Native American Journey’s Tour

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Up bright and early we met the Native American Journey’s Tour at reception at 7:10am. At least they are picking us up so we don’t have to make that drive again today. I will be able to sit back and enjoy the scenery too.

They were right on time. They had already picked up two couples from the Sedona Pines resort. We were traveling in a van. Our driver and guide’s name was Joe. He didn’t appear to be Native American but the web site was a bit “iffy” on that. As long as he knows the history as promised that will be fine.

Our drive took us through Sedona and up RT 89A through Oak Creek Canyon. In all my travels up and down this road I had never seen the bottom of the gorge. If I had I would have been in it  (Ha Ha). Now sitting high in a van I could see well into Oak Creek Canyon. WOW! I think maybe it was a good thing I didn’t know how steep and deep it was when I first started driving this road.

Joe is a bona-fide “rock hound”. I have never seen anyone get so excited over rock formations! He would pull the van over to the side of the road, pull out a white board and start writing information on  it while he explained what we were looking at, just like a geology teacher. He had a pile of different colored sponges that he had cut to represent a fault so he could demonstrate the way the earth shifts when a fault line moves. He would have made a great teacher.  

As we passed Flagstaff Joe told us a story of how the city got its name. The story goes that the early settlers were going to have a big party to celebrate the 4th of July. So that everyone would be able to find the location they picked the largest tree and stripped off all of its limbs then hung a flag from the top. They told everyone to come to the celebration where the Flag Staff was standing.

It was quite a long ride part of which was on the famous RT 66. I’m not sure I could find my way back on my own even though Joe said you can get a permit without going with a tour. The section of the Canyon we were going to and the road that would take us there is on a Reservation so we had to stop at Peach Springs at the  Visitor Center for the Hualapai Tribe to pick up the tour permit. We had a brief rest stop while we were waiting for Joe. There was a gift shop and rest rooms.

When Joe came back waving the permit we all clambered back into the van but we didn’t head out right away. Joe said we had “bookkeeping” to do. He handed out all of the charge slips. As he did he said if we didn’t sign them he would leave us at the Visitor Center so we could find our own way home. I don’t know if he was joking or not but turns out that it put me in an awkward position.

When I tried to make the reservation several months ago, I had my tax refund money in the account so I used that card. When the charge never went through I called them back. They told me they were just using the card # to “Hold” the reservation and wouldn’t charge it until the trip. ( This was actually my 3rd call as I had wanted some more information before I booked the tour and there had been 1 email. ) Before we left for the trip, I wanted to consolidate everything in one account so I could keep track of my expenses. I made my 4th call to them at that time. I said since they hadn’t charged the card yet, could I change the one I was using. I was told yes, just email the new card #. I started to protest that it wasn’t safe to do that but finally gave up and complied. I also asked for the “Bottom line” as the ad said $179.00 per person plus tax and tip and I was getting a AAA discount as well.

I was told the real cost of the tour was now $229.00 plus tax and tip per person. I protested and said I would cancel as that was not what was advertised and that in spite of numerous requests, no one had been able to give me a final figure for the tour. They back tracked quickly and said ..Oh that’s right you saw the web page plus we can give you the AAA discount. He threw a number at me as he said he had to go to a meeting. I wrote the amount down and sent off the email with my card #.

Now here we were in a van in the tiny town of Peach Springs on a reservation miles from Sedona and the tour guide is saying I have to sign the charge slip or get out. My charge slip was for the wrong credit card( bank account) and over charged by $40.00. Since I was in the back of the van I couldn’t discretely speak to the tour driver. I had to yell it out so everyone could hear.

Joe told me to go ahead and sign it and call Dave, the owner /manager later after the tour and he would straighten it out. That didn’t leave me with many options if I didn’t want to walk home. I had a feeling the damage was already done anyway and the signature was just a formality for the tour operator so I complied and resigned myself to having to deal with that after the tour was over. Since there was nothing more I could do now, I might as well relax and enjoy the trip down, especially if it was going to be more expensive than planned.

With that out of the way (for now), Joe pulled the van out onto the road and our journey to the bottom really began at that point.

Now I don’t want you to think I always have these financial difficulties. This was the first time I’ve had so many things messed up over money. I always travel on a very tight budget so I must have all my little ducks in a row or there’s no way I can go on these vacations . These issues from Payless Car rental to Native American Journey’s are the exception, not the rule. They just happened to all come up on this trip. I have tucked the experiences away and will now be even more diligent before I book a tour or reserve a car.

