The Road to Diamond, Day 132: Red Rock Road

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April 9, 2025, Williams, AZ- The perfect spot, where my friends have stayed for the past two nights, is going to be perfect for another couple this weekend. I have found another Friday night room for Bobot and Thelma, so all is still well.

We headed east and north, this afternoon, after a hearty lunch at Pangaea Bakery. The first stop would have been Jerome, but parking was not available, so Tuzigoot became our spot to try out my camera’s record feature-and my video skills. They need work, to say the least, but here are a couple of fairly post-worthy clips.

Friends enjoying their first visit to Tuzigoot.
This shows the living situation of First Nations people in the Verde River Valley of Arizona, in the Eleventh Century, AD.
The Sinagua people built these units, as part of a settled community.

After exploring Tuzigoot, we headed to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, high in Sedona’s red rocks, at the edge of Schnebly Hill. Here are my friends, at the Peace Marker and in front of the chapel.

Red Rock day trip
Bobot and Thelma at Peace Marker
Front of Chapel of the Holy Cross
Bobot and Thelma in front of Chapel

We made a brief visit to the Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park, near Sugarloaf Mountain, on Sedona’s north side. My videography was not suitable for sharing, but the friends seemed to enjoy it.

We capped our Sedona visit with a stop at Tlaquepaque, a crafts and restaurant market, modeled after the open air market of the same name, that graces Guadalajara, Jalisco.

The entry arch at Tlaquepaque
Bobot and Thelma in front of entry arch

As we walked in, a little girl had latched onto a sandal, and was doing her 16-month-old best to show Mom and Grandma that she had mastered the One Shoe Strut. Since it was a display item at a shoe vendor, Mom took it off and put it back on the rack. Oh, the indignity of it all!

We met up with an amalgam of other Filipinos, in front of a coffee and ice cream shop, where I got an Arnold Palmer and the friends, some Gator Aid. We next visited a couple of fountains, and stopped in front of Bell Rock, after which it was time to head out of Sedona, and up the mountain, by way of I-17.

Fountain shot
Bobot and Thelma at a fountain in Tlaquepaque
Bell Rock
Bobot and Thelma at Courthouse Rock, with Bell Rock as backdrop

After a satisfying dinner at My Pita Wrap, in one of South Milton Road’s plethora of mini-malls, we headed here, to the Gateway to the Grand Canyon, and El Rancho Motel-our roost for these two nights. Tomorrow, another couple will be introduced to the South Rim!