell down. It was really slippery here. I could barely walk on this road.



Getting stuck



Looking down at the hill we got stuck on - you can kind of make out the ice in this picture, but trust me, this whole road was iced over



Rescued by a ranger with a tow chain



Ready to try it again with the help of a 4X4 pick up truck this time

Past the slippery hill the ranger said that he’s try to tow us on to the main road but driving the Acura was rather difficult while it was still connected by a chain to the truck ahead of us and the ranger was driving way faster then we wanted to go. A few minutes later the ranger's truck stopped. He got out and told us that he would prefer to disconnect the chain and just follow us to the main road. That was better for us also. We got going and the going was good. At this point we only had about 6 or 7 miles to go. Everything was going great for the next 4 or 5 miles until we drifted in to some deep snow and got stock again.



Stuck again - this time it was the deep snow that did us in, not ice



Getting towed for the second time today



Finishing up House Rock Valley Road with the sun setting behind us

The ranger truck pulled ahead of us again and for the second time connected the chain to the Acura and towed us out of the slick spot. Then he disconnected the chain and continued to follow us. We finally made it to the main road, waved our thanks to the ranger, who was still behind us. It's a small world, the ranger that helped us used to live in Fort Collins when he attended Colorado State University here.

We turned on 89 heading south and the ranger also turned on to the road. I would have thought that he’s turn around and make sure the other vehicles make it out of there. Maybe patrolling the road and making sure all the hikers are out of there by night fall isn’t his job, maybe we were super lucky to run in to him. What would have happened had he not come along? Yes, boys and girls, we were very lucky indeed and this experience had us thinking that maybe if we choose to be so adventures in the Acura we should at least have some snow chains. Everything is good that ends good. A few hours later we were back in Sedona, worn out for a long day and a little bit sore form the hike, our cheeks and noses rosy from the sun. Today was a great day and not one I’ll forget any time soon.

The Wave at Coyote Buttes, Arizona

This is Part 3. For information on the hike to The Wave (Part 2)
or on how to get to Coyote Buttes (Part 1), please read the previous two posts.



Standing at The Wave



So what is The Wave? The Wave is simply a 200,000 years old petrified sand dune. It’s not very large and it’s located on the northwest edge of Top Rock, a collection of white Navajo sandstone formations in the Coyote Buttes area of the Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness.



The view you see here beyond The Wave is the terrain we hiked to get to The Wave



The Wave is up on higher ground that’s why the hike to The Wave is loner then the hike back to the car



OK. I’m not going to lie to you. The Wave was cool. But honestly it’s the “hike to The Wave” that makes The Wave so special. The hike is an amazing experience and the scenery on the way is breathtaking. The Wave is like a cherry on top. If we did the hike and never found The Wave it still would have been an awesome hike. Of course parts of The Wave were covered in snow, so we didn’t actually see all of it.







Looking toward the back of The Wave





I can see why photographers come to take pictures of The Wave. The colors are so vivid, the shape so fluid, constantly changing throughout the day, always different depending on the time of the day, the location of the sun and the weather. During this time of the year we were told that 10AM was best time to photograph The Wave. We couldn’t get there that early and by the time we hiked up to The Wave the shadow was literally swallowing The Wave in front our very eyes. We had to take our pictures fast. In the summer time I read that between noon and 2PM is best for pictures.



If you look close you will notice someone wearing a red jacket up on the snow, there were two people climbing up there



The Wave was our half way point in the hike, so we took our lunch break there. While we ate the sandwiches we brought with us, we stopped moving around, it got cold really quick. By the time I finished eating my lunch I was grabbing for my hat and gloves and zipping up my fleece jacket. All the sudden it really felt like 38 degrees, it was cold out here I just couldn’t feel it while hiking. About twenty minutes after starting the hike back to the car, the gloves and hat came off again and the vents unzipped on my fleece jacket and it felt like it was 60 degrees again.



Lunch break at The Wave



Some nice scenery behind The Wave