2021 RECAP

INTREPID TRAVELERS

Despite the promises made by the government to defeat this COVID pandemic it has raged on for yet another year, quelling much of our hope for distant shores. With variants of this deadly disease cropping up it was no wonder our travel was largely domestic, though we did manage a trip to Jamaica and then Janet traveled to England in October. The rest of our travels were in the United States. Ours is a vast country and we saw just a bit of it. 

Arizona

We drove down the Delmarva Peninsula to stay in Virginia Beach for a week. We drove to the New Jersey beach town of Sea Isle City to vacation for a week with our extended family. And, we flew to the Red Rock Country of Sedona, Arizona, taking a side trip out to the Grand Canyon one day.  

We wanted to do more and had planned to do more, and Lord knows we did our part to keep healthy; getting vaccinated as soon as possible and boosters as soon as they were available. Difficulty in traveling won out though and it was so much easier to stay in the United States. 

PROTOCOL SPEED BUMPS

Our lone international trip to Jamaica was relatively easy because of the Sandals Resort staff. This was our third time staying at a Sandals and we value the attention to detail they give their guests, which in this particular case was providing free COVID testing for the return and promising to put us up free of charge if we had to quarantine first. They even contacted us to ensure the paperwork required by Jamaica was properly filled out.

Seals Memorial,
Virginia Beach

A LONG AND WINDING ROAD.

Negotiating COVID protocol rules that have been changing weekly by oneself is a difficult task. We had wanted to travel to Malta and then to England, but discovered quickly the headaches of testing and quarantining for two separate countries. Plus, the normal flight that we take from Philadelphia to Manchester England had been cancelled by American Airlines forcing us to fly in and out of London, which was another whole set of logistical problems. So, we decided instead of Malta and England together, Janet was off to see the grandkids on her own. That way if she had to quarantine she had a place to stay for free. And, even traveling to England by herself was quite difficult because of the testing England required of her before and after her arrival. Without help from the English family members finding tests for her it would have been extremely difficult. 

Sandals Jamaica South Coast

YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE

There's nothing more discouraging than finding a great deal and not being able to take advantage of it. We had found a half-price sail from Variety Cruises though the Seychelles, but then the Omicron variant from South Africa broke out. We had sailed with Variety in Costa Rica and Panama and knew it would have been a great experience, but that outbreak stopped us in our tracks. 

REBOUND YEAR?

So, 2021 was a long malingering crapshoot and there's no guarantee '22 will be any different. But, fingers crossed, we are planning plenty of international trips this year. We are traveling to the Canary Islands in April, Barbados in May, and Fiji in September. We'll keep you posted! 

Thanks for reading

love Janet and greg

© 2022 by Greg Dunaj  

JEEP TOURS IN SEDONA

IT’S GONNA BE A BUMPY RIDE
The Sedona, Arizona Chamber of Commerce estimates that an average of 3 million tourists descend on this city yearly. Lured by the majestic scenery of the Red Rock Country, and the history, and the thriving art community, and perhaps the chance to espy a UFO or to seek personal enlightenment is such a draw for hikers, artists and spiritualists that it threatens to overwhelm the 10,000 residents of Sedona. Despite the traffic congestion and overcrowding it all has a positive economic impact of roughly $1 billion per year and supports 10,000 area jobs.

WANT TO GET METAPHYSICAL

There are certainly plenty of activities in Sedona to choose from. Hiking for us was the main draw of Red Rock Country and trails ranging from easy to difficult are everywhere in the immediate area. Download the AllTrails app to find a trail that suits your interests.

AllTrails

Not to get into the details of Sedona’s Vortex, but these spiritual energies that evidently course through the Sedona area and the several vortices supposedly found in the area are a huge tourist draw. Whatever your feelings about what some consider pseudo-science, people do gravitate towards these phenomena and claim to experience tingly skin, or vibrations emanating from the ground whenever they enter a vortex. They come here for spiritual healing or rejuvenation and these “emanations” generate a lot of tourist revenue.

In Sedona there are plenty of crystal shops and healing centers and tours that support those on these spiritual “new-age” hadj and all it takes is a couple of keystrokes in an internet search to find that cure all tour.

FOLLOW THE RUGGED ROAD

Spiritually sound we opted instead for a good old standard rugged jeep tour to help us explore this beautiful Red Rock Country and in Sedona there are plenty of tour companies to choose from. The ubiquitous though oddly named Pink Adventure Jeep or Pink Jeep Tours was recommended to us by friends, so we went with them, and were happy for the choice.