More Grand Canyon

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There is way too much to show and tell about the Grand Canyon for one post. So let me try to fill in some of what I skipped yesterday.

At our first stop we could see the Colorado River winding its way through the canyon floor.

Our  guide pointed out the rapids. They didn’t look like much from where we were standing but he said they are CLASS 10! He went on to tell us that the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is the only place where rapids are rated on a scale of 1-10. Everywhere else the maximum rapid is 5. He said several other rapids in the canyon are rated class 8. WOW! Anyone up  for a white water rafting trip?

This is a marker from the last survey of the Grand Canyon.

 It was done with volunteers and the assistance of the Boston Museum of Science and the National Geographic Society.

With Sandy waving in the foreground, you can get some perspective of the hugeness of the Canyon. Just awe-inspiring! This was also the stop where the biologist was tracking the Condors.

Railings and walls are there to keep us safe. Even so, we saw a mother take her young son over the fence and right up to the rim. Crazy!

Once back at the train we climbed up to the Visitor Center so I could secure my National Park Stamp. There were a couple of pieces of petrified wood on display. I am hoping we’ll have time to get to the petrified forest this trip. I missed it last time.

 

While there we walked over to El Tovar. The Hotel is the premier lodging in the Grand Canyon National Park. It first opened it’s doors on 1905. It was most recently renovated in 2005.

We also stopped by Hopi House which is another National Historical building. It was created to allow Native Americans to sell their authentic Native American crafts.

Then it was time to climb back down to the depot.

We’ve stretched our visit long enough for this time. We’ll be back in the morning to go into the Canyon so it’s time to load onto the train for the return trip.

It’s about 3:15 so the railroad serves a snack buffet  to First Class and Dome car passengers on the return trip too. This time it’s veggies and dip and cheese and crackers. A nice touch and certainly appreciated.

Just outside of Williams the train slowed to a stop. We spotted the Cowboys galloping along side only now they were bandits here to rob the train! All in fun we handed over change and dollar bills. I presume it is their “tip” for the show this morning.

Grand Canyon Railroad

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It’s a chilly morning out there but the sun is shining so it will probably warm up as the day progresses. We’re on our way up 89 A, through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff and then on to Williams to ride the Grand Canyon Railroad. I guess it gets light earlier in May than it does in October because I seem to remember this drive in October as being dark and cold. This time it’s a bit chilly but the sun is up.

We arrived with time to spare but boy was it windy. By now it had warmed up enough that when the wind didn’t blow it was comfortable with a light jacket but that wind was powerful and cut right through you.

We picked up our tickets and wandered around the gift shop and grounds while we waited for the Wild West Show to start. Eventually we headed over to the Wild West set to try to find seats that might be a little protected from the wind.

One of the cowboys was already on the set with a couple of horses.

 The horses looked like all they wanted to do was take a nap. 🙂

 Can’t say I blame them. Pretty soon more tourists started to arrive and fill up the bleachers. The other “players” came onto the set and the show was underway almost before we knew it.

 It segued from the cowboys chatting with the audience right into the show. People were picked out of the crowd to participate and jokes (really bad jokes) were tossed out right and left.

For example when one of the cowboys asked “Where are you from?” His hapless victim said “Canada”. The cowboy paused for a moment and then asked  “Do you know how Canada got its name? We’ll start with C, eh?” Groaner Ha Ha…and it continued along those lines. One cowboy kept getting shot” and then revived to play a different part.

 I think they did that about 3 times. It was fun and ate up the time we had to wait before the “All Aboard” rang out.

We are traveling in the “Dome” car or Observation car for the ride north to the Canyon.

Our return will be in First Class. A simple buffet of Danish, muffins, coffee and juice and some fruit was put out for the passengers in the dome car and first class.

The Dome class is neat because it has a great view. The windows wrap right over the car so you have a pretty much unobstructed view. It’s quite a long ride so we are entertained along the way. The “PSA” ,basically the attendant assigned to the car, was a fellow named “Bobby”. He was very funny delivering his announcements with stories and jokes. We also had a singing cowboy for the ride north. He was fun too. He had a great voice and also had a good repertoire of jokes. It takes skill to deliver a joke and make it funny. We were lucky that both Bobby and the Cowboy had that skill.

