FLY LIKE AN EAGLE
Remember when you were a kid and all you wanted to do was fly? The Hualapai Tribe, owners of Grand Canyon West, have made that possible – sort of. The destination debuted a zip line in February that allows thrill seekers to travel at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour while suspended 1,000 feet above the floor of Quartermaster Canyon, one of the Grand Canyon’s numerous side canyons. You and as many as three of your friends can soar side by side simultaneously. First, you’ll climb a 40-foot tower and ride a 1,100-foot line to the first landing pad. Next, you’ll climb a 50-foot tower and soar on a 2,100-foot line. At the end of your ride, you’ll pose for photos with the actual Grand Canyon in the background. If that’s not enough excitement for you, Grand Canyon West includes a Western town with entertainers and a 12-gun shooting gallery, stagecoach and wagon rides, and the skywalk, a glass bridge suspended 4,000 feet above the floor of the Grand Canyon. For those with an appetite, there’s a new Asian-Southwest-fusion restaurant nearby that offers floorto-ceiling views of the canyon’s west rim. All of the attractions were designed to help people make memories, says Ray Martinez, general manager of Grand Canyon West. “Here you can see the Grand Canyon and have a cultural experience with the Hualapai Tribe,” says Ray. “Everyone wants to see the Grand Canyon, but what if you could make that memory even better and have a grand adventure with the skywalk and the zip line? That was the thought behind Grand Canyon West.” There’s no doubt that Grand Canyon West is remote: It’s a fourhour-plus drive from Sedona. But the road to the destination was paved in 2014, and a hop-on-hop-off shuttle takes you from a central parking lot to the ranch, skywalk, zip line and several viewpoints. Tickets for the zip line and viewpoints are $93.31 while tickets to the skywalk, zip line and viewpoints are $114.96. For more information, visit www.grandcanyonwest.com or call 928-769-2636.
GO WILD
Making out with a giraffe might be the quintessential example of forgoing adulthood for a day. Pair that with petting an armadillo named Tucker, feeding a tiger and camping under the stars, and you have the ultimate non-adult day at Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Camp Verde. The 200-acre park celebrates its 30th anniversary on Memorial Day weekend this year. Dean and Prayeri Harrison founded the park in Fountain Hills, Arizona, in 1988. In 2004, that location closed and reopened one year later in Camp Verde. The park’s main attractions include the African Bush Safari where you may indeed kiss a giraffe (trust us, we’ve witnessed it), the Tiger Splash show where Bengal and Siberian tigers romp and play in a large pool, the Predator Feed when caretakers dole out 800 pounds of raw food to hungry animals and the Wildlife Preserve where animals native to the Serengeti lounge in spacious, open-air habitats. There’s also a snake show, and you can make reservations to camp in the park on May 19, surrounded by the animals (you’ll need to bring your own tent and sleeping bags). Dean says Out of Africa puts adults in touch with their inner child on a primal level. “People come to the park and realize they get to be a kid again,” he says as he watches a frolicking baby tiger named Sunrise. “Animals live in the moment, and to understand an animal is to understand a child. Children feel rather than think. So when you’re at the park, you leave the hard wiring of your own mind, forget your troubles and live in the moment like the animals. If you want to know yourself, know an animal. If you want to know who you are, sit down with a mountain lion for a while.” Tickets for Out of Africa start at $33.95 for adults and $18.95 for children. The camp out on May 19 is $79.95 for adults and $49.95 for kids. For more information, call 928-567-2840 or visit www.outofafricapark.com.
Play with the animals at Out of Africa Wildlife Park.
PICK SOME BERRIES
If you grew up in the country, chances are you came home on summer nights with fingertips stained purple and blue from harvesting wild berries (or at least that’s how we imagine it). Did you know that blackberries grow wild along the banks of Oak Creek and in areas along the Mogollon Rim? While you’re at your favorite swimming hole this summer, forage the banks of the creek for the smallish, dark purple berries in July, August and September … or very nicely ask an Oak Creek Canyon local where you can find the best patches and they just might tell you. Just be prepared to get scratched up while you’re harvesting. These blackberry bushes have some nasty thorns. (Berry bushes also attract bears, so be on the lookout.)
