We arrived in Cottonwood during the early evening on Valentine’s day, after our long and intense hike into and out of the Grand Canyon.
Our first stop was Maynard James Keenan’s wine tasting room and osteria, Merkin Vineyards. The pasta was next-level. We were both blown away by the homemade gnocchi.
The next morning, we made our way to Sedona to explore our hiking options. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize how crowded the trails become early on. Unable to find parking, we changed our plans to head back to Cottonwood and check out some ruins nearby.
Tuzigoot National Monument is a pueblo ruin, not far from Cottonwood.
The surrounding landscape made the ruins seem a little otherworldly.
We visited a local college’s wine center on a recommendation from a local resident. The center is just above downtown Cottonwood and offers a selection of tastings from the school’s courses. We also learned that Maynard (from Tool) is involved with the school and donates regularly.
We learned our lesson from the previous day and woke up early to secure parking for the trails in Sedona. We started our day off at one of the more popular trails, Devil’s bridge.
The trail started out with some fantastic views of the Sedona landscape.
The first part of the trail was relatively flat. The elevation increased as we approached the second half.
The elevation gain offers some even better views of the area.
The trail is named for the natural bridge at the end of the out-and-back path. We were lucky to reach the bridge before it was overrun by too many people.
Us on the bridge. It’s wider than it appears once you are on it.
A closer view of the bridge.
One last view before heading back, and onto our next hike in Sedona.
The next trail we hiked was the Courthouse Butte loop trail.
On our final day in Sedona, we hiked the Cathedral rock trail. It’s very vertical, more of a rock scramble than a hiking trail.
The view from the top, or at least as high as we went.
From Sedona, we drove to Jerome, Arizona to check out the Caduceus Cellars tasting room and Puscifer store. The town clings to the side of a mountain.
Trying some wine in the Caduceus tasting room (Maynard from Tool’s winery).
Determined to see some petroglyphs, we headed to Prescott, Arizona. This was the closest petrolyphs we could find, located in a sectioned-off portion of a newly-built subdivision.
Another spot in Prescott with Petroglyphs, Solstice Mesa
Our final dinner before heading back home. We came back to the Merkin Osteria for more of the delicious gnocchi.
