Lots of Restaurants in the Sedona area, Arizona

We enjoyed many restaurants while enjoying Sedona and the surrounding area, so here is our report on all our good eats ~

The Hideaway Restaurant ~ We already wrote about our experience at The Hideaway restaurant (click here), and given that we’ve eaten at a lot of other places, we’ve decided that this isn’t really worth the time, unless you want to enjoy the great views. Equally good, if not better, food can be found elsewhere.

Cowboy Club ~ We enjoyed a late, light dinner here one evening and actually both ordered their tortilla soup, which was excellent and accompanied by some wonderful hot-from-the oven bread. It is difficult to judge the entire menu on just their soup and bread, but if the rest is as good, then this is the place to go when you’re in Sedona. The service was excellent as well.

Wildflower Bread Company ~ We ate here twice – once for lunch (read our lunch review here) and another time for breakfast – we still think this is a great, reasonably priced place for great soups, sandwiches, and yummy desserts. It is located in the middle of town and would be a great place to stop for lunch during a day of shopping in Sedona.

Bun Huggers (in Flagstaff) ~ We couldn’t resist this restaurant simply because of the name – and we’re not 100% sure, but it must be by a local university since we were the oldest ones there by quite a bit, but it was a good place to pick-up some good hamburgers that are reasonably priced. One thing Suzanne especially liked was that you could order small (1/4 pound) and regular (1/2 pound) sized hamburgers, since large burgers are often too much for her to eat in one sitting. There is no service here - you order, sit, wait to be called, then go get your food and pay. There is also a condiment bar where you dress your burgers (or hot dogs, or whatever you get) yourself. Wouldn’t necessarily go back, but it was a fun stop.

The Palace - Haunted Hamburger (in Jerome) ~ We were told by some of our blog followers that this was the place to get lunch in Jerome, and since we listen to our followers, off we went! One word – BUSY!! We were there at an “off” time – about 3:30 in the afternoon and it was packed. It stayed packed the entire time, but we must say that it added to the ambiance of the place. Their menu is much more extensive than only hamburgers, but since they are famous for their burgers, that’s what we ordered. They were large, good burgers, although no matter how you ordered (one person at our table ordered medium-rare and we ordered well done), they all seemed to be cooked the same. The fries were great and we were absolutely stuffed by the time we left. If you’re a burger-loving person and in Jerome, this is the place to eat. Is it haunted? Perhaps……

The Grapes (in Jerome) ~ We visited The Grapes when we were in Jerome (reviewed here) and would still recommend it if you are looking for an upscale place in Jerome, especially one that list specific wines to complement a meal.

Rincon Del Restaurante Mexicano ~ We had a late dinner here and didn’t necessarily love the food or the service, and we wouldn’t recommend eating here given the many options for Mexican food in the Sedona area. The food was okay and the service also just okay; the only redeeming quality was the novel atmosphere of sitting outside under blankets keeping warm while we ate – that was an amusing experience.

Picazzo’s Gourmet Pizza ~ The pizzas were great (Suzanne enjoyed a unique pesto marguerite pizza), the service very good, and we enjoyed a very garlicky Caesar salad, the only downside was that this was an expensive place for pizza. If you go, you might want to try for lunch instead of dinner, as the lunch menu was more reasonably priced.

Concho’s Mexican Restaurant (in Cottonwood) ~ We also already reviewed this restaurant (click here), and since having Mexican food at other places in the area, this is high on our list, although we wouldn’t make a trip to Cottonwood just to eat here. If you’re in the Cottonwood area and in the mood for some good, authentic Mexican food, this is the place for you.

The V-Bar-V Heritage Site, near Sedona, Arizona

The V-Bar-V Heritage Site is an amazing collection of petroglyphs done by the Sinagua people over a thousand years ago. If you do not know, a petroglyph is, it is a symbol etched into desert varnish (the blackened area), and have been found all over the world. Interestingly enough – some of the same symbols that are found in north America have also been found in Australia – how that happened is still a mystery.

It is thought that the petroglyph site at V-Bar-V was a sacred area where shamans prayed and the people visited for spiritual rituals, such as fertility or rain. The petroglyphs at V-Bar-V number over 1,000! Among the individual symbols, there was even a calendar devoted to agriculture – for example, at the Spring equinox, the sun shines through two “shade rocks” and the beam is directly pointed to a “sun” petroglyph, which meant it was time to plant the crops. Other times of the year that the agricultural calendar came into play were the summer solstice, Autumn equinox, winter solstice, and the start of the monsoon (rainy) season.