Pink Jeep Tours is a massive presence in Sedona, with the main “office” in the heart of Uptown, though we booked our Scenic Rim 2.0 tour for Thanksgiving Day at their kiosk at the Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village. The company is well organized and courteous. When we had to postpone our tour until Saturday it took just a phone call and it was done. In writing this article I had a question and phoned the main number of Pink Jeep Tours. They were gracious and had all our information and necessary answers at the ready!

Worlds colliding, Sedona, AZ

Pink Jeep Tours is one of several tour companies in Sedona, but they also operate at the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, and would consider them for any future excursions.

PINK JEEP TOURS

HIGHWAY TO HELL!

Perhaps the most fascinating part of Sedona is that everything is RIGHT THERE! Despite the crowded Uptown area of Sedona with all its restaurants and shops and art galleries, you don’t have to go very far to get away from it. We had parked our car at the Los Abrigados the sister resort to our Sedona Summit Resort and walked up to the Pink Jeep tour center and all along the way the beauty of the Red Rock Country was off to our right, the Oak Creek below. Across the street commerce brimmed, but to our right were the rock formations that have lured outdoorsmen like Kit Carson, and artists like Max Ernst, although you would be hard pressed to find Sedona represented in this surrealistic painter’s art, but it was easy to see how all this beauty made for great scenery in countless Hollywood westerns.

MOVIES SHOT IN SEDONA, AZ

The beauty we admired as we walked was the Bear Wallow Canyon and it was where our jeep tour went.

The tour went on a road that was once used to transport goods to and from Flagstaff. It’s called Farm Road 153 or Schnebly Hill Road, which starts innocently enough in Sedona at a traffic circle, but soon becomes a steep, twisting unpaved road of rocks, ruts and washboard ripples. It’s definitely only for high clearance 4-wheel drive vehicles especially in the lower part of the road.

SCHNEBLY HILL ROAD

Schnebly Hill Road was first laid out as a way of getting produce and wares to Flagstaff and this road eventually does connect with Route 17 which is a major highway, but those 12 miles are as treacherous as the scenery is spectacular. 

Our tour took us as far as Merry-Go-Round Rock (one of them there vortices), which is evidently a great place to see sunrises, sunsets and stargazing, although I would not want to drive on this road at night. We snapped some pictures, although they would never do the vista justice before picking our way along the rugged road back to Sedona.

Along Schnebly Hill Road, Sedona

We purposely sat in the back of the Jeep and as we bounced in our chair and drooled over the stunning landscape our guide told us the history of the area, the different animals and the varied uses of plants by the indigenous people. The trip was fun and educational. It was a Saturday on a holiday weekend though, so there were a lot of vehicles also enjoying the late afternoon drive. There were several other tour jeeps, and people in their private vehicles, either OHV (Off-Highway) or 4-wheel drive plying the road. There were smiles everywhere, although we did pass one disabled vehicle and the owner looked despondent because it looked like a broken axle!  

The Pink Adventure Jeeps are specially outfitted for the terrain, so we had no such concerns.

PRICKLY PEAR

Prickly Pear Cactus

Afterwards we waded into Uptown and had drinks and dinner at 89Agave Cantina. We had margaritas, but instead of tequila we had them mix our drink with smoky mezcal! Janet had her “mezcal margarita” with Prickly Pear syrup, which they called the “Funky Cacti!” Our tour guide had mentioned the Prickly Pear and how the fruit of this flowering cactus makes a sweet drink.  They made guacamole right at our table and street tacos for food. A nice way to end the day.

89Agave, Sedona 

Drinks and guacamole at 89Agave

Merry-Go-Round Rock

Max Ernst - Nature Dawn

Thanks for reading

Love Janet and greg

© 2021 by Greg Dunaj

STARGAZING IN SEDONA

KISSES THROUGH THE MILKY WAY

A number of years ago Janet went white water rafting on the Colorado River and had stopped at the Phantom Ranch to drink a beer and to send me a postcard. The postmark had stamped on it “mailed by mule” from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and in the postcard, she wrote that she was sending me kisses nightly through the Milky Way. 

Now, for a boy who grew up in Harrison, New Jersey, a scant 9 miles from Manhattan, the closest I had ever gotten to a Milky Way sighting was the candy bar.

Ever since that time I have expressed an interest in finally seeing the “real” Milky Way.

