After leaving Winslow, we headed west on the 40 and then down the 89 to Sedona. The Missus had really enjoyed hiking in Sedona during Her roadtrip and wanted to torture me to enjoy some of those hikes. Wow was the place crowded with tourists! And there seemed to this interesting vibe…almost like Lahaina meets New Age, that I got from the place.
I did enjoy our accommodations which was close to everything downtown, our dinner destination for the next night was just steps away. And the location while being close to everything had convenient parking and was pretty quiet.
After checking in, we headed out to do some shopping in the Uptown area….man, there were a ton of tourist traps here. After passing shop after shop of "stuffs", we finally found one where we could find some good gifts.
We enjoyed shopping here and purchased gifts for folks back home. The staff was also quite knowledgeable.
After which we headed back to the room to relax and refresh.
I had made dinner reservations at a place recommended to me by an acquaintance. It was located a bit over a mile down state highway 89A named Mariposa. Well, because the Missus thought that I hadn't had enough exercise, She decided that we needed to walk there. The walk wasn't bad, though we were the only folks actually walking. And after taking the right where 89A turns right and 179 goes straight it seemed like we were walking on the freeway. For a place that had been described to me as being "spiritual" they sure seemed to have a lot of large strip malls!
We found the restaurant, walked up past the parking lot and entered.
The place was quite busy and many parties looked like they were here to celebrate various occasions.
The menu featured "tapas" styled dishes, grilled red meat, interesting sounding Latin influenced mains, and a host of sides The service was a bit on the "cold" side, at least to us. Apparently he knew folks on his other tables and spent his time with them and barely uttered a complete sentence to us.
We chose a couple of "tapas", a main, and some side dishes for our "family style" meal.
First up was the Pulpo Parilla ($26).
We were a bit surprised at the prices, which seemed on the "high" end of things; but this was a good sized plate. The octopus was nicely cooked and hit a nice balanced texture, toothsome, but not overly chewy. In terms of flavor, it was again nicely balacned in terms of sodium. The garbanzo bean puree was nice and hearty and the shredded fennel added an interesting anise flavor to things. This was, by far, the best dish of the evening. We also enjoyed the Biquinho Peppers; which weren't overly hot, but it really brought a bit of spice to the dish.
The Gaucho Plate ($22) arrived next.
The chorizo was a bit too mild in terms of spices….it really could have used a bit more chili in it. The bread was a bit on the crumbly side for our taste. The best item on the plate were the butter beans which which had a nice, firm exterior, but were quite creamy inside.
The one main we ordered was the Veggie Nirvana ($28). After having those pretty hefty tapas, we cracked up when this arrived as it was actually smaller than the previous dishes.
This was a bit overdone in terms of having so many things going on; the Romesco Sauce, black beans, pepitas, and cheese overpowered any subtle smokiness from the roasted poblano.
We also ordered the Wood Roasted Mushrooms ($12).
This was fine, if a bit on the bland side.
The most disappointing dish was the Roasted Cauliflower with Romesco ($10).
The cauliflower had been charred, but was still quite hard and for some reason, didn't seem to be seasoned. As I mentioned previously; not a fan of the Romesco sauce as it really didn't have that "zippy", garlic-smoky-mildly spicy and tangy flavors I enjoy.
Overall, well….this felt like a meal in a very "corporate" restaurant…..for some reason it reminded me of eating, in say, a Fleming's???
I had read about the wonderful view, but it was past sundown when we arrived so I can't comment on that.
Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill
700 West Hwy 89A
Sedona, AZ 86336
We had a quiet walk back to our room. I had started noticing random items on our walk back that sometimes looked a bit out of place. Like what is this Torii doing here?
Maybe I missed something in the darkness?
The next morning the Missus wanted to show me one of Her favorite hikes in the area. It's the West Fork of Oak Creek. We got there early and found parking and paid the $11 fee.
It is a nice hike and I loved the rock formations. Now this is what I envision when I think of Sedona!
The hike was a bit over 6 1/2 miles round trip and wasn't too bad.
There were 13 river crossings though! But I managed to make it without falling into the river once….much to the Missus's disappointment. Just kidding.
Not too many people hiking on this morning; though it seemed like folks were arriving as we were leaving.
We passed some ruins as we were leaving the trail.
I was curious and walked over to the sign.
From 1926 to 1968 Mayhew Lodge stood here. The cabins saw visitors like Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Stewart, Walt Disney, and Clark Gable. You can read more about it here. In 1968 the Mayhew family sold the lodge to the U.S. Forest Service and in 1980 a fire consumed the buildings, leaving only the remains we can see today. It's interesting the things that you run across…..
As folks started arriving; we knew it was time for us to leave…….and time for me to have a break and maybe even a nap?
Thanks for stopping by!
And that couple was the folks from that new yellow Corvette. We were just going to take a stroll on the Devil's Bridge and maybe do a selfie. But the really nice guy told me; "I'm going to rest here a while, so why don't you walk on over and I'll take a picture of you!" And he didn't take just one photo, but an entire set! You know, people like him really do make travels just so much better!
