Sedona & Prescott National Forest

Sky Over Dead Horse Ranch Campground - Continuous Jets

I thought I would would at least spend the day in Sedona. There was a ten-mile back coming into the town. I was exhausted before I even did anything. It was close to lunchtime and I found my way to my favorite juicery, The local Juicery. On my last trip to Sedona, five years ago, I’d stopped here several times. They’ve expanded their menu and added a new store in Flagstaff since. I had enjoyed the food so much the first time, that I asked the owner if they had franchise plans.

I drove into town and realized that there were just way to many cars and people. It was spring break and everything was booked. I pulled off the street and stopped in front of the Sedona firehouse. I’d been there for about 10 minutes when a fireman came out. I rolled my window down and said, I’m going to move in a minute. He said you can’t park in front of the firehouse. I explained to him that I was trying to figure out where I could camp that night. I told him I was trying to find a Bureau of Land Management site. It turns out that he used to work for the National Forest Service for 20 years before coming to Sedona.

Statue at The National Forest Service Office in Sedona

We talked for about 15 minutes about traveling and staying at BLM and National Forest Service sites. He explained that the NFS sites are much nicer. It turns out that there is was NFS office near Sedona and he explained how to get there. He told me he had an interview for a promotion in the fire department in thirty minutes. I wished him good luck. He replied, thanks, but I don’t believe in luck. I’ve got this.

I drove out of town, and felt bad for all the people sitting in traffic trying to get into Sedona. I was thinking about going for a hike, but I noticed there were lines just to park the car at all the trailheads. The National Forest Service office was about 10 miles outside of Sedona. I was expecting to find lines of people but it was almost empty. The ranger was extremely helpful. She had worked in many National Forests and gave me a large map that covered all the National Forests, BLMs, Indian Lands, etc. in Northern Arizona. She suggested Prescott National Forest and told me to use recreation.gov to a book a campsite.

I went back to the car and pulled out the computer. I booked two nights at the Prescott National Forest Alto Pit Ohv Campground. Booking was much easier than getting there. My friend google took me 90 minutes into the middle of nowhere. My second attempt, back tracked 30 minutes to a building near a highway. For my third attempt, I pulled out the computer and zoomed in on the location to make sure there was camping at the location. This time it worked.

It was now close to 4:00 pm when I finally arrived at the Alto Pit OHV Campground. I didn’t realize OHV stands for Off Highway Vehicle. When I arrived, I notice several people riding dirt bikes. I also noticed a couple small four wheel all terrain vehicles. Only two of the twelve campsites were occupied. It was very quiet and I had everything setup in 45 minutes.

Alligator Juniper

I was totally exhausted from driving in traffic and going to the wrong location so many times. The air seemed very fresh. After setting up, I notice a tree by the table. It looked like alligator skin. Further research indicated that this was a Alligator Juniper.

Amazingly, after dinner, I had really strong cell coverage and watched a movie before drifting off.