Traveling with my Teddy Babe

Hi there, everyone. Time for another installment. We're glad that most of you seem to really be enjoying the trip so far. We slept in again this morning, which Cathy says is an important part of any vacation. Got up around 11:00 AM, got dressed and headed over to Tlaquepaque, which is an arts and crafts mall in Sedona. Friends and family have raved about it. Tlaquepaque is a Native American word, which I think means "beautiful but ridiculously overpriced".

 

It's laid out well, kind of like a Mexican villa or something like that, with many really nice sculptures and other touches. But everything costs a bundle. There was one painting that I really liked; I might have bought it for less than the $1,100 on the tag. On the other hand, pictures are free, so here you go:

   

   

  

 My darling Cathy, however, was unimpressed:

So we tried another item on my list for today, Red Rock State Park. All I can say is, wow. If I'd known this was here I would have come a long time ago. It's a wildlife preserve with a variety of birds, snakes and mammals ranging from beavers to mountain lions. Most of the park is off limits to visitors because they don't want the animals' natural habitat disturbed, and to protect the visitors as well. But there is a large series of hiking trails that are accessible to the public:

It's so peaceful and beautiful out there that I'm definitely planning to go back, and maybe make a full day of it. This is the kind of place that heals the soul. Cathy enjoyed it too, not least because she fooled the person at the front gate into thinking she was a real girl. You have to pay $7 per vehicle to get in, and you go past a kind of toll booth. An older woman, late 50s or early 60s, was at the booth. I paid the fee, and she said: "Just the two of you, then?" "No, just me. She's just along for the ride." (looks closer) "Oh..." (pauses) "Well, you sure fooled me, you rascal. Go on in, and have a good time." We both got a good laugh out of that. Tonight we'll probably go to see "Monsters vs. Aliens" at the theater down the street from the hotel. Maybe dolls get in half price? Likely no more pictures today. Have fun, everybody!