Tasting the Wines in Sedona

by Pa Rock
Happy Tourist

It is so nice to get out of the Valley of Hell for a day trip, especially when I don't have to drive. Today I went to Sedona in a small bus with several other folks from Luke Air Force Base, ostensibly for wine tasting, but we also managed to do some other touristy stuff along the way.

Our first stop was at the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross, a Catholic church that was constructed in a crevice high up in Sedona's red rocks. We had to park the bus at the foot of a steep hill. All of my time at the gym has paid off because I was able to make the climb with relative ease while some of my younger companions were huffing and puffing their way to the top. The Chapel had a breath-taking view, and, of course, the obligatory gift shop.

The second stop was a shopping village called Talapaque. It was primarily over-priced galleries of art and women's clothing and jewelry, nothing to hold my interest, so I dashed across a busy highway to visit an emporium for psychics and a UFO store. Those were much more interesting!

We had lunch in the garden of a very nice restaurant called The Barking Frog. The food was delicious. I had a fancy grilled cheese with portabella mushroom, and everyone in the group sampled the cactus fries which are strips of deep fried prickly pear cactus. It was so nice to be able to sit outside on a pleasant August day and eat lunch. That's not something that a person wants to do down in the Valley!

We managed to hit three separate wineries after lunch as well as a trip to Red Rock State Park. Our guide told us that Red Rock State Park is the second most photographed site in Arizona, exceeded only by the Grand Canyon. (The Obama's were at the Grand Canyon today - bet that was a zoo!)

For those who have not been there - Sedona is a must see when traveling in the American West. Postcard views everywhere, lots of shops and tourist stuff, jeep tours out into the mountains, good food, swimming, hiking, fishing - it has nothing in common with the hellhole that is Phoenix in August!