The Culinary Tourist: Sedona's Sandstone Pillows

I've always felt grounded by Sedona's ancient red rocks, but I never dreamed of sleeping on them. At least not until our friends Keith and Beth Lane arranged a three-day camping trip to Oak Creek Canyon last April.

Located within the pristine Coconino National Forest a few miles north of Sedona, Ariz., Oak Creek Canyon is a 12-mile long river gorge known for great fishing, hiking, and spectacular views. For those who want to experience the natural beauty of popular Sedona without bumping into too many gallery-hopping tourists, tent camping is the way to go.

We followed US Highway 89A south from Flagstaff for about 21 miles to Manzanita Campground, and tapped our stakes into the soft, sandy soil. Surrounded by ash, sycamore, and box elders, and only steps from boulder-strewn Oak Creek, we hardly noticed the highway was within earshot.

The guys quickly disappeared downstream, while Beth and I set out for the Secret Mountain Wilderness, traversed the Airport Mesa Trail in search of a vortex, and climbed up to Devil's Bridge, the largest, natural sandstone arch in Sedona.

At 4,800 feet, day hikes in the Arizona high desert can leave you exhausted, so a comfortable campsite and men who can cook are a real plus. Grilled steak and potatoes one night, tender sausages with peppers and onions another, and lots of fish stories kept us sipping wine around the campfire for hours.

It wasn't until we ran out of firewood that the sub-freezing temperatures sent us inside our tents after sundown. With only a thin, air mattress and nylon floor beneath us, the earth radiated enough warmth to have us snoozing in seconds.

Perhaps Michelangelo was envisioning Sedona when he wrote, "My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness."

SPLURGE

Camp coffee, grilled breakfast sandwiches, and fireside chats made for great alfresco dining, but we couldn't leave Sedona without a visit to the Cowboy Club, a tavern that once served cowhands and cattle buyers, copper miners and tradesmen. A family restaurant occupies the original tavern space, while more "genteel" guests now take their meals in the Silver Saddle Room or in the Club's Redstone Cabin, a charming building behind the main restaurant where our server led our party of four. I reveled in an exceptional pinot noir, silver spur salad with blue cheese and raspberry vinaigrette, and a palate-cleansing prickly pear sorbet tinged with tequila -- made right here -- before my gargantuan bone-in pork tenderloin arrived. Keith raved about the wild game chili, which was loaded with bear, buffalo, venison and wild boar, and was surpassed only by his elk tenderloin entrée; while Beth thought her cowboy ribs were delicious but overpriced. Rich settled on the satisfying Angus rib eye steak and country mashed potatoes.

Needless to say, we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.

RESERVATIONS

Manzanita, one of six campgrounds in Oak Creek Canyon, has 18 sites with picnic tables, fire rings, cooking grills, and drinking water. Our campsite, which had plenty of room for two tents, cost $18.00 per night, or less with a senior discount. Manzanita has vault toilets and soda pop machines, and firewood for sale. Token-operated showers can be found at Cave Springs Campground, a five-minute drive north on Highway 89A. Make your reservations online at www.Recreation.gov or call 877-444-6777.

NEARBY

The West Fork Oak Creek Trail, just off US Highway 89A, follows Oak Creek through a meadow and orchard, past the remnants of an early 1900s abandoned settlement before continuing into the woods on a well-marked path that follows the creek. You'll hear songbirds, spot lizards, and get an up-close look at the canyon walls on this comfortable two- to three-hour hike; or you can make a day of it by continuing on into the Secret Mountain-Red Rocks Wilderness for a challenging 11-miles. Parking pass, $3.

Beginning hikers will enjoy Red Rock State Park, a 286-acre nature preserve and environmental education center five miles west of Sedona off Highway 89A on the Lower Red Rock Loop Road. The Visitor Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Coconino National Forest is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, so be sure to request a calendar of events. On July 2, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt consolidated the San Francisco Mountains National Forest, parts of the Black Mesa and Tonto National Forest, and all of the Grand Canyon National Forest south and east of the Colorado River, into the Coconino National Forest.

MORE INFORMATION
http://www.visitsedona.com. The Cowboy Club is on the main drag in Sedona, 241 N. US Highway 89A. For info and menus, visit www.cowboyclub.com.

The Culinary Tourist appears twice a month in Gather Essentials: Travel. Go exploring with award-winning documentary producer Lisa Gensheimer as she discovers the fun, food and people she meets along the way. Whether you're visiting the home of a faraway friend, stopping for directions at a roadside market, or on holiday in an exotic location, richly layered experiences await. Read more about Lisa's work at Main Street Media or join Lisa's gather network.