Upon arriving at the Grand Canyon we were directed to the bus for the tour we were taking. Once on the bus we were told that we would have lunch first and then take the rim tour. That’s a switch from my last trip but it works for me. As the bus pulled out of the depot the driver told us to take a look at our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon.

 It is as majestic as I remember but just as before it didn’t seem real. It’s so huge my mind insists it must be a mural! The bus took us to the Maswik Lodge where a hot buffet awaited. There was salad , spaghetti and meatballs, fish, chicken  soup and more. If anyone went away hungry it was their own fault. Lunch finished it was back on the bus for the ride along the south rim of the Canyon.

The stops were different from my last visit but no less interesting. I will say right here and now..the pictures cannot do justice to the canyon and I am not articulate enough to be able to describe it adequately. You just have to see it for yourself. Still if you haven’t been there, I will do my best to give you a glimpse of what it was like.

We made 3 stops in all. The first stop gave us a fairly long loop trail to take us along the canyon rim and then wind back to the parking lot and the bus. The high winds that the area has been experiencing was stirring up sand and dust so that it looked like a “mist” was hanging over the canyon but our guide said it was this dust.

The Canyon is spectacular enough alone but at the 2nd stop there was a biologist with a tracking device. He was tracking condors. Oh how I would have liked to see one of those magnificent birds. The Biologist was very gracious taking time to answer our questions. For example, he told us that all but one of the condors in the canyon are tagged so he could track them and know which bird he was tracking by the signal it was emitting. At that moment he was monitoring a female than was on a nest. The nest was on the cliff face  below where we were standing so we couldn’t see it from this angle. He said the bird usually flys about once per hour. Unfortunately it didn’t fly while we were there. The biologist also said we had missed about 9 condors that had been soaring over the Canyon in the morning. Just our luck!

Moving on to the last stop we found out that one of the other bus passengers had seen a Gila Monster at the previous stop and had the picture to prove it. The bus driver said that was unusual on the rim but that it certainly looked like one. Also at this stop we could see a trail along the canyon floor with hikers like little dots.

 It gives some perspective to the depth of the canyon. Too soon it was time to go back to the train for the return to Williams.

Sedona Trolley

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Good morning World! It’s the first full day in Sedona. After yesterday’s trials and tribulations we took our time getting up and out. I’ve been here before but  Sandy has not so it was fun listening to her oooh and ahhh over the beautiful red rock formations.

Thunder Mountain

Eventually we made our way out to the car and drove up 89A into upper Sedona. The place was packed with tourists. We just added 2 more to the head count. 🙂 I finally found a place to park. Although it seemed like it was part of the parking area it was way down on the bottom level next to the trash cans and recycling receptacles. That’s ok by me. There wasn’t a sign that said 3 hour limit so I guess it pays to “go slumming” now and then!

Since this is Sandy’s first visit I suggested we take the double ride on the Sedona Trolley. Their motto is that the Trolley is the “First , Best thing to do in Sedona”. I agree. The ride is not just a sightseeing trip, it also helps you get familiar with the layout of the town. Often the drivers make suggestions for places to eat or shop as they point the highlights along their route.

The trolley runs 2 tours, each one covering a different end of Sedona. We bought a combo ticket for both rides. It’s very reasonably priced at around $22.00 per person for the combo.  Once we had our tickets in hand we had about an hour before our trolley ride started  so we used it to explore the shops in upper Sedona. We are saving the actual shopping for the end of our stay but this gave us a chance to see what was available for souvenirs.

Of course “Dirt Shirts” are everywhere and you can watch the episode of Dirty Jobs on how they are made in almost every store.

Back at the trolley we headed out to the area of Sedona the locals use. There’s a Walgreen’s, a Safeway, McDonald’s, KFC and scores of nicer restaurants. We took a side loop to pull over for some photo ops with the Red Rocks like Coffee Pot Rock.

Coffee Pot Rock

 The driver pointed out the plateaus and mesas and buttes. They all probably started life the same way but erosion has changed them into their current shapes. A butte is a small flat-topped hill. Buttes are what is left of a mesa after it has eroded away and they are almost always taller than they are wide.  A mesa is a medium-sized hill or mountain with a flat top. To be really accurate there should be standing water on a mesa but not on a butte. Mesa is the spanish term for table. A mesa is large enough to run a herd of cattle or find wildlife. A plateau is a really big mesa. The Colorado Plateau is an example of a REALLY BIG plateau. Most are smaller than that and they are wider than they are tall.

