New Car - 2022 Honda Pilot

An update to finish out the accident saga… We purchased a replacement vehicle today, a 2022 Honda Pilot. A little bit bigger, which will be helpful for traveling and when the grandkids come to visit.

Oh, and the middle seats are heated! I love that, since that's where I sit when we travel. 😍😍

All of us are continuing to heal and doing well. No serious complications for any of us. Continuing to praise God for His protection and grace. We appreciate everyone’s prayers.

Last days in Sedona

We are home, and of course life is busy, so I didn't post about our Sunday until now. Sunday was another great day.. We all slept great and Lois was feeling much better. After church we went to Cottonwood for brunch, a little shopping and we found a geocache. Then back to the room where Jon watched football, Lois relaxed, and I went for another hike. I’ve never hiked the trails to the north of our timeshare (that I remember), so I headed that way. I did the teapot trail to Sugarloaf Summit Loop. Very nice 2 mile trail. Almost 5 miles when I added on the walk to and from the trailhead. It was really wonderful to see up close everything I took pictures of the day before on my airport hike. And to look back from the summit and see the airport.

My first view of coffee pot rock as I walked up the hill through the housing area.

Chimney rock. We’re pretty sure it’s also called three fingers rock. We remember from a previous tour that from the other side it’s actually three fingers sticking up.

Coffee pot and Thunder Mountain.

From the summit, a view of the airport where I hiked yesterday and all the landmarks on the other side of it. pretty cool that I basically walked all the way over there and all the way back this direction between the two days.

Chimney rock, I think.

Close-up of Thunder Mountain. I remember from a tour that that is a treacherous place to hike. It is called Thunder Mountain because it can be really scary. If you’re up there when it’s thundering. At least one tour guide has told us that lots of people get rescued from there every year.

Met some hikers from Virginia and we took each other‘s pictures in front of coffee pot. You can see why it’s called coffee pot.

A map of the area that shows you a lot of the landmarks I saw while hiking. 

Sunday evening we went to Redwall distillery. A few years ago I found this place right after it opened. I was looking on Maps for something to do, and there it was - a new distillery. Now it has become one of Jon’s favorite places in Sedona. He almost always visits when we are in town. Especially in the evening, when you can see the sun go down.

Pictures from Redwall.

Once again, I am thanking God for his protection and the way this vacation has turned out, despite the terrifying start. We got home Monday, Tuesday Jon played golf and I did some errands and tasks for church. Now let the car shopping begin!        

 

Feeling better: Hiking, vineyards and breweries in Sedona

 Another post I'm copying from FB. So if you've already read it there, you don't need to read this again. 

We are definitely feeling better 48 hours after the accident! I was able to do a hike from our timeshare around the Sedona airport and back. I decided today that this is my favorite hike in Sedona for many reasons. First of all, I can walk out my door and do the hike. Second, there’s a good amount of elevation gain, which I love. And third, I get a view of the whole valley as I walk around the airport. There are clear shots of many of the major landmarks in the area.

In the meantime, Jon and Lois went to the Oak Creek vineyards and the Sedona Base Camp brewery. Lois continues to be pretty sore, but she can manage it with over-the-counter pain meds. So we continue to be grateful.

I tried to find a geocache I looked for two years ago and couldn't find. Non-geocachers might not understand these comments: I looked at recent logs and got some very good tips on what to look for. But I never could find the "silver bison tube" in the bush. I probably spent ten minutes looking. It just confirmed that I pretty much hate bison tubes in trees and bushes. Like looking for a needle in a haystack.

First of many beautiful views. This is towards the beginning of the hike, looking north. When I'm hiking, my eyes are on the trail. When I look up and see the view, it's always breathtaking. I kept wanting to take pictures, but I realized pictures don't change very much as I hike.

Same view a little further down the trail.

Another view.

The first view as I crested the ridge hiking up the hill.

This was the start of the views from the south side of the airport. The three major landmarks are Cathedral Rock, Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock. You can figure out which one is which from the shapes.

Those same three landmarks from a different spot. Actually, as I look, there is a fourth landmark here. I'm not sure what it is...remind me, someone.

The view from the east side.

A little further along the trail.

Now looking north.

Heading back down the trail, still looking north.

This is more north-northwest.

There was quite a bit of ice on the trail. Even though the temp was in the forties, in the shade, water was frozen. I was glad for my poles, and doubly kept my eyes on the trail.

This gives you some idea of the hike route.

The summary.

Jon and Lois's "small" cheese board at Oak Creek Vineyard. Made a great lunch for two people.

Samplers at the vineyard.

Again, we are so grateful we are doing well. More adventures tomorrow. 

 For this post, I'm copying my FB post. It summarizes the day well. 

Praising God for his protection today. Driving to Sedona for a few days of relaxing and hiking. Coming down I 17, about 12:30 pm, just before the turn off to Sedona, a car in front of us must have hit ice and started spinning, swerving and he ended up driving up the left hand berm against the flow of traffic. Jon’s excellent driving kept us from impacting anything… But did not prevent the cars behind us from hitting us. As cars were hitting us, I was praying over and over “God protect! God protect.!” All I could think was that we might not survive and many others might be seriously injured or killed. During this whole process, maybe two or three minutes, a semi went barreling by in the middle of the road. All we can think is he knew if he braked he would lose control of the truck. And he apparently made it through with no problems. Which is a major praise, because the semi added to this mix would not have been good.

The end result… Several cars totaled, including ours. From what a sheriff told Jon, 14 cars were involved. Lois was transported to the hospital, I rode in the ambulance. She has three lacerations on her skull, and 21 stitches. Otherwise we are both fine. Sore and shaken up, but nothing broken! And from what everybody said, she was the worst injury.

We were able to get a rental car and we've settled in our timeshare. Jon got us broccoli, cheddar soup, rolls, and salami for dinner. We are grateful beyond words! We will reassess tomorrow, better thinking we will relax here a couple days before going home. Maybe no hiking. We expect we will be a little sore…

relaxing in our timeshare while Jon watches the Fiesta Bowl

Today my friend Barb Taylor and I hiked the Pima Canyon trail. It was a beautiful day, not too hot or cold. There was a little bit of water in spots. And so many interesting saguaro!

Barb knew there was a crested saguaro. We didn't find it until the way back down. It's less than a mile from the trailhead. 

This looks like a mother hugging her child. 

The wind in the trees near the bottom was so cool. At first it sounded like running water. Then we were looking for aspen. We think these are cottonwood. 

This one looked cooler in person. But with the mountain in the back and viewed through the trees, it's a nice picture. 

The picture doesn't show off the water well, but it was there!

Barb and me - proof we made it to the dam. 

Welcome to Kimminau Travels - Jon & Trish's travel blog

 Jon created this blog for us. We're headed to Sedona this week, and I hope to use the blog to easily post about our trip. To whet your appetite, here's some pictures of Lois and me on the Faye Canyon trail in 2022. That's one of the trails we hope to do this week.