Zip, zip, zip, zip and zip......

We started off Monday leaving Sedona Pines around 10:30 am to drive in to see Old Town Cottonwood, not knowing what to expect, but came away wanting to go back for more.  Our appointment to zip line was at 1 pm, and by the time we reached the old town area it was around 11, and we needed to start our drive over to "Out of Africa" no later than 12:15 to be there by 12:45 check in time, so our time here was limited.  After parking we walked down Main Street a couple of blocks before finding a cool antique type shop called "Checkered Past" that looked interesting, and spent about 20 minutes browsing....I found a couple of tools I may go back for on Wednesday.....by this time it was 11:30 and we were getting hungry.....just next door to "Checkered Past" is a little cafe called "The Red Rooster" which TLE said had good reviews, so we went in.....they had al fresco dining which gets at least 3 stars from me, even before the food is served.  Well, the food was spectacular......TLE and I split their BLT-MB sandwich, and their Organic Mixed Greens salad.  Yelp, Trip Advisor and Urban Spoon give them 4-4.5 stars, and I would have to say we give them the same.

Next stop on our way out of town was the local Goodwill to drop off some clothing, etc. that we were no longer using.....we had about 5 minutes to browse, but saw nothing we couldn't live without, so we continued our trek to "Out of Africa" arriving there about 20 minutes til 1.  Our guides, Nando and Kayla, were very entertaining and kept us all laughing throughout our 90 minute zip lining adventure.  

All in all there are 5 zip lines in the tour, the longest being just over 1/4 mile long.  In spite of our efforts to avoid a windy day, the wind returned just as we were climbing the first tower to start our adventure....oh well. In our group of 8 TLE volunteered to go first.....I could tell she was a little pensive, but she just picked her feet up and zoomed away into the wind.

The whole adventure takes place above the wild animal exhibits (giraffes, zebra, gazelle, lions, rhinos, tigers and bears, etc.).....nothing like the thought of falling into the tiger exhibit to add a little extra thrill to the day.....:D

We both got the hang of it pretty quickly, and by the 3rd zip line I was "standing" on my head......

The 5th and final zip line is the longest and they have 3 lines running parallel to one another.....TLE and I went as a group.....this was by far the fastest zip line of them all, and we really came into the landing area "hot" as they say, but no people or small animals were harmed this day.

A pretty good day if we don't say so ourselves......

Our "gang", plus our guides......Nando and Kayla are on the far right of this picture.

We thanked our hosts for getting us through the adventure with great humor, and skill then headed off to our car.....it was only 2:40 and we were not ready to go home, so we headed east on 260 past I-17 to "Montezuma's Castle National Monument" near Camp Verde.......we had heard there were some cliff dwellings there and it was only 15 miles so we both said "Why not?".

One of the things I love about National Parks is we get in for free with our Golden Age passes.  We got them just after we had both turned 62 down on Padre Island for $10 each....that's the life time price.....one payment of $10 per person.  The money we have saved in "entrance fees" is approached a couple hundred dollars.  

The actual cliff dwellings are just a short walk from the visitor's center......the walk ways are all paved.   Apparently, until 1951 you could still climb ladders up to the dwellings and walk through them, but they ended that due to the impact it was having on the cliff dwellings.....now you can only view them from a distance.

We spent about an hour walking around the site just enjoying the balmy breezes and the sense of timelessness you feel in places like this.  Even though the park service does an admirable job in providing descriptions of how life was, it is still difficult to imagine what it must have been like to live at that time (1400's) in these types of accommodations. 

The drive home took about 40 minutes......we both remarked at how rich this area is in history and things to do and see.  We could easily spend a month here, but it will be time to move on in a few days.

Thanks for stopping by!