Brutforce

Arrived Thursday night got the rental car in Phx & headed for our hotel. Got up early Friday (still on ET) & headed north. Since the rain kept coming down we altered our original plan & headed for Montezuma's Castle. Well worth a stop & very interesting. Continued on to Jerome. Great little mining town on top of the mountain. The views were not the best due to the fog & rain but we had a good brew @ the Jerome Brewery (the food looked good as well) & had lunch @ the Red Rooster. Excellent fare but a limited menu. For the shoppers this is a great stop w/more than reasonable prices for art & jewelry. From that point we continued on to Sedona & our stay @ The Inn on Oak Creek. Great room, views & breakfasts (although our jacuzzi didn't work the entire stay). You can look @ all the rooms on line & the pics are very accurate. We stayed in the Rose Arbor. Great view right down the creek. I would not advise anyone to stay @ ANY locations in Old Town. Even this time of year the traffic & mass of people was overwhelming (especially on the weekend). Stay out of town or over on 179. Pt 2 to follow...

Brutforce

Dinner Fri. @ Dahl & Deluca (Italian) for V-day & the fare was excellent. We split an antipasto appetizer as well as a seafood fettucine entree & that was plenty (& no splitting charge). Excellent value & food. Interestingly the Inn gives everyone a chance to rate where they have eaten so there is a book w/right up to date dining references. I had not seen this before & thought it a great idea. Saturday, hit Red Rocks State Park & spent the entire morning there, 7+ miles + hit a couple of smaller hikes on the way back. Very scenic. Dinner Saturday was @ L'Auberge. This was a wonderful meal but not for the faint of heart. $75 prix fixe w/5 courses. Wine & drinks extra. I'll give a brief replay for the foodies. Rack of lamb canneloni - Celery Root soup (w/chervil) - Bibb lettuce salad w/goat cheese - Filet Mignon w/truffled potatoes & chocolate fondue w/bananas, strawberries & pound cake. It was great & very filling, allow @ least 2 - 3 hours minimum. Need less to say we did little after that.. Sunday - Out hiking again early. Hit various places but my wife was not up the prior days pace. Needless to say we ate very little after breakfast. Also,hit the Fango spa for a massage. Very nice, Melissa was great if you prefer deep tissue. Had what passed for dinner on our deck over-looking the creek. Sedona was a great experience & we are planning to go back but will cut back on some things we splurged on this time. There was some great art & we actually was invited to a gallery & met one of the artists across the street from the Inn. Go see Gerry & he will hook you up as well as tell you some good stories if you are interested. The only real problem (short of the crowds in Old Town which I would now know to avoid) was our lack of a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Due to the rain we were unable to get to some of the trailheads we wanted to hike but we'll do that next time. Off to Phx. Monday & back home. Any ?? & I'll try to elaborate. Sorry for the length, enjoy ! SA

shorty68

Are you going to post some pictures?

Brutforce

I didn't take many digital, I took my good camera instead & took most of my pics w/that. Sorry, wasn't thinking of that. When are you leaving ? Enjoy the trip.

Brutforce

topping for Nina

shorty68

My trip is in the second half of April. It looks like you did not take the pink jeep tour. We're planning on doing day hikes in Tucson, GC, and Sedona.

Brutforce

I did not do the pink jeep tour, my wife & I are not 'tour friendly' @ all. I do, however wish I would have had my own jeep. We're pretty independent & enjoy discovering things ourselves but I have heard nothing but good things about them. In addition, the Inn @ Oak Creek had a tour guide in @ breakfast every morning we were there that you could hire out or ask for suggestions.

Litespeed_Chick

I enjoyed reading your report.

May I insert a word of caution here? Please look out for bikes when you are four wheeling in Sedona. I nearly became a Pink Jeep ornament when I was there.

Thanks!

nina

Thanks so much Brut! I just got back from a great cruise vacation, and am starting my trip planning for Phoenix and the Grand Canyon. I appreciate all the detail and am jotting down notes from your review. Sounds like a great trip, thanks again for the feedback.

Brutforce

I saw you were cruising, glad you had a good time. Let me know if you have any specific ?? & I'll try to point you in the right direction. Ciao.

SAnParis

Topping for snowrooster under my prior moniker. This was our first trip sans baby (#1).

emd

Feb. 203 was highly unusual regarding the huge amount of rainfall in Sedona. I was there at the end of that month, and was shocked at the huge sinkholes that had developed off Dry Creek Rd. and the number of trails that were still closed out there. Mud everywhere, and Oak Creek was very high and muddy; usually the water is so clear you can see the bottom of the creek. That amt. of rain is highly unusual and hasn't happened there since then.

SAnParis

That's why we wished we would have had the Jeep. I recall at dinner the water was up @ L'Auberge to the point that they had to pull in outdoor furniture & such + it was very close to where we dined in the restaurant.