Grand Canyon to Cottonwood

Snow! Can you see John and I in the reflection?

Sunday we did our last hike at the Grand Canyon. We picked up the Rim Trail where we left off at Bright Angel lodge and headed on foot this time for Hermit’s rest. It was a much cooler day and pretty breezy but we just dressed warmer and headed out. It turned out to be a beautiful hike, I think this part of the rim trail has some of the best views. We made it to Monument View and hopped on a shuttle back to the trailer. Not too long after we were back and relaxing, we looked out the window to find snow flakes falling. The snow got a lot harder and the wind picked up and for about an hour it looked like winter outside. The snow stopped as quickly as it started leaving about enough behind to cover all the grassy areas but the roads stayed clear. We have seen a few flurries over the winter but this was the most snow we have seen in two years. 

View from our site

Monday it was time to move on. It was cold hitching up but within no time we were on the road headed to Cottonwood AZ and the Dead Horse Ranch State Park. We chose this as a base to checkout the Cottonwood, Sedona and Prescott areas. We’ve read about the area and we looking forward to some good hiking as well as the quaint towns of this area.

Jerome AZ

Tuesday morning we drove into Old Town Cottonwood for breakfast at the Red Rooster Cafe. It was excellent. Then it was time to find a laundromat and we found a very nice clean facility on Main Street. Its always good to get that chore over with. On the way back to the park we noticed the sign for Jerome just 11 miles away. Instead of heading back to the park we headed to the old mining town of Jerome (glad we weren’t pulling a trailer up this road). I have read about this place in a couple of blogs and it was fun. It really sits on a steep hill and has a great view of the valley. Lots of little shops kept us entertained and we stopped for lunch at the Mile High Grill. It was ok, not great but it was a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. I have to say we were surprised how many people were there on a Tuesday afternoon. It was definitely a busy place. Someone told us there are still spring breaks going on.

Can you see the Great Horned Owl on the nest?

Osprey?

This morning after our workouts we headed out to do a little hiking in the park. We wanted to hike along the Verde River and maybe a couple of the lagoons. Our map of the park has some of the hiking tails but definitely not all of them; it took us a while to figure out which way to go but we finally found the trail we were looking for. One of the bad things about this trail is they also take horseback trail rides along it so you are constantly stepping around horse poop. Along the river we stopped and talked to another RVer who was out looking for birds. We walked together for awhile and were treated to a Great Horned Owl sitting on a nest and then a little further another bird that he though was an Osprey; didn’t know they had those here. Once we got to the Lagoon we also came upon a Blue Heron that seemed comfortable around people. He was right next to the trail and wouldn’t fly away until you were right by him. Made for some good photos. It was a nice hike and I got photos of three cool birds. I’d say that’s a nice day. We finished it off with a fire this evening, which for me always makes it a great day.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Sedona area. Checked with a friend who use to live there (thanks Lu) and we will do some hiking and check out the microbrewery there. I think its going to be another great week.

Happy trails.............