Over a thousand years ago, the Indians in northern Arizona lived in cave dwellings. One such grouping of dwellings left by several different tribes are called the Palataki Ruins and we toured them today. The dwellings also featured petroglyphs which the volunteer guide described as early journals – I prefer to think of them as primitive blogging. 
Now I have no idea what they were saying – and apparently no archeologist has deciphered these drawings either – but at least they were trying to share their story for posterity. I’m betting no one will even care about this blog in 1000+ years!
We had a beautiful day in Sedona – our first stop was at an artsy-fartsy shopping area where we walked around to stretch our legs and more importantly, to get this photo to send to a friend since we are going to Tlaquepaque, Mexico the first week of March. 
Stay tuned and in a couple of months I’ll be happy to share lots of photos from that trip.
We toured the Palataki Ruins and then saved the best for last – a hike into Fay Canyon. Last time we were there, we hiked Boynton Canyon so wanted a different view of red rocks, cacti and canyon walls – and we got it! 
I even took the photo at the top of the blog from where we hiked.
We hiked in about 1.5 miles to this dry creek bed and then started climbing on a more rugged trail, trying to get to the canyon walls. Unfortunately we ran out of passable trail and had to turn back but we did see some beautiful scenery and what’s not to like about a cloudless day when you can hike in jeans and a t-shirt?
We returned to Phoenix via the quirky town of Jerome which makes Eureka Springs, AR look flat. We had eaten lunch at a really cool bar there a couple of years ago but it has since changed hands and was closed today so we continued our scenic, curvy mountainous drive to Prescott for dinner. Prescott is on my top 5 list of places where I might actually consider relocating so we need to return for a day or two sometime to check it out further.
Time now to pack for our trip to San Diego tomorrow. After all the fresh air and exercise, I think we’ll sleep as soundly as Devin tonight.
PS Mizzou just beat Northwestern in overtime in the Alamo Bowl – 30 to 23. Go Tigers!
You are in one of my favorite places! I also love Pueblo, CO and Taos, NM, but there is something very magical about Sedona! Happy New Year!