The Southwest: Sedona, Albuquerque and Roswell

Sights en-route to Sedona

After leaving the woes and headaches behind in Vegas the clean mountain air and clear blue skies of Sedona were, quite literally, what the non-existent doctor ordered. The drive between the grand-canyon and the Sedona township took us through the interstate and onwards through yet another mountainous road into a deep valley awarding views of red rock and sandstone on either side. Driving through the township of Sedona on a beautifully warm and sunny afternoon with nothing but blue skies and the trails from passenger jets painting their presence against the cloudless sky gave us a really good first impression and one, which unlike others we have had on the journey so far, would not evaporate over the coming days.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

We are not sure if it was the warmer night time temperatures, meaning no more ice on the inside windows of Phoenix, or the friendly greeting we received at the RV park we were to occupy for the coming days, but Sedona was just what we needed. The next morning we decided another day on the road was in order and we headed for Chapel of the Holy cross, a church set on a bed of red rock overlooking the entire basin, and we know this does not really sound like our kind of thing, but seeing the simple architecture and the stunning views made this a very worthwhile stop. Our next destination took a little getting to and after another windy and lofty drive into the hills we arrived at Jerome, one of the first and original settlements in the area. Jerome’s buildings tell of a time more fortunate and the ruins of the hotel, bank and post office really gave the area a sense of history. We did wonder why early settlers took such and arduous journey up a steep hill to set up a village, but after parking phoenix and doing a 180 the panoramic view of the basin punctuated with various mesas, small table-top hills, explained it all. The fancy boutiques, antiquity dealers and art galleries made this destination a perfect distraction for the afternoon and after a pleasantly surprising lunch, one of the best we have had while away, it was time to make our way back to ground level.

Common Sense - Jerome Style

Our second and final day in Sedona would be spent in the back seat of a 4wd taking in some of the awesome sights Arizona has to offer and really testing the traction control and tread of the tyres as our guide expertly guided us through some of the geographic wonders surrounding us. The layers of red and white rock were separated by a band of stone running in a horizontal line through the whole valley as though the top layers of rock were cut off with unrealistic precision and replaced after the filling was spread over the rocks below. The other half of our tour, the Broken Arrow tour, was a little more extreme and saw the 4wd tackle impossibly steep climbs and at times had the bonnet of the jeep pointing to the ground at a 45 degree angle. The ride was as bumpy as you would expect it to be in a modified 4wd, but was an experience nonetheless. Our guide imparted stories of people coming to the area in rental jeeps and getting stuck in the most ridiculous of places, including a truck driver who thought the steep slopes and tight turns of a loose gravel road would be a good shortcut for his fully loaded semi-trailer [nice one anonymous American truck driver]. Arizona has some very common sense laws that make sure if you go somewhere you are not supposed not only will you have to pay for the hefty retrieval fee you will also get a massive fine, so hopefully this truck driver got everything the short cut promised him. For such a rugged landscape it is surprisingly fragile and delicate ecosystem that can be thrown out of balance, more often than not, by tourists who drive in the area unaware of the damage they are doing to the surroundings. There is an organism that lives on top of the soil, holding it firmly in place, at the base of certain plants and grasses that takes hundreds of years to form and can be lifted away unknowingly by the wayward tread of a callous 4wd enthusiast. The resulting loose sand can mean devastating sand storms when strong wind whip through the valleys and plains. We also discovered the desert is home to juniper bush, a key ingredient in Gin, and a certain type of plant used for making tequila so, needless to say, those would be some happy Indians if only they had discovered traditional distilling techniques. Like so many times before, we came to love a place just as we had to leave but we really did not know what to expect from Sedona and were grateful chance lead us here.

Overlooking Sedona

Our next stop was Albuquerque and again the drive was a sensational combination of desert plains and rolling hills. Our Las Vegas escapades, unfortunately, took their toll and we were bed ridden for three out of the four days in Albuquerque. One day in Albuquerque we were held captive inside of Phoenix for an entire day as gusty winds shook her violently from side to side. We did, however, manage to get out on our final day and we headed for the old town district. The district survives on tourism and supplies quality jewelry, pottery and other tasteful creations made by local indigenous artists to those willing to take the time to visit all the shops in the area. Overall Albuquerque was what we expected, a small American country town on steroids, and we were happy to put this town and our sickness behind us.

Roswell is an 'illuminating' experience

Roswell was the next destination for us and promises of UFOs and more south-western hospitality were the out of this world experiences we had in mind. After the 1947 incident involving the US Air Force, a couple of farmers and plenty of tales to wet the whistle of conspiracy theorists Roswell has survived with the notoriety of being the closest town to the ‘alleged’ UFO crash. There really is not much else [we even saw our first tumbleweed in a shopping centre car park] except for a main street crowded with UFO souvenir shops and a few badly themed stores, but if you come to Roswell you have to check out the International UFO Museum and Research Centre. The museum, if you can call it that, presents a lot of information on the 1947 incident and presents a variety of theories and perspectives on the events that took place on a ranch 40 miles outside of Roswell. It lets you make up your own mind and if you read all the information there are definite inconsistencies on both sides of the argument, but the other exhibits really did feel like people reading in between lines that do not exist. There are some interesting reads in the museum, but your own influences and opinions will dictate what you take away from this place.

Our immediate future holds an introduction to Texas before heading through the deep-south on our way to Florida, where we will be spending Christmas in Tampa and New Years in Miami, and onwards up the east coast. It feels good to be back to normal health wise and it makes it much easier to motivate ourselves to get out and draw in as much as we can before having to whisk ourselves away to make it to our next location. Such is the life on the road.

‘Till next time,

Antoinette and James.