One of the amazing characteristics of the petroglyphs at the V-Bar-V Heritage Site is the great condition of the petroglyphs – as this area was part of a private ranch for over 100 years, the wall was protected from the public and there is no graffiti and minimal damage to the wall. In fact, the owners of the ranch knew what a sacred area this was, so they fenced it off from their cattle, and the only damage is a few bullet holes from some rowdy cowboys. (Yup – that’s true!)

If you like petroglyphs, then this is a must-see for anyone in this area. You’ll need a Red Rock Pass ($5 per day; $15 per week -available for purchase at the small gift store, which remember, is free if you have one of the America the Beautiful Passes) and it’s off I-17 and Scenic Road 179 on Forest Road 618, just paste the Beaver Creek Campground. Once you park your car, you need to walk down a well-maintained dirt path to the visitors center, check-in, and then walk the ½ mile dirt trail to the site, where a Forest Service Volunteer is able to answer your questions and share the history of the site. The path is do-able on crutches, but as far as wheel-chair accessible, it is flat and a bit rocky, well-worn, but you might want to call to see if they recommend wheelchairs.

**We'll post more photos of the petroglyphs in the next few days...........stay tuned!!**

Touring Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona and more…, Arizona

Today we set out to explore the sights in Oak Creek Canyon and Chapel Hill in Sedona. To begin our day of adventures we drove from Sedona north on Hwy 89A straight through until we reached the vista area at the vary top of the canyon. Here you can get some great photos looking down into this canyon from various viewpoints on the rim. It was quite interesting to see the terrain change so quickly from the bare red rocks and desert Cyprus trees around Sedona to ponderosa pine forest covered mountains and patches of snow at the top. At this vista is a small gift shop and many Native American’s selling their jewelry, pottery and more. From here we started back down (south) the Oak Creek Canyon towards Sedona with the goal of stopping at the many sights along the way. The highway at the bottom of the canyon follows along the creek. Here the forest changes again to groves of Arizona Sycamores and black oaks that line the valley floor. There are some wonderful views of the creek tumbling through large rocks and of bare rock formations that are starting to appear.

Moving further south we stopped at Slide Rock State Park. This is a popular park for swimming in the summer time that is right off the highway. Originally, this site was an apple orchard homestead but because the creek here forms slow moving pools with wide level rocks shores, it’s become a popular place to escape from Arizona’s hot summer temperatures. Being off-season, we were able to get great photos of the beautifully colored rocks that line the creek here. High above this state park, you begin to see more of the bare red rock formations that are like what you see throughout the Sedona area. It was interesting to note the landscape changes as you progress through the canyon.

As you know sightseeing makes us hungry (probably from lifting the camera so often), so per a recommendation we tried the Wildflower Bread Company that’s located in the The Shops at Pinon Point Shopping Center which is part of the Hyatt Hotel. Here we found large wonderful sandwiches made with homemade breads, terrific soups and yummy desserts. Brad couldn’t resist the light and flaky cinnamon roll smothered with white frosting. This is a moderately priced restaurant, with high quality food, wonderful service and amazing views off their back patio.

Stomachs full, our adventure continued…………..

Chapel of the Holy Cross
This is a small catholic chapel built in 1957 to the design of Marguerite Brunswig Staude who was a student of the world-renown architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The unique but simple concrete structure built between two large rocks rises 200 feet above the ground and supports a large 90 foot wide cross. This location offers not only up close views of the red rocks to the back of the chapel, but also incredible panoramic views of many surrounding formations. The Chapel is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and on Sunday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. In the basement of the chapel is a small gift shop that offers a variety of religious items.
Parking is along the spiraling road that leads to the chapel with handicap parking at the top. There is then a spiraling path which is wheel chair accessible that takes you the remaining 100 feet to the chapel. This Sedona landmark is a must see and free, so….enjoy the views!

Conchos Mexican Restaurant
Later in the day we found ourselves back in the town of Cottonwood. Per another recommendation we went to Concho’s Mexican Restaurant in Old Town Cottonwood for dinner. This is a family owned and operated restaurant that offers a large variety of high quality Mexican food. Our waitress was a lot of fun, provided great service and was very helpful in recommending food and drinks on the menu. As a bonus we saw the local peacock flying from the roof tops of the nearby buildings. This restaurant is located as you are leaving the old town area towards Jerome. If you are in the area and have a hankering for Mexican food in a welcoming atmosphere, then this is the place for you.

