An interesting night. A young German couple had locked themselves out of their rental car. After exploring all other possibilities they borrowed our little hammer and broke the small window in the back door. Not a great outcome but at least they got in. It was 8:30pm and they were sleeping in their car. We swapped addresses and hope to see them next year when they come to Australia. We then tucked into some smores before hitting the sack.

Leisa got the washing done this morning before we left to head to Sedona. It was a pretty drive down through the valley and the road was packed with Sunday visitors enjoying a beautiful afternoon. We arrived in Sedona to find that it was a tourist haven. Galleries and souvenir shops run along either side of the road for a kilometre or so with plenty of customers. We set up camp 6 miles back up the valley on the river. Beautiful spot. After watching a couple catch rainbow trout in the river we headed back into town for the sunset which is supposed to be spectacular. It turned out to be a bit ordinary as the cloud cover came in. The sky was great but the rocks didn’t get the colour they are known for. Dinner was interesting with a visit to the Red Planet Diner. This place was fitted out with red lighting and full on UFO gear everywhere. The seats glittered and the whole effect was pretty good. Unfortunately the food wasn’t as good as the atmosphere. We headed back to camp and some more smores to finish off the night. We did get a visit from a couple of skunks while we made smores. Thankfully we didn’t upset them too much.

This morning was spent packing up the tent for the last time. A tear in the eye as we rolled and stuffed out bags and tents into the big duffle. To be honest the tents have been great and we have slept better in them then some of the hotels. We then checked out Sedona with a walk along the shops and a couple of purchases. We also drove around a loop which takes you around some of the better views. It seems that every house here has to blend in with the surroundings. Hence they are all rock red. After some more quick touring we started the drive to Scottsdale.

Scottsdale is part of Phoenix with a population of 3.3 million. After the check in we walked to the old part of town which has the old western feel about it. We really enjoyed the boot shop which only sold western style boots. Grace now has that boot scootin’ look and everyone was tempted to try a pair on. They literally had thousands of pairs. We continued onto the Fashion Mall which is the largest mall in Arizona. We only scratched the surface but enjoyed looking around and picking up some bargains. Dinner at Denny’s and the kids and Leisa are now having a swim in the pool. It is unseasonally warm here and even the locals are complaining. They had 40 degrees celsius here yesterday. Tomorrow is a big drive as we head to Anaheim ready for Disneyland.

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