Arizona Entertainment

Although our days in Phoenix have been somewhat trying for me, I never like to visit a place without making a genuine effort to experience and appreciate it.  Consequently, on our first weekend there, we decided to make a side trip to the neighboring tourist town of Sedona.  Sedona is famous for its beautiful red landscape, and heaven knows I needed a little silver lining to the scorching heat!  Before reaching Sedona; however, we came across a cute little town built up into the side of the mountain and decided we could afford a short stop-over.  Jerome, Arizona felt just like your typical tourist stop-over, only it is literally right on the side of the mountain.  It's a miracle everything in town doesn't just slide right down the mountain.  Actually, I think that happened here once upon a time, but supposedly things are more secure now.  Secure enough that we decided to take a few hours to walk around anyway.  And secure enough that we decided we could spare another hour to dine at the locally known Haunted Hamburger Bar and Grill. 

 

The kids appreciated the ghost stories we read them off of the menu, and Nick and I appreciated the excellent burgers and onion rings! 

Eventually it was time to hit the road again and make our way to our final destination.  We had an afternoon Jeep ride scheduled in Sedona, and with our stop-over we had to rush to arrive on time.  Luckily, we got there and the kids were ecstatic as we boarded the yellow "Day in the West" adventure-mobile.    The kids thought the Lil Rattler tour sounded good to them.  After just having surgery, however, a little rattling was the last thing on the planet I needed.  Still, I was a good sport and tagged along. 

 

 It actually turned out to be alright, with just the right amount of "rattling" to keep the kids giggling, and enough breathtaking scenic views to make Nick and I feel like it was worth our money. 

 Plus, we had the added benefit of having a rather talkative Native American guide who taught us all sorts of interesting facts as we journeyed along.  Yep, with the medicine man as our tour guide, the kids came away thinking they could cure just about any ailment with a few desert plants.  I hope that doesn't come back to bite us someday soon!

Afterwards we picked up some organic ice cream and took in some of the Sedona star-gazing before heading back to our condo.

It was a fun day, and even I have to admit that it was some of southern Arizona's entertainment at its best.