Click to Enlarge

We woke early. It must be something in the Sedona air. After a leisurely drive through the scenery, we stopped for a smoothie and a hippie-style breakfast at Plaza Cafe.

Click to Enlarge

Across the street from that is a wonderful grocery store we wish we had here: New Frontiers. They have a lot of healthy food, vegetarian fare, and organic stuff. We breezed through there, admired the selection, then set on an early jaunt about Sedona.

We wandered about what new age bookstores we could find (all fairly decent, but which are also all completely beaten by the Psychic Eye and Bodhi Tree bookstores found here) and places like Garland's Rugs, which sells frighteningly expensive rugs woven (allegedly) by genuine Native Americans. I might consider paying $7,500 for a floor rug, but only if I was certain the money was going to the makers of it... which I ain't.

Ah. Yes. Tucked away within a touristy-expensive mini-mall of galleries is The Wine Basket: wine and cheese tasting, an espresso bar, and other gourmet delicacies. We whiled away part of the afternoon here sampling wines and trying a cheese-tasting platter. Some of the marvelous stuff we had the good fortune to enjoy:

1997 Vigneti 'La Selvanella' Riserva Chianti Classico (strong berry with an oak finish) Red Dragon Somerdale (semi-soft Welsh cheese with wholegrain mustard with ale... Dave's favorite) Gran Valle Manchego cheese (from manchega sheep's milk) Cheddar (Somerdale) with Port Cheddar with mustard seed

Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge

A small garden lizard eyed our platter while we relaxed, but didn't steal our money or anything. We left the Wine Basket with a bottle of 1998 Penfolds Kalimna Shiraz Bin 28 and a 1998 Fattoria di Petroio Chianti Classico. We also checked out "Compass," which sells a lot of rather neat old antique maps... for $400 or more. We then went back to the hotel to escape from the 95-degree weather and to crash for a bit before our afternoon/evening Vortex tour.

BIANCA: Bon jour, Monsieur Lizard!

After a short rest we embarked on the Spirit Steps tour with our two guides, Tarenta and Albeim. We honestly do not have much to speak of on this, nor many pictures to show, but it was very, very rewarding and we intend to explore further upon later trips to Sedona. We had excellent conversation, a bit of mind exploration, and some history.

Photos - Click to Enlarge

We returned from the Spirit Steps tour rather late. We hugged and thanked our friendly guides and looked for a place still open for dinner, which is a bit difficult in early-to-rise Sedona. We found the Cowboy Club, recommended to us by a friend, and were served by two clever and happy people named George and Marisa. We tore through the appetizer sampler, which consisted of rattlesnake brochettes, buffalo brochettes, and cactus fries. All very odd to someone not from the locale, but all very good and served with a trio of dipping sauces. Dave had a buffalo burger - that's real buffalo, not just some American-sounding ad campaign - and sarsaparilla.

DAMAGE REPORT: Dave slashed his toe with the bathroom door.