The Sedona Marathon! Run the Red Rocks!

When the red dust of the Sedona Red Rocks settles behind your running shoes you will be able to catch your breath amongst your fellow marathoners in one of the most beautiful places in the world. For the past five years Sedona, AZ has been the backdrop for a marathon, ½ marathon and 5k courses that begin in West Sedona. The Sedona Real Inn and Suites is conveniently located less than a half a mile from both the start and finish lines of the event.

The race, which takes place Saturday, February 4, 2012, is one of the most scenic marathons in the country. Close to forty percent of the course is taken off road through dirt roads winding through park land, giving your joints a break from the pavement and your eyes a chance to take in the beauty of the red rock mountains of Sedona .

One of the challenges of the race is the altitude. Sedona lies 4500 feet above sea level. If you aren’t used to our altitude come and visit a few days early and give your body time to acclimatize before the marathon. We want you to run the marathon at your best! The Sedona Real offering a stay 2 nights, get the 3^rd night free to all marathon runners. Our concierge team can arrange for you not to miss anything Sedona has to offer.

There will be FREE training runs, January 14^th and 21^st, which can help prepare you for the course and give you a chance to meet your fellow runners. Call us today and we will arrange for your visits!

Pre-register for the race to avoid any additional charges. E-mailed and fax entries must be received by Friday February 1st, 2012. For more information about the marathon visit www.sedonamarathon.com. To reserve one of the Sedona Real Inn & Suites comfortable traditional rooms or spacious suites call 1-800-353-1329 or visit our reservations page to see all of the rooms we have to offer.

Sunset!

Sorry it has been so log since I have posted blog readers! I hope your holidays were good!

Last night I got out of work and decided I should take in a little hike before the sunset. It just feels so good to walk through the crisp night air and clear my head. Got some great color and amazing silhouettes. I was having trouble with my fancy camera, so I took all of these on my phone camera. I think they still came out pretty good.

The Hike House Leads the way to Sedona Adventure!

The Hike House’s first anniversary just passed. It’s hard to believe that I have never been over to check out the amazing cafe, well stocked gear shop, or take advantage of the hiking information available there.  Our hotel decided to work on putting a hiking package together for out guest,  so I gave Greg, the owner of The Hike House, a call. He told me about their free hiking clinic and invited me to tag along. You all know how I love hiking…how could I turn that down?

Every Tuesday morning The Hike House has a hiking clinic. This clinic provides free practical and basic tips for hiking in Sedona. You learn proper hiking techniques and confidence and stability on the trail. We met up in the Energy Café. This great little sweet spot offers cookies, scones and other home baked items prepared in the on-site bakery. I had a cranberry and white chocolate cookie that was delicious! They also have all types of energy foods and drinks, and a make your own trail mix station, which I thought was totally cool!

We had a group of about 15 people. Greg went over how the Sedona Trail Finder works. This is a high definition, interactive technology that will “marry your abilities and desires with one of over 100 trails in the Sedona hiking network.”  Its fun to see the different types of trails available to hike. Typically when we have guests at the hotel we recommend the same trails that we know are good. West Fork, Devil’s Bridge, Boynton Canyon, Cathedral Rock…but this gives you a chance to see what else is out there. The Hike House has created a rating system for over 100 trails that include a detailed description, trail data, video diary of the trail, and a trail specific hiking blog dedicated to each particular trail, map of trail and directions to the trail head. I can’t wait to take advantage of this…its totally free!

The Hike House offers private guided hiking adventures at different difficulty and lengths of time. What is great is that after the information on Trail Finder Greg took us out for a free guided hike with James, another guide. We drove up to the trail head at Schnebly Hill and hiked Marg’s Draw. This is an easy, but beautiful little hike. You have awesome views of uptown Sedona, Snoopy Rock and Cathedral Rock in the distance. There is little elevation gain and it took us about an hour and a half. There was snow on the peaks which was beautiful, and parts of the trail were a little damp from the snow fall the 2 days previous, but this was a perfect day for hiking. The weather was awesome, high 50’s, not hot, not cold, and perfect for moving in the outdoors.

I would definitely recommend this hike to those who haven’t done a lot of hiking and want to get their feet wet…but it’s also great for us who just want to get out and breath some of this great fall air. I would also recommend taking the hiking clinic or booking a private tour. Keep a look out for our new hiking package, coming soon!

Catch the Fall Color Before it’s Gone!

There is still time to take in the colors of Autumn. A friend and I went to West Fork this past week and the leaves were still gorgeous…although I do think we missed the prime color…J I have written about West Fork before, because it is my absolute favorite hike in the area. The temperature right now is perfect for hiking. Wear a sweatshirt because in the shade it can be chilly and this trail is surrounded by trees. We always bring hiking sticks because you have to cross the creek several times and this time of year getting your feet wet isn’t on the plan for the day. Although a friend of mine went out to Beaver Creek last week and he said he and his dog went swimming. Brrrrr!

Chimney Rock

I took a nice short hike around Chimney Rock this week. It’s a fairly flat easy trail the circles a tall spire known as Chimney Rock. From certain angles it is called the “3 Fingers.” You’ll see why when you take a look at the pics. It took me about an hour and 45 minutes to do the loop. There were a lot of yellow wild flowers…or maybe some would call them weeds, but I thought they were pretty scattered across the ground. Made for nice texture in my pictures. This hike is relatively close to the hotel too, just a minute by car or a ten minute walk. I took a lot of pics using an application on my smart phone called retro photo…I think they are kinda cool.

Peaceful Beauty

There is something about the Chapel of the Holy Cross that moves me. Perhaps it is the simplicity of the design. One room, a window, hundreds of little red candles. The location is atop a hill where bell rock, courthouse butte, and all of Sedona lay spread out before you.  From the outside the chapel nearly blends into the scenery, it’s the same vermillion color as the red rocks around it…and it’s that subtlety that makes me stop for a moment and breathe. Sedona is like that. All of this natural beauty makes you remember how tiny all of our problems are in the face of such grandeur. I have lived here 5 years and it is always the same.

Almost As Famous As Sedona!

Almost as famous as Sedona’s red rocks is Pink Jeep Tours. Pink Jeep has been a Sedona tradition for more than 50 years and I can tell you why. It is so much fun! The Broken Arrow tour takes you out to Submarine Rock and Chicken Point, both awesome spots to see panoramic views of all of Sedona. These spots are difficult to get to by foot, which why driving in a pink jeep can be so much fun.

One of the fun things about pink is that the tour guides are so knowledgeable. This was my third time on the Broken Arrow tour and I learned something new about the agave plant. Our guide was super friendly too. I think I like the views from Chicken Point more than Submarine. Where Submarine is more of a spread out vista, Chicken Point has a stunning cliffside.  The trip is especially stunning at sunset, with the changing colors on the rocks. You can check out a video of the rocks on the pink jeep tour here!

When guests book the pink jeep tour at our hotel with our concierge they get a discount, so its best too reserve with them. Since Pink is so popular this time of year please plan well in advance. If you arrive, especially on a weekend, Broken Arrow may be full up for the weekend. Have fun!

Earth, Wind and Water…Nature’s Beauty

While waiting in line at the grocery store I picked up a copy of Arizona Highways magazine. There was this amazing photo taken of a beam of light in Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon located in Page, Arizona, about 3 hours from Sedona. I went there a few years ago and was totally blown away by how beautiful it was. At the time I did not have the proper photo equipment to really take any good pictures. Because of the lighting in the canyon the shutter speed wasn’t good so most of them came out blurry. I always promised myself I would research low light shadowy photography, pack up my tripod and go back to take some amazing photos.

First let me tell you why the slot canyons are so cool. Erosion from wind and water has caused the sandstone to be shaped in waves and curves. The light finds its way through the sandstones curves giving the canyons brilliant colors of burnt orange, red, mauve, purple…very Sedona colors. In some spots rays of light shoot through these crevices hitting the sand below, creating a spotlight type of beam. There is something so beautiful and heart stopping in seeing this. The power of nature.

The first time I visited it was April and not crowded at all. We only went to Antelope Canyon and there were opportunities to be by ourselves as we walked through. This time it was packed. Tourists were everywhere and if it weren’t for the services of our tour guide it would have been impossible to take the pictures that we took. This private photo tour was led by, Gabriel, who was kinda militant that we were his photographers and we would have amazing pictures…it was funny, and I am sure annoying for other tourists, but good for us.

Now everyone, this tour is not for the faint of heart. Meaning, you can’t be afraid of heights, ladders, or small cramped spaces. This could be challenging for those who are not physically fit. I was very grateful for the past seven months of being in the gym because phew, there were some tight quarters.

Our tour first took us to Lower Antelope Canyon. The entrance for this canyon is very narrow and I could barely fit through. This has a series of ladders that go deeper into the canyon. It was still pretty early in the morning so it wasn’t too crowded. The other tours come in waves every 30 minutes or so. We then went to Antelope Canyon and it was a zoo. So crowded. Our guide would have us take a position, set up our tripods and then we would wait for beams of light to position themselves. Sometimes we were on our knees, laying on our stomachs, for long periods of time…legs would cramp up, knees would hurt. Wear clothes that you don’t care will get stained or torn.

Next we went to Snake Canyon. This was the most “scary” of the canyons. The other two are set up to get a lot of traffic. All of the ladders and stairs have been built into the rocks and do not move. This canyon had ladders…you know like the kind you lean up against houses to go clean the gutters…set against the rock, not fastened to anything. They would stretch over 10 feet, with a good drop of at least 10 feet below you. I am not a small girl, and when I climbed on these things I had visions of falling and breaking something, but I managed and was glad I did. Our group of about five people were the only one’s at this canyon. It is very narrow and there were spots I had to squeeze through…again I had visions of being wedged between the rocks and the guide having to call in the rescue team to butter me up and get me out. I got some great shots here of texture. It was soooooo quiet in this canyon without the chatter of tourists and very peaceful.

Next, for all of our efforts, we returned to have Navajo tacos…which are quite delicious.

Things to remember:  bring sunscreen, shoes that cover your entire foot because the sand is hot, clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty or torn, a tripod or you will have blurry photos, patience and an adventurous spirit…you only live once!

Check out my video…

Jerome…when History is Art

I was up in Jerome last week taking in its historic restored buildings that are now artisan shops, eateries…a haunted hotel or two. At least that’s what the locals tell me. Makes for fun times during October. Halloween is probably their busiest time of the year. I once went to a Halloween Party like one of those ones you see on TV up there…hundreds of people, amazing costumes, and a night sky full of stars.

This time of year the weather is warm, but it is starting to cool down. It is so much fun to walk around. A lot of the bordellos from when this was an old copper mining town have been turned into shops now. The House of Joy is one of my favorites with its vintage inspired knick-knacks. We went to the fudge shop…which has awesome white caramel fudge, and then up to the Haunted Hamburger for margaritas.

They were not only refreshing but delicious…and we got to sit in the window where we took in the entire verde valley all the way to Sedona.

Certificate of Excellence

Our hotel received a Certificate of Excellence from Tripadvisor for 2011! We have achieved an average Tripadvisor rating for 4.5 out of 5, which is totally awesome! Our guests have given us this great rating by their amazing reviews and we really appreciate all they do for us! I am so excited to work at a property that values customer service as much as we do!