Adventures with my Father part II: Arrival in Sedona

High Desert in New Mexico

Dad and I woke up on the morning of January 2^nd rested and determined to cross the high elevations on NM 82 to get to Arizona.  We met at 8AM to eat the “free” breakfast (believe me, you pay for it) in the La Quinta lobby.  I got there a little earlier than Dad, and listened as a middle-aged woman with two children told a sad tale to three women who were “part of a religious organization based on Judaism” who were ‘moving to Wyoming.”  (Hmmmmm.)  The sad tale began with a re-telling of how her home burned down on New Year’s Day.  They “lived out in the middle of nowhere” and the “firemen didn’t even offer to take them into town.”  (I didn’t know that firemen that that after they’ve fought a fire.)  Her husband was “a contractor and was away.”  She had two other kids in Texas somewhere.  As the young devout murmured their condolences half-heartedly, the lady upped the sad-sack stakes, adding that she got her kids and her dog out of the burning house, but they had just had a new litter of puppies and they all died in the fire.  More murmurs from the young women, but nothing appropriately helpful.  So the stakes got higher—she had her rent money saved up, but it all burned in the fire.  The young women almost took the bait—asked “how was she getting by?”  The answer:  “Donations, mostly.”  “From your church?”  “Well, some from church, but mostly from other sources.”  

That did it.  The young women wished her well and went on their way to Wyoming.  Dad arrived and we went into the breakfast nook, followed by the sad sack woman, who asked where we were from and (surprise!) she had been to Lafayette, Indiana. (I knew it was a lie when she said what “beautiful country it was up there.")  She asked me if Cleveland was a suburb of Lafayette.  It was clear we were her next mark, and we gathered our instant oatmeal and coffee and went back to our seats, where I watched her load up a third pile of breakfast food on a plate and exit the breakfast area.

Cloudcroft

Dad and I packed up Alfie and the luggage and started west.  It was supposed to be above freezing and sunny in Cloudcroft at the highest elevation, so were cautiously optimistic about making it down to the flat land in New Mexico.  The roads turned out to be clear, ice-free, and easily traversed, so we made it down the “mountain” (more like a foothill) safely.

Then the long drive through southwestern New Mexico, which is mostly high desert—lots of sand and mesquite, but little else to say about it.  The sun was out for the first time in our trip, so we enjoyed the light and the far-as-the-eye-can-see horizon.  I had planned our destination as Wilcox, Arizona, just over the border from New Mexico.  In this part of the country there aren’t that many towns, so you have to take your pick about the distances you are willing to travel.  I decided a slightly longer driving day to Wilcox would shorten our next day to Sedona.

I had reserved a room at a brand new Holiday Inn Express in Wilcox (Dad prefers good beds, grab bars in the shower, and quiet heating units, so newer is better).  We arrived there late in the day, but were told at the front desk that they were “having trouble with their hot water, and would it be okay if there was no hot water?”  I replied, “not for $109 dollars a night!” and we headed down the road to a Quality Inn that clearly had been hot stuff in the 1970’s, with a beautiful pool, its own lounge, and a barbecue area.  Unfortunately those days were long gone, but it was clean, had tolerable beds, and was $50 a night.  Later the manager told Dad that the new owner was slowly renovating it—that in its heyday people used to get dressed up to stay in the hotel and visit its restaurant.

Dad and I at the Tex Bar-B-Cue in Willcox

We went to dinner in downtown Willcox at the Big Tex Bar-B-Que, which was housed in a very old train car—maybe from the 30’s.  As we walked to the entrance we could tell it was going to be good-the barbecue smoker was blazing and we could smell the mesquite smoke.  They were out of their nightly special of baby back ribs, so I ordered pulled pork and Dad ordered brisket.  It was very good, and the atmosphere was charming.

The next day another 8AM lobby breakfast, and on to the last leg of our trip, through the Sonoran desert around Tucson (saguaro cactus!) and up hill to Sedona.  Here are the rocks around Sedona from afar:

And here is downtown Sedona!

The next blog will have a video of the views from our very lovely condo.  Stay tuned.