April 5, 2015

Camping in the Coconino National Forest near Sedona

We were up early and showered at the RV park in Cottonwood, filled up with water and dumped our holding tanks, then headed off to do some back country camping! We drove into Sedona for a coffee and to look around a bit.  At the coffee shop our server ask us what we were up to and long story short recommended camping in ‘Red Rock Country.  And that is what we did. We headed back west turning onto Forest Rd#525 which goes into what is called ‘Red Rock Country’, located in the Coconino National Forest. Once again our National Park Pass came in handy as it covers fees on this site as well! All along the road is what’s called ‘Dispersed Camping’ which means you find a spot to pull off and just camp! My kind of camping!

Our campsite in Camping in Red Rock Country

There’s not a lot of possible sites … but we found one and parked/leveled the RV and started off on a hike up the sizable hill next to the site. It was rough going with no actual trail and lots of cactus/yucca waiting to get you! Notes about hiking in this country … everything out here seems to want to grab, stab, bite or sting you … sometimes all at once! The beauty of the country though makes up for the harshness … the red rocks around here are amazing!

hiking in the cactus

Hiking in the Cactus

Hiking off Loy Butte Rd (Forest Rd #525)

Prickly Pear Cactus

Back to the campsite and decided that the wind and dust kicked up by the wind off the road was not going to work out, so we set on down the road to scout for another place – which we found! It’s still windy but we’re off the road further and don’t have the dust as bad. It’s a beautiful spot and should be a lot quieter than our last place! (Although we just had one of those ‘quad’ things roar past … it seems to be a real pastime down here. I hope there’s not a lot more … they’re VERY loud and kick up the dust something fierce!)

Enjoying the evening in Red Rock Country

The wind is once again a constant. It’s so dry here that my hands feel like 2 pieces of paper and your spit dries up before it can hit the ground. (Not that I spit!) Even using lotion only helps for about a minute before it’s absorbed into your skin and then feels just like it did before using it. I’m surprised that both of us haven’t had nosebleeds yet … it’s just a matter of time tho!

*Note … I heard a fellow say that the humidity is only 12% … no wonder my skin is cracking!