The driver also told us about the various plants in the area and how the Native American’s used them in their daily life from medicines to making needles and using the fibers for sewing.  She told us  that about 80% of the desert plants have some use to the Native Americans.

Back at the trolley stop our driver left us and we got a new one. This one was a man, I think his name was Wayne. He told more stories including telling us which plants were used to make alcohol and which plants were hallucinogenic ending with “You too can believe in aliens or see a wild jackolope!”

Jackalope

It was this trip that took us out toward Oak Creek and the Chapel of the Holy Cross and the Millionaire’s Mansion that is sitting at the foot of the hill.

Chapel Of The Holy Cross

The Chapel of the Holy Cross is one of Sedona’s most famous landmarks . It is considered to be a very spiritually powerful location like the vortexes of Sedona. The Chapel is built around a simple cross that rises from an outcropping 200 ft above the desert floor. Admission is free but donations are appreciated. There are banks of candles as you enter if you wish to light one for a loved one.

The Mansion at the base of the hill the Chapel is located on gets almost as much attention as the Chapel. Here is a great example of spiritualism vs excess materialism. The mansion is a summer home for a Romanian Millionaire. It has an observatory, more bathrooms than bedrooms, multiple swimming pools and it’s only occupied a couple of months out of the year. The fence around the building actually has real gold in it.

This is also where we got a really good look at Bell Rock

Bell Rock

 and Court House Butte.

Court House Butte

There is also a formation they call the 2 nuns and next to that Madonna and Child.

2 Nuns

 

Madonna and Child

 

We also took a quick turn through the shopping area of Tlaquepaque.

As we headed back into upper Sedona the driver pointed out Snoopy Rock with Woodstock on his nose.

Snoopy Rock

We’d seen Elephant Rock earlier in the tour.

Elephant Rock

 He also  said there was a formation that was Lucy but I seem to have missed that one. Sandy said she saw it.

The double tour took us about  2 hours (1 hour each) so we got back to the trolley stop at about 3 pm. Just in time to get something to eat at the Canyon Breeze and recap our ride.

On the deck of the Canyon Breeze

We split a cheeseburger ( 1 cheeseburger at the Canyon Breeze is a 1 lb patty) and fries and sat  on the back patio admiring the view. Sandy spotted a little bird in the rafters so we tried to identify it as well as one we saw at the Chapel. We think we figured it out but I will save that for my post on the “Wildlife” of Sedona and Northern Arizona. Can’t give it all away at one time!

After lunch (brunch ) we made our way back through more shops toward where the car was parked. On the way we could smell the wonderful aroma of chocolate! At the Candy Store Sandy had a discussion with the mascot but we resisted for now. I am sure we will be back. It’s only day 1 so how long can  our will power last?

Back in the car we took a short ride up 89 a  into Oak Creek Canyon to the Native American Crafts stand. We admired the fine beadwork and fine jewelry. Sandy picked up a pair of earings.

Sandy wanted to write  postcards and get them in the mail early plus we had to be up a the crack of dawn in the morning to drive to Williams to catch the Grand Canyon Rail Road. To make it easy on ourselves we stopped at the local KFC and took some chicken back to the condo for dinner.

The evening was spent quietly relaxing. Sedona is a “dark sky” community so you can sit back and enjoy the stars without streetlights overpowering the view. It was cool, but not cold….yet!

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Seems like we didn’t do much but the day was full enough. I think we were both satisfied with the “laid back” approach.

Rough start to vacation

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Maybe Rocky had it right and I should have stayed home. Today was  one of those days where for every good thing seemed like there were 2 bad. I don’t want this to sound like I’m whining because I’m lucky to be able to travel at all.  But let me start at the top.

Our plane was leaving from Albany at 8:10 am. We needed to be at the airport 45 minutes before takeoff. Sandy set the alarm for 5am so she could finish packing , drive to Albany, drop the car at Park n’ Fly and take the shuttle to the airport.  I should have know how the day was going to go when the alarm didn’t go off. Luckily since I was sleeping in a strange place I woke up a little before 5 so it was no harm done.

We made it to the Park n’ Fly with no problem where we were met by 2 parking attendants who just about grabbed our bags out of our hands and hustled us to the office. I didn’t think much of that until Sandy reached for her sunglasses in Phoenix. They were still back in Albany in the car. Sandy hadn’t thought of it until we reached Phoenix where the sun was shining very brightly.