On our recent trip to Sedona Arizona Janet made it happen…of course!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SWING FROM A STAR?

Though stargazing was not our original intent in traveling to Arizona, Arizona happens to be a GREAT place for stargazing. The desert climate there is low in humidity so there are clearer skies. Wide open expanses of land offer unobstructed views of the night while distant mountains shield the dark skies from any residual urban glow.

And, at 4,300+ feet in elevation the desert of Red Rock Country in Sedona is not as blisteringly hot at night during the summer months and the winter temperatures are more tolerable that in other colder destinations.

Plus, Sedona Arizona, and the nearby town of Oak Creek, just happen to be “Dark Sky Communities”. They are just two of a number of communities in Arizona that have shown an exceptional dedication to the “preservation” of the night sky and are recognized for their efforts by the International Dark Sky Association or IDA. Part of the efforts of these two communities to limit sky glow pollution is by fitting street light fixtures with directional hoods and using lower luminescent lighting.

Stargazing in Sedona is a thriving industry and there are several tours available and online guides to lead you to the best places to take in every clear night to see the heavens brimming with stars and planets. 

Here’s the website for IDA

INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY

Here’s a list of places around the Sedona area that are great places to stargaze if you want to go out on your own.

STARGAZING SPOTS AROUND SEDONA

MONSOONS AND HABOOBS

Not to belabor you all with scientific thingamabobs and such, there are a few months where the Arizona weather may not fully cooperate with stargazing. Roughly between July and August is monsoon season, and thunderstorms and strong winds are regular occurrences, making it difficult to see clear skies….or to breathe! 

Haboobs by the way are “dust walls” generated by thunderstorm activity.

If you’re interested in reading more about this here’s a good website.

SEDONA MONSOON?

Want to get up close and personal with a haboob? Watch this video first!

EXPLORING THE DARK SIDE

Now, you may think it’s easy to look up at the night sky and say “wow,” but it’s quite another thing to know what you’re looking at! Wanting to get jiggy with Jupiter isn’t quite that simple if you can’t find it. Of course, some celestial displays can be easily pointed out. Turns out the Milky Way is a vast hazy band of light where individual stars cannot be seen with the naked eye and there it was stretching across the night sky mocking me and my quest to see it. Or, Orion’s Belt, with its three aligned stars, is easily pointed out, as are certain constellations like the Big and Little Dippers.  

But, it’s quite another matter to see the bands of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn the Orion's Belt Nebula where new stars are being born, much to an astronomer’s delight! So, between the “wow” factor and gaining knowledge of the heavens it’s best to go with a tour guide. 

taken by the Hubble Telescope

FLY ME TO THE MOON 

We went with Sedona Stargazing. Each “tour” is limited to 8 groups or pairings and each group has its own high powered GPS auto positioning computerized telescope. The astronomer has two assistants and they provide chairs where you sit while your eyes adjust to the dark and caution all to stow away all cellphones because one flash of light will force the adjustment process to begin again. Later the crew gives instructions as to how to punch in the coordinates to focus the telescope on what the astronomer is talking about. (Make sure you bring your reading glasses! Although they will gladly assist.) With the proper coordinates the telescope whirrs into position and soon you’re looking at Saturn and its rings or the Andromeda Galaxy or the bands of Jupiter!  Especially fascinating for me (apart from the Milky Way) was the Orion Nebula that appeared astonishingly bright through the telescope!

OH, WHAT A NIGHT

Instructions to the tour site were very specific and warned of exceeding the speed limit with spirited officers policing the dark roads and nocturnal animals meandering all over. We were given latitude and longitude coordinates as well as directions to follow and we were the first to arrive at the appointed spot, a gravel lot. As we waited, we heard the howling of coyotes and a dog in a nearby neighborhood answering them. Although it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, we were actually on the edge of a small community. The stargazing took place on the pitch of the Verde Valley school ball field.

The weather all the week was roughly mid-60’s to low 70’s, but we made a point to pack winter coats for the stargazing. It was cold and we were glad to have our coats. 

We made our original reservation for the stargazing early in the week, Tuesday, just in case the weather would force us to postpone. It would have been awful to miss our chance for stargazing if we scheduled on the back end of the trip. Sure enough, Tuesday was rainy and cloudy and Sedona Stargazing called us to reschedule for later in the week.

There are two tours nightly. In November the first one begins at 7:30 the second at 9:00 pm. Check the website for current prices and schedules.

