As a last minute decision, based on advice from folks we talked to, we decided to spend a few days in the Sedona area on our way from Flagstaff to Phoenix. We’re glad we did, and we’re adding Sedona to our list of places-to-come-back-to! We explored the touristy shops downtown and found a great boon docking spot just outside the city.
On our way to Sedona, we stopped back at the Flagstaff KOA where we previously stayed. We had ordered a mini vacuum that was supposed to arrive while we were staying there with 2 days wiggle room. Well, something went wonky with the shipping and it took them 4 days longer than expected to deliver it, at which time we had already moved on. Therefore, we had to make a pit stop to pick up our package. And, while we were there we used their dump station (because as we learned a couple days ago, the grey and black tank freeze making us unable to dump) since it was a bit warmer by the time we reached Flagstaff compared to that morning at the Grand Canyon.
From there we followed the hair-pin twisting roads to Sedona. On the drive between Flagstaff and Sedona the landscape started feeling a little more familiar and homey with the full height trees, some fall colors and even some grass on the ground. Of course as we got closer to Sedona those vibrant red rocks starting dominating the landscape making it less homey but certainly a beautiful sight!
Downtown Sedona
We found free RV parking downtown. We learned that Sedona is absolutely 100% a tourist town. However, we have noticed we often like the hustle bustle of these kinds of towns every now and again. They have unique little shops with locally made products and a little bit of everything you might need or want, for a high price of course. They even had camouflaged trash cans to class things up.
No trash cans here! Just beautiful red rocks. 
The main drag
The main strip was decorated in a Christmas spirt and had a little section of beautiful xylophones for passers-by to play giving the streets a cheery backdrop of ringing tones. I dream of getting one of those for my yard in Portland and having people play a little tune on their daily walks. Ahh, a lady’s got to dream, right?
Ginger Bread Man 
Xylophone
We found a random ‘traveling zoo?’ on the strip as well. It was really neat and also very odd. Somebody, and it wasn’t very clear who, brought their numerous pet snakes of various sizes as well as a fluffy black bunny to the sidewalk. All the tops were off the cages and people were free to pick up any of them at their will. Interesting… The girls and I pet the bunny and Justin held one of the smaller snakes! Oh my! He said when the snake flicked it’s tongue out on his arm, it really tickled. We took his word on it.
Bunny 
Snake
We indulged on some ice cream and pie which was super tasty. On the way back to Dimes, we found a giant hedge of rosemary. Perfect timing! I was in need of some for our Thanksgiving potatoes. Thanks Sedona!! It is definitely a place we’d like to explore more. This was just a tiny snippet of a preview.
Boondocking
That evening we found a camping spot on National Forest Road 525 just outside Sedona. The weather had warmed up dramatically from Grand Canyon and even Flagstaff. The daytime high’s were 60’s and the low was 40*. We soaked in a lovely sunset with a full moon and settled down for the evening.
We stayed in this spot the next day and enjoyed our Thanksgiving here.