In the meantime I noticed that I didn’t have my insulated “hoodie”. I must have left it or dropped it when we were boarding. Wonderful! If the weather was like the last time evenings will be very cool and then it will warm up during the day. In any case, I would need a light jacket or sweatshirt. The Southwest attendant called Albany to see if anyone had turned it in but so far no luck. She suggested I keep trying.

And if that wasn’t enough when we landed in Chicago the pilot must have thought they didn’t need the landing gears anymore. The plane felt like it just dropped onto the runway and then bounced twice. It was the roughest landing I have ever experienced.But again no one was hurt so no harm done. We exited the plane and enjoyed a great breakfast at Harry’s Grill while we waited for our connecting flight.

After breakfast we returned to the gate to board for the 2nd leg of the trip but there was  a “delayed” sign. Yup they broke it! Or lost it..or something. Sandy was telling everyone who would listen “Broken Plane!” Cracked me up! About an hour later, a plane was finally hooked up to the jetway for boarding.

This flight was uneventful and the landing in Phoenix was smooth. Maybe things are getting better? We headed down to the baggage claim, retrieved our luggage and went searching for the rental cars….way down at the other end of the airport we found a shuttle to the rental cars. Now you would think they would drop you off at the rental kiosk. No they dropped us off at the farthest point from the kiosk we needed. Guess who didn’t get a tip.

Finally, sweaty and huffing and puffing we found the Payless counter. Long line! At least we had time to catch our breath before we checked in. All was going smoothly until the attendant told me my credit card wasn’t going through. I said WHAT! since I made sure there was room on the card for the rental. Turned out that he was charging the rental fee of $404.00 plus an additional $250.oo deposit. They also wanted an extra $10.oo/ day to add Sandy as a 2nd driver.  I kicked and screamed and protested to no avail. Sandy finally stepped up and gave them a card for the deposit. You can be sure I will not use Payless again!

Finally in our rental and on our way we took a detour to try to find the Scottsdale Trolley. We saw the trolley stops but we never figured out for sure how to track down the trolley we wanted and the driver, Boston Jim, that we wanted to meet. With the time changes and all we had no idea what time it really was but we were hungry. By luck we picked a place called Clancy’s Irish Grill.

Sandy spotted the Green Bay Packer’s banner as soon as we walked in so we figured we were on the right track.

 Turns out our luck may be changing because it was really good. We met a very nice senior citizen there who chatted with us until it was time to get on the road again.( Mary Lou it was really nice chatting with you. )

Since by now it was 4pm  Arizona time we couldn’t fool around anymore in Scottsdale. We’ll have to catch up to Boston Jim on our next trip. We still had several hours to Sedona and check in was 4pm. Guess we’re going to be late. I think I’ll just blame Southwest for being late.

We arrived at the Sedona Summit around 6pm and began the check in process. I knew they would want a $50.00 room deposit and made sure I had that available on another card. It gets refunded when you check out unless you trash the place. Imagine my surprise when the receptionist gave me my check-in papers and the charge was $100.00. By now I am felling like a real loser with a Capital L! I have to cross my fingers that my direct deposit gets in the account before some outstanding checks come in or each check is going to cost me another $27.00! I was feeling pretty low at this point.

We took our keys and let ourselves into the condo. We both just stood there in shock as it was a studio but the receptionist had confirmed it was a 2 bedroom???I began to look around and then it hit me. Try the door next to the one we opened and there it was. Mystery solved. The condo is beautiful. Full kitchen, balcony, living room , diningroom , fireplace and a big bedroom. The studio is bedroom # 2. We called the front desk and they sent someone over to unlock the adjoining doors. We each have our own bathrooms with showers and there’s even a jacuzzi. Now I’m thinking that things are looking up.

We started to unpack. I was missing a camera battery and a brand new box of tea bags. Tea Bags? What does the TSA want with Tea Bags? Sandy’s bags had been rifled too and they opened her bottle of conditiner..and didn’t put the top back on. What a mess!

So after a day of ups and downs we are sitting here enjoying a glass of wine with some cheese and crackers and drowning our sorrows. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and since there shouldn’t be any more financial surprises, a better day for the start of vacation.

I will continue to keep you updated of our adventures (mis-adventures?) for good or bad because that is what this blog is all about. If I shared only the good, how would that help you with your travels?:)