It was a night I will never forget.

SEDONA STARGAZING

Thanks for reading.

Love Janet and greg

© 2021 by Greg Dunaj

GRAND CANYON DETOUR

PLAN B
Our week in Sedona, Arizona was planned out quite nicely. Hiking on one of the countless trails in the immediate Red Rocks Country was foremost. We were going to go stargazing one night. Wine drinking another day. A Pink Jeep Tour along the rugged hills overlooking Sedona was another planned excursion. Exploring Uptown Sedona and her art galleries and shops was on our list as well, as was a drive to the ghost town of Jerome located on Cleopatra Mountain overlooking the Verde Valley.

Entering the week Thanksgiving was a toss-up, no pun intended, as to where we were going to eat, but we never got to plan for that because of our illness.

Believe it or not, the Grand Canyon was not on our initial list of activities, although it is a little more than a two-hour drive north to the South Rim from Sedona.

PINK JEEP TOURS     

HUMPHREY'S PEAK

CLINGING TO THE EDGE

Janet was ill throughout the night after spending the day on the couch. The wine tasting tour she had arranged was definitely out for us, but she begged me to consider driving off to the Grand Canyon at least by myself just so I could see this very popular National Park. Estimates have 5.9 million people visiting the Grand Canyon every year, second only to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee / North Carolina.

Because of the popularity of the Grand Canyon National Park, it is wise to get there early before it fills up. Popular times are sunrises and sunsets, to watch the sun glow over the rocky edifices, but I decided to leave around 7 a.m. for the trek. In the morning though Janet announced she felt well enough to share in this experience with me. I was very thankful she was able to rally. Admittedly I might not have gone without her, so I was happy she decided to come along.

A couple of years ago Janet had rafted through the Grand Canyon along the Colorado River and despite still feeling weak wanted to see GCNP from the other angle and I was excited to share this vision with her.

HEADING NORTH RT 64

A JOURNEY AS LOVELY AS THE DESTINATION

I often take the scenic routes to places because I have always believed the journey equals the destination in experience. Janet believes in direct drives because the destination to her is all important.  Well, a drive from Sedona to the South Rim entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park is a win / win for us both. The 120+ mile trip is beautiful; the landscape changes from arid desert in the Red Rocks Country around Sedona, to forest glades along the Oak Creek Canyon, and rises to 8,000 feet in elevation to meet the flat tundra of the Mogollon Rim, which is the southernmost part of the Colorado Plateau, topped with groves of Ponderosa Pines. It drives by the largest peak in Arizona, Humphrey’s Peak, snow capped at 12,600+ feet.

Even the Interstate, Highway 40 and then Route 64 from Williams to the national park entrance are swift moving arteries holding promise and offer grand views of unending country with mountains in the far distance forever beyond reach. 

Leaving early was a good choice. We had the road to ourselves. We picked up Route 89a which goes right past our resort in nearby West Sedona and drove through the still empty Uptown portion of Sedona, where all the shops are located. Janet remarked it looked like a boardwalk at a New Jersey beach town. It gets very crowded here during the day and Sedona receives a lot of visitors throughout the year. The commerce of Sedona suddenly ends at a traffic circle at the north end of town and descends into the forested beauty of the Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Drive.

Considered by some as one of the most scenic drives in the country we did not know this was even here (clueless, huh) and we marveled mouths agape at the old growth forests that edged the winding road. Some call the Oak Creek Canyon a miniature version of the Grand Canyon! 

Here's a short film of the West Fork Trail in Oak Creek Canyon on Youtube:

As we were alone on this picturesque route, I was able to slow at times to catch a glimpse of a rock outcropping or glade, but Janet had a better view of it all as a passenger. Had the Oak Creek Canyon drive been our final destination there were plenty of places along this 14-mile stretch of beauty to explore and hike. Even the U.S. government website about the Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Drive says it can take a couple of hours, or, all day.

On the return later in the afternoon with many more cars on the road, the twisting roads were not as pleasant to drive along, but the sun now dappled the pavement and many people were in the area. It would be a great area to explore in the future, including the very popular West Fork Trail. There are fees involved and although we have an Interagency America The Beautiful Pass (senior) we still have to pay the full price of $11.00! AllTrails lists several other hikes in the area of the Oak Creek Canyon.

