Sunday, sweltering in Sedona

Started early, but it was still awful. Drove the scenic loops, state parks, etc. that the area is famous for. The red rocks look pretty from the air conditioned interior of my truck, but up close they are like Tandoori clay ovens. The dogs and I are the food.

The briefest little hikes at some of the trail heads is all we could stand. Ninja kept looking at me like, WTF? I didn't take pictures. Why? Well, because it was hot. Also, those landmarks are so photographed. Hold on. Here you go, much better than I could have taken.

Trailhead for Bell Rock Loop

View of Bell, Castle and Courthouse rock from visitor center

Finally giving up on even getting out of the car, I began just pulling in and crawl-driving through the t parking lots. It is breathtaking.  Dogs were bored and once I stopped taking them in and out of the car they just stared at me like, "Okay, what then?" Googled for a dog park and although I found one online it didn't exist in the real world. The park was nice but didn't seem to have a dog park. Still we had a nice walk. Some shade, some green grass.  Hot.

View from one section of the park

They had a bike skills section that looked fun. I took some pictures, but didn't stay long and no, I didn't take the bicycle down and give it a spin. I think the tires might have melted. Plus, honestly the way I have everything tied up, getting my bicycle down during this part of the trip would be a lot of work.

Bike skills section

Bike skills with a view

I noticed a Whole Foods on the way through Sedona so I went back and popped in for some fresh fruits and veggies. Then did a little more meandering on the way home exploring various state and county parks. The one remaining place I wanted to see - Palatki Ruins -- was closed for some reason. You have to take a guided tour so you can't see them at all when it's closed. I would have taken the tour and left the dogs in the running truck with the a/c.  Alas, it was closed, so not an option.

Back to the campground and into the trailer for the hottest part of the afternoon. The poor little a/c can't keep up. Internet is poor, too - worse than yesterday. Some big dust storm on the horizon and I wonder if that's why.

Frustrating.  Took the dogs down to the water for a little walk but for some reason they weren't very keen. On the way back they were pulling to get into the truck instead of the trailer. Ha ha, they aren't stupid.  It does get much cooler in the truck. But I can't just keep driving around forever... can I?

So we're back in the trailer.  It has dropped one degree now at 5:30p. 103F. As soon as it cools down I will prep as much as I can outside. Can't hitch up ahead of time, because the site is so short, but I intend to be as ready as possible tonight. Then I can get going EARLY. We stayed our planned three days, just didn't have as much adventuring time as I'd hoped. Not that the next place I'm going will be a whole lot cooler, but it might have a better signal and tomorrow is a work day. The heat wave is expected to continue into the middle of the week.