Devil's Bridge

Distant Drums RV Resort
Camp Verde, AZ
April 21, 2014

From Sedona, we drove about 3 miles west on 89A , turned right onto Dry Creek Road, and made another right onto Road 152...to a little piece of heaven.

 The first little bit of 152 is a paved road. There is a parking area with restrooms and trailheads on the left. The paved road turns into a bumpy road rated moderate in our 4-Wheel-Drive Trail Guide. It was an easy road to traverse with only a few rocky spots. What made this short 2.7 miles to the Devil's Bridge Trailhead extra sweet were the views around every turn and over every hill.

 

 

Devil's Bridge Trail is a short 2 mile hike in and out. But don't be fooled, it is quite a workout...what it lacks in length, it  makes up for in elevation gain. The trail and natural bridge are located in the Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness. It is open only for hikers...no horses, bikers, or ATVs.

The trail starts out wide. It is an old jeep trail. 

We did pass by Balanced Rock...

As the trail narrows,the rocks formed natural steps to help climb up the cliff face...a total of 362 feet up!  We didn't mind making a few extra stops...my camera was clicking away!













And then the "WOW!"...Devil's Bridge.

Tah-dah!

I had the whole bridge to myself!




















It was a perfect day...

I don't know what this bird is...do you? What a beauty!

The weather in Sedona has been absolutely wonderful with cool nights and warm days. We are enjoying every minute!













Until next time, take care and...

enjoy!

A Hike Around the Courthouse...

Distant Drums RV Resort
Camp Verde, AZ
April 17, 2014

The old crows have landed themselves in Camp Verde, AZ...133 Thundercloud Trail at Distant Drums RV Resort will be home for the next month. We are nestled in the Verde Valley about 15 miles to Cottonwood and 24 miles to Sedona. We arrived on Monday and Belle had a good washing on Tuesday.

 So with our home in order, we headed out bright and early Wednesday morning...destination was the Red Rock Information Center.

Arizona's first All-American Road begins shortly after you take exit 298 off  I 17. It winds thru the Coconino National Forest as well as the prehistoric Red Rocks.


Our destination was the Red Rock Information Center. There were lots of displays explaining all about the history and geology of the surrounding area, but this display of wildflowers really caught my eye. All the flowers were fresh and well marked with ID cards.   

The Byway also winds its way thru the Village of Oak Creek and two of the most famous Vortexes...Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock. Bell Rock is shown in the center of the picture below.

 The afternoon was spent doing homework...we purchased several books on hiking and off-roading, were given free maps and directions, and studied blogs from many of you. 

We carefully picked our first hike...the first hike for us in about 3 weeks. You know the saying "a body in motion, stays in motion". Well, a body NOT in motion has a hard time getting going! Our minds are eager and remember what a great time hiking is, but we know our muscles needed an easy hike to nudge them into shape AGAIN!

 

 So, Thursday morning, we were out the door and on the trail by 8:50. Our hike of choice was Bell Rock and Courthouse Loop. Its a 4.5 mile roundtrip hike that takes you to Bell Rock and around  Courthouse Butte.

Bell Rock

The Forest Service has built cairns on steroids! These jumbo rock piles in mesh wiring cant be knocked down or ignored.

 

We had a nice view of Cathedral Rock...

 

 

Our view of Courthouse Butte from the trail...

 

I can only imagine the wonder of waterfalls on Courthouse Butte during a rain storm.

 

 

We took our time, I took lots of pictures and we both agreed our first hike here was a great beginning to our month of adventures!

 

Until next time...take care and enjoy!

 

Happy Easter!