Montezuma Castle National Monument, Arizona

Standing 100 feet above the valley floor, built into a large cliff recess is the Montezuma Castle cliff dwelling. This structure was built by the Sinagua people in the early 1100s CE and is 90% intact with only a small amount of preservation being done over the years using the same materials and techniques that the ancient people used. In fact, you can also still see the smoke stained ceiling of the cliffs today. This cliff dwelling has 4 floors and has 20 rooms which were believed to have housed up to 35 people. It took a series of three ladders utilizing different cliff ledges to get to the only door on the right of the structure. The path to the first ladder begins over 100 yards to the right of the structure where the Sinagua had to hike up to a ledge and follow it along to the first ladder.

Just a little distance to the west are the remnants of another structure built by the Sinagua people called Castle A. Unlike the cliff dwelling of Montezuma castle, this was a 6 story, 45 room Pueblo style structure built from the valley floor against the cavernous walls of the cliff. Today just the foundation and a few walls built into small caves behind where the structure once stood remain.

After seeing both structures and you can begin to image this activity community. The Sinagua people were farmers, so building these structures near Beaver Creek, groves of Arizona Sycamore trees (great for ladders and roof supports,) and the many fertile fields of the river valley made this location ideal to sustain a thriving community of people for centuries until the early 1400s CE.

There were many interesting items found at this site by archeologist but the one Brad found the most interest are stones that are larger that one foot in diameter and have a hole in the middle like a large doughnut. Similar stones in large numbers were found in ancient ruins in Mexico and known to be a sort of door to Macaw parrot adobe pens that those people raised in some cases in the thousands. So at Montezuma Castle, it’s believed that the Sinagua people traded for and possibly raised a few Macaws like their neighbors to the distant south.

How did this dwelling get this odd name? Well it seems early white settlers to this area thought the cliff dwelling looked Aztec in origin or was built by Aztec refugees in honor of their emperor, so it became known as Montezuma Castle even though the Sinagua people were not related.

This national monument is a must see if you are in or near this area. We found it truly fascinating to see how these people built these amazing structures and lived and all the while thriving in this harsh desert landscape. The short paved loop path takes you through the Sycamore grove and to both the ancient ruins.

At the site is a nice visitor center that has gifts and displays explaining what’s known about these prehistoric people. We particularly enjoyed the timeline which showed milestones of the Sinagua history comparing it to European historical events of the same time. This helped put the historical timing of these ruins into perspective.

Tips:
1. The 1/3 mile paved loop path is wheel chair accessible.
2. If you are interested in seeing inside the rooms of the castle, then check out the large TV screen in visitor center for a virtual 360 degree tour. This is a program where you can select certain rooms and even other ruins.
3. The admission fee is $5 per adult; $8 if you also visit the Tuzigoot Monument in the same day (which is also $5 per adult), and free if you have one of the America the Beautiful Passes.

Arizona State Parks in the Verde Valley, Arizona

There are two Arizona state parks near the Camp Verde area, both of which offer interesting insights into the Verde Valley area.

Fort Verde State Historic Park – This was a base for the US Army from 1865-1891 and is a nicely preserved example of a fort during this time. You can visit historic house museums (furnished in the 1880’s time period), as well as a visitor’s center with interpretive displays and artifacts. There are picnic tables, restrooms, RV and car parking, and is ADA accessible. The cost is $3/per adult.

Jerome State Historic Park - Unfortunately, this park was closed when we went to Jerome yesterday, yet when it’s open, the Douglas Mansion has exhibits on history, mining and geology of this early 1900’s when Jerome was a bustling mining town. There are picnic tables, restrooms, and a gift shop, but you do not want to take your RV up here – the roads are way too windy and narrow. The cost is $3/per adult. Be sure to call first to see if they’re open, as according to their website, they are closed for repairs for a few months.

