Day 6 – May 24, 2024 – Tucson to Sedona, AZ

After a leisurely morning, we headed out about 11 a.m. to head to Sedona. We decided to take a more scenic route than driving I10.

We stopped in Mesa, AZ and had lunch at one of the places Guy Fieri recommended on his DDD show – Republica Empanada. They are known for Arizona’s largest selection of South American-style savory empanadas. They had a lunch special going on and we choose to get four different empanadas – chicken, pernil (slow roasted seasoned pork), bean & cheese, and achiote potato (potato seasoned with annatto seed). It came with a side of beans, rice, and cabbage salad. They were so good! They were light and it was not a heavy pastry like some we’ve had in the past. We finished up and headed on our way.

So we thought taking the scenic route was a good idea, knowing it would add time to our drive. It is usually a 3 ½ hour drive from Tucson, but we got to drive through the mountains and the scenery was great. We did run into some traffic right before we hit Payson and still not sure what happened, but it put us behind another 30 minutes. It ended up being a 7-hour drive, with stops. We got in right before 6 p.m. and headed to Whole Foods to pick up something to eat and grab a few things before heading to our AirBNB.

We unpacked, ate our sushi (yes, I know, but it was quick and already made and we were hungry) and then had a glass of wine sitting out on the back porch. We called it an early night.

Tomorrow we will do some hiking on the local trails within walking distance of our AirBNB and then in the evening we have a 4-hour railroad trip on the Grape Train with the Verde Valley Railway. That should be interesting! Nite all!