11/06 Day Trippin' Out

Before
With the weather still cold and Christmassy in Williams, Sam and I have decided not to dig our big rig out until it clears a bit more. Since everything is about an hour drive from our campsite, we've decided head south to Sedona for the day.
The road to Sedona is absolutely incredible, by the way. The elevation drops quite a bit, so in a one hour time frame, the climate dials back from winter back to fall...
After
We are heading back from Sedona on Route 89, and WOW. I feel like we have taken in a lot today. I actually had low expectations of Sedona because of its overly touristy vibe, but we both ended up liking it. Nora, on the other hand, LOVED it. We spent a good part of the afternoon in Tlaquepaque, a faux village built in colonial Mexican style. It housed restaurants, shops, galleries and more. We went out to lunch then I did a bit of wine tasting (while Sam helped me out by eating the chocolate wafers that were served to us). At this point, Senorita Woofington was hanging out in the car because we really didn't want to be the jerks who brings their bull-in-the-china-shop dog to a plaza filled with GLASS ART STORES. Cough Cough.
After awhile, we began to feel guilty, so I asked the wine saleswoman if dogs were allowed to wander through the plaza. She nodded enthusiastically and said that all of Sedona is extremely dog friendly. We decided to test the waters with this theory, so we went back to get Nora.
Well, normally people like to say hi to her since she looks like a goofus stuffed animal, but I don't think we've ever experienced anything like this. As we walked her from the car to the plaza, she was surrounded by new age-y dog lovers. One woman was waving people over for dog petting, while another came out of her shop to say hi. Pretty soon, I was thinkin' that we could fund our trip this way... After Nora Berner bumped, snuggled, and ate some sticks, we decided to move on to the next area. The same thing happened! In fact, we couldn't round a corner without someone else coming up to get free doggy hugs and kisses. I'm pretty sure she was happy, although she might have snuck in some demands for better dog treats.
Our time in Tlaquepaque ended as I rounded a corner and saw a really amazing mosaic project. I realized that the artist, Trish Metzner-Lynch was right there working on it.  Her stuff is really amazing, and I would highly recommend checking out her website. She says she is powered by wine and potato chips, so she can't be half bad :-)
After we left Tlaquepaque, Sam decided in his head that he wanted to drive the Schnebly Hill Road i.e., the same road that is used for 4X4 jeep tours. Our pictures don't look that crazy, but I swear Larry might never be the same.
Let's just say that Nora and I will both be doning our whiplash collars and gulping down dramamine this evening.