AMAZING ARIZONA

12 Aug

Arizona is an awesome State in which to take a short summer vacation! Yes, it was hot in Phoenix as we briefly stopped there to spend the night, however Flagstaff, Prescott and Sedona were temperature-perfect and we delighted in awesome views and weather last week.
We traveled first to Wickenburg to drop of 20 copies of “Elsie” at Desert Caballeros Museum and at a nice gift shop called Old Livery. Arizona has some very unique and interesting museums. We then went on to Prescott where we discovered a new bookstore since our last visit. The Perigrine Bookshop opened about 9 months ago and happily took a couple of copies of “Elsie.” I love independent bookstores! The Javalina Cantina in Sedona was recommended for dinner and it was good advice. This is the second time we have stayed at “The Views Inn” there. It is very attractive and it does have a spectacular view.
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The next morning we drove to Flagstaff via Oak Creek Canyon. I have seen it several times but each time it leaves me in awe of God’s creativity. It is easy to understand why Elsie wrote 100 years ago that the schoolroom doors flew open and a person riding a horse shouted into the school “creek’s up!” Elsie was amazed that they did not ask permission but students fled out of the school for their homes. The water flowing down those steep mountainsides rushed down Oak Creek Canyon and would make a dangerous crossing of lower Oak Creek for students.
In Flagstaff we visited 3 locations that sell “Elsie” and dropped off a few more books. We also visited a new gift store that may soon carry “Elsie.” This one was in the Riordan Mansion State Historic Park. It was built in 1904 and was the home of two Riordan families. It contains over 40 rooms and is the arts & crafts style of architecture. They do guided tours and reservations are recommended. It is worth a visit when in Flagstaff.
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From Flagstaff we drove back down into Sedona on Schnebly Hill Road, an unpaved Forest Service road that drops steeply down into Oak Creek canyon. Quite an off-road adventure! The signs warn: “Dirt road requires high clearance vehicle.” I felt like perhaps it might add “life insurance recommended.” We passed a number of cute pink tourist jeeps that were enjoying the beauty of the red rocks. We made a quick stop at the Sedona Historical Society and they too may begin to carry “Elsie.” We briefly stopped for our son Joshua to look at Montezuma’s Castle National Park. That is the location where Elsie spoke of Karl teasing her by extinguishing the lamp once they were up inside the cold pitch black Indian dwellings and claiming he had no matches. She often told the story of feeling genuine terror of being trapped forever in those caves. The dwellings were declared a U.S. National Monument in 1906. There is a paved trail a 1/4 mile from the visitor center along the base of the cliff containing the ruins. Access to the ruins has not been allowed since 1950. About 350,000 tourists visit the site each year. I was thrilled that a recent letter was from a reader in Australia who bought “Elsie” at Tuzigoot National Monument when visiting friends in Arizona. This reader wrote from Australia to say how much she had enjoyed the book. I LOVE hearing from readers and am delighted with 233 reviews on Amazon. August 15 & 16 the kindle version of “Elsie” will once again be free. Please let any friends know that might enjoy a free Kindle copy. DSC_0120weblgDSC_0123weblgDSC_0107weblg

3 Responses to “AMAZING ARIZONA”

  1. Rita August 13, 2013 at 5:20 am #

    Another interesting pictorial account of the land that Elsie so loved! It is obvious that her granddaughter loves it just as much and enjoys writing about it and sharing lovely photos of the area. I hope to visit there some day! Keep writing, Barb, and let us know when the next book is finished!

  2. ritaroberts August 13, 2013 at 5:34 am #

    Hello Elsie, Would you believe, I have just finished reading ” Elsie ” I just felt I needed to come closer to her story again and I loved it just as much the second time around. Then I opened my computer to see this post. You had a great journey how exciting for you, and thanks for the lovely pictures, you have some wonderful memories which you have kindly shared with us all. Thank you.

  3. Leon Girdner August 13, 2013 at 5:53 am #

    I really enjoy reading and the pictures of places I am very familiar with. They bring back lots of memories.

    Thank you for your posts, I keep them all.

    Leon

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