ALLTRAILS OAK CREEK CANYON 

COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST

OAK CREEK CANYON DRIVE 

OBSERVATION CARS

GRAND CANYON RAILWAY

The Grand Canyon Railway operates from Williams to the Grand Canyon and we briefly considered taking one of their restored, classic train cars the final 60 miles, but we figured we had already driven quite far from Sedona and taking the train would give us only three hours at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The train leaves Williams at 8:30 am in November, arrives at the South Rim at 11:45 am and departs at 3:30 pm. Currently, there is only one daily round trip excursion from Williams to the GCNP, although their website says there will be two trains daily in 2022; COVID notwithstanding.

The train ride isn’t simply a commuter line, but a touristy event that includes live music aboard, a wild west shoot-out and the chance to ride in several types of train cars from a Pullman to an Observation Dome.

We made a great choice about driving, even if gas was $4.43 a gallon at the time, the highest this scribe has seen in at least four years! There is much to explore at the South Rim and having such limited time there would have been stressful. Also, our inclement constitutions wouldn’t have lasted that long and the interminable wait for a departure would have wreaked havoc on our psyches! 

GRAND CANYON TRAIN

THEME PARK 

"Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is keep it for your children, your children's children, and for all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see" - Teddy Roosevelt about the Grand Canyon 

There is no discounting the majestic beauty of the Grand Canyon. The earth falls away, carved by the timeless flow of the Colorado River leaving behind striated rock formations from prehistoric times. It is beautiful and vast and I was very fortunate to see it. And, it seems, everyone had the same idea about seeing the Grand Canyon. Worried there would be limited parking we left Sedona early and arrived just past 9:00 am and there were people everywhere. We moved in a crowd through the parking lot, to the comfort facilities, to the closed (due to COVID) information area now manned outside by Rangers, to Mather Point, where we jostled with countless others for an unobstructed view. Thankfully rails edging the abyss prevented eager photojournalists from falling to their deaths. Signs alerted everyone to wear masks despite their vaccination status.

The Grand Canyon is big, a mile deep, 18 miles wide and 277 miles in length. Although the National Park doesn’t include the entire canyon this amazing, great expanse of land does cover 1,904 square miles…larger than Rhode Island which encompasses a measly 1,212 square miles.

Given time and stronger constitutions it would have been wonderful to explore and hike some of the rim. When I found out we were ”near” the Phantom Ranch, an oasis at the bottom of the canyon and the only lodging beneath the rim of the canyon and where Janet slaked her thirst with a cold IPA while rafting down the Colorado a number of years ago, the pained look she gave me suggested projectile vomiting when I thought we could hike it. Besides, the Bright Angel Trail is over 9 miles DOWN, considered difficult and takes 2-3 days and there’s a lottery for lodging at the Phantom Ranch with a long interminable wait.

FOOLHARDY SOULS

THE PHANTOM RANCH 

Yeah, we enjoyed the grandeur of the canyon like many in our theme park contingent, shuffling to the buses that took us to different focal points, like the Geological Museum and Yaki Point which is evidently an especially coveted spot to experience sunrises and sunsets. There was only one couple who got on the bus that were there for the outdoor experience, with full backpacks and smelling of a campfire. All the rest of us were prepared for a stroll in the park.

THE SILVER BRIDGE 

It was at the museum a guide told us we could glimpse the Colorado River from a certain vantage point. Armed with my binoculars we could see a sliver of this waterway, and the Silver Bridge, a pedestrian (and mule) bridge that allows hikers a chance to cross the Colorado. We could not see the Black Bridge, another pedestrian span, located several hundred yards upstream, but we could see rafters on the banks of the river. Janet had been in this very spot! We were both very excited to see this and it was the highlight of our trip to the Grand Canyon.

BTW these two spans are the only crossings available for hundreds of miles along the Colorado, allowing hikers to safely cross where it once was very dangerous and cost many lives.

From our great distance we could not tell how treacherous the river was, but Janet assured me that at times the Colorado River can get very ornery.

There are several lodges at the rim and even a shopping market and tavern. There is the train depot and more buses to take, a blue line and a red line. We took the blue line which was choked with passengers and when we reached the red line we saw that there were hordes of people waiting for that bus, so we decided to just take the blue bus to the main area, to our cars and to home.

On the way out the traffic entering GCNP stretched at least a mile. We had breezed through this morning. It was 2:00 when we left There is a $35 fee to enter the park, but as we had an "America The Beautiful" pass that we had purchased last year in Shenandoah National Park, we had free entry..

Thanks for reading

Love Janet and greg

© 2021

By Greg Dunaj