Scenic and Historic Towns of Jerome & Prescott, Arizona

Jerome
Today we decided to drive the scenic loop from Camp Verde to Jerome to Prescott and back to Camp Verde. We allocated the entire day and glad we did for we found there was much to see and do along the way. As we made our way toward Jerome we decide to drive through Old Town Cottonwood. This old downtown area is located near the town of Clarksdale and is made up of several shops and restaurants. We didn’t stop here for we knew there would be plenty of shops to explore in Jerome and we wanted to make sure we had enough time to do the complete loop today.Old Town Cottonwood is near the Tuzigoot National Monument, a Sinagua Indian pueblo built in the 13th Century. (We plan to come back to this at another time, so stay tuned....)

We continued our route until we came to the town of Jerome. This is an historic old mining town built a mile high on the side of Cleopatra Hill. Founded in 1876, Jerome boomed and thrived as a copper mining town until 1953 when the mine was closed. In 1967, Jerome was designated as a National Historic District and now the once wild mining town is a community of artists, galleries and shops that attract many tourists each day.

As you enter into the town of Jerome from Cottonwood, the first set of buildings to note is the Old Jerome High School on the left. The rooms of these buildings now house various artist studios and art galleries. Unfortunately, when we were there most were closed. After talking with the owner of one of the galleries that was open today, we learned that because most of the artists have part-time jobs, their shops aren’t open on set schedules. However, we found out that they are always open during the Jerome Art Walk which is the first Saturday of each month from 5:00 to 8:00pm. This is the opportunity to meet many of the artists, as well as enjoy some wine and cheese offered by the many galleries. There is also a free shuttle service that’s available to help with the hilly streets.

After stopping at the old high school, we continued up the windy narrow road for about a mile to the main part of town. We immediately went to the Visitors Center and got a walking map of Jerome which helped us plan how we would explore the two streets of eclectic art galleries, funky gift ships and restaurants. After walking for a while we stopped in the Grapes Restaurant for lunch. The restaurant had indoor and outdoor patio seating. The menu had many upscale items at reasonable prices from sandwiches, pizzas, salads to sandwich/salad combinations. We decided to split a hot pastrami sandwich that came with small Caesar salad and Brad ordered a bowl of their split pea soup. The food was terrific, but the wait staff could have been better. The Grapes also had a very nice wine list that seemed to complement their food well. After lunch we had a need for something sweet, so we kept our eyes open while we finished walking the street and soon enough we came upon Copper County Fudge and bought a few pieces of their handmade fudge. Yum!!!


Jerome Tips:
1. Walking the sidewalks of the two main streets can be steep and uneven so make sure you watch where you are walking.
2. On the right just past the first parking area on Hull Street you will find a very small building that is the Visitor Center. Here you can get a walking map of the town which offers a little information about each historical building but more importantly helps you navigate Jerome.
3. Watch for information plaques on the outside of many buildings. These plaques have interesting information about the structure or about life in Jerome during the mining days.
4. Parking is free but can be difficult to find if you don’t get to town early. Make sure you take that first spot that you find.


Prescott
Continuing our journey we stopped in Prescott’s old downtown area. This is a courthouse square where the courthouse is surrounded by stores that make up the perimeter of the square. On one side of the square are a series of old bars/saloons and a few shops. In the day, beer and whiskey were made and sold in some of these establishments thus the nickname Whiskey Row. In its prime, this area was frequented by the unlawful and colorful people of the area and it seems that it’s still the case today. Now horses have been replaced with Harleys and some of the Whiskey replaced by gourmet coffee. If you want to do more shopping, there are plenty of studios, shops, and restaurants in the streets around Courthouse Square.

Conclusions about the day and scenery:
We enjoyed Jerome but didn’t find Prescott that interesting. If you really enjoy exploring shops then stopping at Old Cottonwood, Jerome and Prescott is for you. If you can only take one significant shopping experience then definitely make it Jerome. The scenery throughout this loop drive was not that spectacular, except for the drive out of Jerome where there were expansive views of Verde Valley. Be sure you stop at the big turn-out on your left as you leave Jerome - that's the best view of the day.

Camp Verde RV Resort, Camp Verde, Arizona

Camp Verde RV Resort is a Western Horizon Resort and we’re staying here under RPI. It is a small RV resort with an activity center, pool and hot tub, laundry, book exchange, pickleball courts, shuffleboard, and activities scheduled daily. The staff (well, the one woman with whom we spoke) was nice, and as typical with Western Horizon Resorts, their WiFi is not reliable. The Verde River flows along the eastern edge of the park, and Brad saw a river otter when he wandered around and took pictures. (Now, he didn’t get a photograph of it, so we’ll just have to believe him. :-) )