12/8/11 - Red Rock State Park

There are 27 state parks in Arizona.  Rather than hand over cash for entry fees every time we wanted to visit, we bought an annual pass.  (I told George it could be my Christmas present…well, it can be, but I’m sure Santa will bring me something else too.)

Red Rock State Park is just outside Sedona, AZ, with all these wonderful RED ROCKS!

Out on the trail, we crossed Oak Creek at the Black Hawk Crossing.  I really prefer bridges with handrails…

I think this looks like a prickly pear caterpillar.  (FYI:  prickly pear stickers are hard to get out.  Apparently I'm supposed to carry tweezers on hikes in the desert.)

We squiggled back and forth on the switchbacks on Eagle’s Nest Trail to the overlook.  There's a nice view of Cathedral Rock from there.

A few more zigzags on the downhill, then along the park boundary to loop back.  The trails are really well marked.

We saw the House of Apache Fire up on the hill—and hadn’t a clue what it was. 

When we got back to the Visitor Center, I asked about the house on the hill.  Turned out it had been the home of Jack & Helen Frye. He was the President of Pan Am during WWII. She lived there after their divorce.  After her death, the land was eventually traded to the state of Arizona.  The ranger said they need $1.2 million to restablize the house.  That's a whole lot of annual passes!

More pictures of Red Rock State Park