A New Throttle Body and An Unremarkable Trip to Sedona

What you don't know about the Sedona View RV park, where we are staying, is that just below the ridge is a new Ford dealership.  Guess where H was bright and early the next morning...

Yes, that day was devoted to finding out what was going on with the truck.  After hooking the truck up to the analyzing computer, they found that the truck had a defective throttle body.  I have no idea what that is; but I do know that the one we had was the second one since we purchased the truck.  Now we have a third one.  We are just grateful that we were able to get the truck into the shop the same day and that we didn't have to wait for parts.  Our truck scare was unpleasant, but not like the horror stories we sometimes hear about from other travelers.


The next day, we traveled up to Sedona.  The weather was relatively nice and we were looking forward to seeing the town.  I was excited to check out a quilt shop that I'd been reading about, and H was looking forward to getting some beautiful photos.  The plan was to travel up the Oak Creek Canyon first and then come back and visit the town.


As we drove up the canyon, we did see some beautiful scenery.  But they were doing work along the highway, and we were unable to stop and get pictures.  We did stop at one scenic viewpoint and H took a few shots; but the wind was whistling so we didn't hang around long.

When we got back to Sedona, we grabbed a quick lunch and then walked around the town.  I was actually a little disappointed because all the shops just seemed to carry the same souvenirs or overpriced "art".  On top of all that, the quilt shop had closed about six months ago.  Rats!!


On our way out of town, we ducked into the Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village.  This place is meant to mimic a Mexican village, and it was fun to walk around it.  It was late in the afternoon, and many of the shops were closed.  But I could tell that their wares were different from what was available on the main street of Sedona; and we were able to spend time in two delightful shops.  H got to photograph a couple of fountains and some big copper whirligigs, so he was happy.  

My favorite shop was the Kuivato Glass Gallery.  There were so many stunning pieces in there--none of which I could afford.  But the owner was very friendly and let us linger as long as we wanted.  I did buy a pair of earrings before we left.  

I don't know why the whole trip seemed unremarkable. Part of it could be the weather.  They were getting ready for bad weather with snow in the mountains. We think that the highway work in the canyon was related to that.

Also, the vibe is different.  Everyone is worried about what's going on in the world.  Many shops didn't bother to open, and the ones that did open were experiencing very reduced customer traffic.  

So I think we'll give Sedona another shot, another year.  For now, I'll leave you with this fantastic piece of bonded glass.  H did a great job capturing the light!


click to zoom


Comments

Hi Diane/Herb
As always Diane, you do a great job reporting on your experiences and the photographer is pretty good also. I wish we could have hooked up when we were south, maybe next time. Too bad about truck problems they are sometimes very frustrating but it sounds like it was handled rather fast. Be careful traveling back.

Ken
Fara said…
We drove through Sedona on Saturday. There were a lot more people then we were comfortable out and operating in too large of groups for our comforts during this time. I agree it's gorgeous there tho. Next time.
Howard said…
My mom lived in Sedona near her sister after my dad died. Although she had a beautiful view from her windows, Sedona - especially in summer - was a drag. It was hard to get around; so hard she had to allow a lot of extra time to get to church on the east side of town (she lived on the far west edge). When we've walked around town we have been underwhelmed

And don't get me started on the pink jeep tours. There are some beautiful hikes - e.g. Broken Arrow Trail - that provide some beautiful scenery, but then those damn jeeps come roaring up.
Unknown said…
So glad you were able to get the truck fixed. Nice to take that worry off your plate. Safe travels.