Day Five - Sneaking in Sedona Arizona

	Today was supposed to be a rest and travel day out to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The weather in the area had been quite mild as of late so Cris decided that we could squeeze in a quick spin through Sedona before packing up and heading northward. We were up at O-DAMN early and heading south arriving in Sedona at 6:30AM. I was quite stoked even before we got out of the truck as the red rock buttes and other formations were absolutely incredible in the early morning sunlight. Sedona had been on my MTB to-do list for quite a few years and it did not disappoint even though we only spent a short time there.
	We did the Cathedral Loop counter-clockwise riding up the Bell-Rock pathway and then cutting under the road and working our way out to Budda Beach and then beyond. I brought the long-legged bike out for this ride since there was not much of any penalty for having a heavier bike in this area. I loved the single track out here and while most of it was not too technical there were certainly spots that raised the pucker factor, particularly a tight set of switchbacks that were challenging with the long wheelbase of my stead of choice for the day.
	The break at Oak Creek (aka Budda Beach) was really nice and totally unexpected with plenty of shade trees and plenty of water in the creek. Beyond Budda beach there was some pretty technical climbing sections before making our way out to Verde Valley School Road which we took back into town.
	If all the riding in the Sedona was a football field we explored the one-yard line. To quote our Governator, “I’ll be back.” We swung by the Bike and Bean for some caffeine (espresso and bike parts what a combo) before beating feet back north.

More Pictures from the day
 

Back in Flagstaff we made quick work of hooking up the RV and rolling out of town. Our next stop was Jacob Lake, the gateway to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  The drive was quite scenic and we spent a large portion of it on Navaho land. It was a cool 68 degrees when we arrived at the RV park at Jacob Lake around 5PM.  We had things setup pretty quickly and enjoyed another exceptional dinner whipped up by our host that evening.  I had been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon twice before, but this would be Heath and Fady’s first time to the Grand Canyon so we were all excited.

On to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon