Camp Verde & Sedona, Arizona 2020 - Week 1
November 2nd, 2020
After the wedding in Kansas City, the weather quickly began to turn cold. We made plans and hit the road, heading South towards Sedona, Arizona, a place we have visited many times before (most recently in 2018). On our way we stopped in Liberal, Kansas at an RV park we had stayed in previously as well. We tried to recreate a picture from that time, but I can't believe how quickly time has passed!
As we have done throughout this year's adventure, we took a slow pace, chipping away 3-4 hours at a time between each stop. After about a week, we completed our journey and arrived at our new home for the next month - the almost brand new Verde Ranch RV Resort, located just off the interstate near Camp Verde, Arizona.
After setting up, I immediately loaded up the bike and drove the 25 minutes to Oak Creek (near Sedona) to get a quick ride in before sunset. While I rode, the rest of the family explored the Verde River and trails connected to the RV park.
The resort also had a pool, two hot tubs, and enormous clubhouse that had games, a pool table, workout room, shuffleboard, and massive lounging area. Unfortunately, they ended up having to close the clubhouse and reduce hours at the pool area during the last portion of our stay, but we thoroughly enjoyed it while it was available.
Family Hike - Broken Arrow to Chicken Point (and beyond)
The next day after arriving, we loaded up and drove about 35 minutes into Sedona for our first hike - Broken Arrow to Chicken Point. We ended up extending the hike after reaching Chicken Point by heading into the National Forest area that connected directly from the trail we were on.
Family Hike - Girdner, Remnant, Roundabout
After work on Monday we packed up again and drove North through Cottonwood to get to the West side of Sedona, this time choosing to hike starting at the Girdner trailhead. This was a quick 2.5ish mile hike that we knocked out fairly quickly, but was still a good one!
Silver Linings
2020 has for sure been a strange year, to say the least. But one of the many awesome silver linings has come in the form of seeing so many other families out and about on the road, spending time together and outside. Several times we ended up seeing the same families at different locations! This stay was no exception, and Brom and Isla got to enjoy hanging out with one of the friends they made during our trip from KC to Arizona.
Family Hike - Cyprus, Girdner, Snake
After work on Tuesday we drove back towards western Sedona and drove a bit further into the National Forest, this time sneaking in a quick 3 mile sunset hike starting at the Cyprus trailhead. This trailhead is also part of a shooting range area in the National Forest, which meant it was completely empty. This was a welcome relief compared to the seemingly hundreds of cars packed up the road at the Devil's Bridge trailhead.
Family Hike - Bear Mountain
On Wednesday after work we hit the road towards Sedona and this time opted for a longer hike at Bear Mountain. This trek was no slouch - 5+ grueling miles totaling 1800+ feet of climbing. But the view at the top was completely worth it - simply amazing. We quickly realized after the first mile that during our first visit here 10 years ago, we only hiked to a false summit and completely missed the second (and third) more difficult parts of the hike!
Family Hike - Mezcal
Hiking in Sedona is addicting - the more you go, the more you want to go! On Friday after work, I opted to do a mega 20 mile ride of Sedona trails from the West side of town, and it was a blast! On Saturday, we did a 6 mile family hike on the Mezcal trail. While we were hiking we saw several mountain bikers, and the following day Brom and I came back and road a longer version of it to give it a go ourselves. We had an amazing time!
