On Saturday morning, Donna and I went down to the pickleball courts here at Thousand Trails Verde Valley RV Resort and Campground. There are two pickleball courts by the pool area. The courts are open on three sides with a fence at the back of the court closest to the Verde River. No one was there. We hit a few balls back and forth and decided it was too windy to try a singles game.

We came home and decided to ride the Spyder to Sedona (map).  Sedona is an upscale resort community about halfway from our current location to Flagstaff. The population of Sedona is around 10,000 and it sits at an elevation of about 4,500 feet above sea level. The area is known for its natural beauty with red rock formations surrounding the town and Oak Creek running through it. A number of festivals including a film festival and jazz festival are held at this popular tourist destination.

Our first stop was Tlaquepaque Village. Back in the 1970s, Sedona was a sleepy community consisting of mostly open range and a single stoplight. A Nevada businessman named Abe Miller started coming to Sedona for vacations. He had a vision of creating a village within the town patterned after small communities he’d seen in Mexico. He saw it as a place where artisans could create in view of the public and sell their work while living onsite as well.

He bought several acres of land and created Tlaquepaque. The name comes from the Mexican Nahuatl Native Indian language and means “the best of everything.” I don’t know much about the early years of Tlaquepaque, but today it’s an area filled with boutique shops and restaurants. Not exactly what Abe Miller envisioned, but a nice place to visit nonetheless.

Donna in front of the Oak Creek Brewery and Inn

Tlaquepaque fountain

Donna and I started at the Oak Creek Brewery and Inn. We had lunch and a cold one. I ordered a glass of porter – all the beer is brewed onsite. The porter they had available was a chocolate-cherry porter. It really wasn’t my cup of tea, but Donna liked it. So I gave it to her and ordered a glass of their nut brown ale. This went well with my brie-mushroom burger.

Chocolate-cherry porter at Oak Creek Brewery and Inn

After lunch, we spent the next hour walking through the various shops and then taking a stroll over the Oak Creek bridge to have a look around. The scenery is spectacular – my photos taken from town don’t do it justice.

Oak Creek from the highway 89A bridge

Colorful mesa seen from town

Red rock spires viewed from town

We stopped at an artist show on the side of the road near the south side of Sedona. It was mostly native Americans from Monument Valley, Utah. We looked over their wares and talked to a couple of interesting people. One was a guy who identified himself as a Navajo-Zuni from Monument Valley. He told us a few stories about the symbolism of the designs in the jewelry he created. The designs were traditional – some Zuni, some Navajo and some Hopi. He’s married to a Hopi. Like most Navajo people I’ve encountered, he was very soft spoken and I strained at times to hear what he was saying. Donna ended up buying a pair of turquoise earrings to go with the necklace she was wearing.

On Sunday morning, we decided to try our hand at pickleball again. We practiced a bit then started a singles game. While we were playing, a guy and his teenage son showed up and started hitting a ball on the other court. We invited them to join us for a doubles game. They were beginners, so we went over the rules and some basic strategy. Donna partnered with the son and I lined up with the dad. We split the first two games and Donna’s team won the rubber match. It was fun and we may have made more pickleball converts.

We met another couple there, Eddie and Carolyn. They play as well but weren’t dressed to play at the time. They’ve been to this park before and they said pickleball can be popular here with people waiting to get into a game. We talked to them for a while and learned about a few other Thousand Trails parks.

The rest of Sunday was pretty laid back. I booked us into the Thousand Trails park in Las Vegas for a week beginning next Thursday, April 28th. We made a run to Walmart to stock up on fresh veggies and beer. I spent the rest of the afternoon watching a great Moto GP race from Jerez, Spain and reading a book. Donna went out for a hike on the trails in the park.

On Sunday evening, Donna prepared a Moroccan spiced rack of lamb. I grilled it on the Weber Q – five minutes bone side down, then I flipped it and continue to grill for about 18 minutes until the internal temperature of the meatiest part was between 135 and 140 degrees. Donna served it with Israeli couscous and a stir fry of asparagus, mushrooms, peppers and leeks. A meal fit for a king!

Dinner fit for a king

This morning I’ll be loading the Spyder in the trailer, then I’ll do the usual dump and flush of the holding tanks and top up the fresh water while Donna secures the interior of the coach. Of course I’ll do another check of the trailer lug nuts and tire pressures all around. The rules of our Thousand Trails membership require us to stay out of TT parks for one week if we spend more than four consecutive nights. We have three nights to fill before we get to Vegas and we think we’ll play it by ear and boondock our way there. Our first stop will be a couple of miles outside the park where dispersed camping is allowed on National Forest land. We were planning to head up to Flagstaff but high wind advisories will keep us off the road today.