FISH FOR DINNER
Are you the type to wax nostalgic about simpler times? Long to get in touch with nature? Then go fishing at the Rainbow Trout Farm where you’re all but guaranteed you won’t come away emptyhanded. People have been fishing at the farm at the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon since the 1950s when it had a single pond and an on-site RV park. The farm has expanded over the years to include 18 acres, two ponds and a picnic area where general manager Lydia Gokey says she’s seen people spend an entire afternoon relaxing under the trees. Here’s how it works. Show up at the farm and the staff will provide everything you need: fishing pole, bait, bucket, net and hooks. Stand on the shore of the pond and see what you can catch. You pay for your fish by the inch. Lydia says fish range from 9 inches all the way up to 22 inches with prices between $8.50 and $14 per fish. The fish are all raised at the farm. They spend about nine months in the hatchery before being moved to the ponds. Once you have your catch (there’s no limit on how many fish can be pulled from the ponds), you can either have it put on ice to take home, or you can spend $0.50 to have the farm clean it for you. There are grills in the picnic area where you can cook it up and enjoy some of the freshest fish to be had in Sedona. (Don’t worry if you forget your grilling supplies – the farm sells grill kits that include lemon, butter, salt, pepper, plates, forks, napkins and foil for only $1.) While the farm attracts plenty of families, Lydia says it’s popular with adults, too. “We hosted a 90th birthday a couple of weeks ago, and we have one gentleman who comes every month to fish,” she says. “There is always a lot of laughter and enthusiasm – and varying degrees of comfort when it comes to touching the fish.” The Rainbow Trout Farm is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 928-282-5799 or visit www.sedonarainbowtroutfarm.com.
Fish at Rainbow Trout Farm in Oak Creek Canyon.
KICK UP YOUR BOOTS
When you walk into the 5,000-square-foot covered barn at Blazin’ M Ranch on the banks of the Verde River, there’s a bucket where you’re instructed to deposit your frown. That should be an indicator of what’s in store for the evening. If you can’t remember the last time you had wholesome, albeit silly, fun, then you should pay a visit to the ranch, which is celebrating its 24th year. Blazin’ M (the M is for Mabery, the ranch’s owners) opens Wednesday through Sunday at 5 p.m., and visitors spend the next hour taking roping lessons, dressing up in costumes in the oldtime photo studio, snapping selfies with farm animals, enjoying rides on a tractor-pulled wagon and tossing back a beer or two in the saloon. Leave time to wander the 3-acre property and take in the views of the Verde River, Jerome and Mingus Mountain. At 6:30 p.m., the dinner bell rings and the doors to the barn open. Everyone takes a seat at picnic tables to enjoy a chuckwagon dinner featuring barbecue ribs, beans and biscuits on tin plates. After dinner, it’s time for the one-hour show. Yuk it up with live music, cowboy poetry, yodelers, corny jokes and audience participation. Before it became Blazin’ M Ranch in October 1994, it was Mabery Ranch, says Lori Mabery, a managing partner. The ranch started out as an organic vegetable farm before a flood in 1993 wiped out the irrigation and the bridge leading to the property. The Mabery family had visited an Old West dinner theater in Colorado, so they decided to reinvent their Cottonwood ranch into something similar. “We started out small and part time, but we sold out for the first three months,” says Lori. Nowadays, the 280-seat barn sees lots of group business, especially since it received its liquor license in 2010. It employs 30 people including five entertainers. Throughout the year, Blazin’ M hosts murder-mystery dinners, holiday shows and a popular, family-friendly New Year’s Eve party. This summer, it will start a children’s theater. “We’re all about wholesome, cross-generational fun,” says Lori. “We tell people that they will leave with a full tummy and a smile on their face.” Tickets for Blazin’ M are $39.95 for adults, $34.95 for seniors and $19.95 for children ages 5 to 12. Children 4 and younger attend free of charge. For more information, call 928-634-0334 or visit www.blazinm.com.
Tour the grounds at Blazin’ M Ranch in Cottonwood.
CREATE ART
Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” There is no shortage of art experiences to be had in Sedona, but if you’re looking for something interactive, take a class, even if it’s just for a couple of hours. Creative Gateways offers two classes this month: Open Studio with Pilisa on May 8 from 1 to 4 p.m. and Suncatchers on May 12 from 1 to 4 p.m. Both take place in the AMusinGlass studio. During the openstudio class, Creative Gateways owner and artist Pilisa Rainbow Lady offers guidance on starting new glass projects or completing existing ones (prior work with fused glass is required). The cost for that class is $10 plus $25 per pound of glass. In Suncatchers, students will create a suncatcher to take home and hang in their window. Tuition for that course is $65. Other offerings this summer teach aspiring artists to make incense holders, wall art, tiles and coasters. Pilisa says creating art might be the ultimate way to take a day off from adulting. “At Creative Gateways, there are plenty of opportunities for our visitors to explore art with the open mind of childhood,” she says. “In the AMusinGlass studio, there are two workshop opportunities each month for visitors to play and create without limitations, like we did as a child. All of these experiences are provided for the enjoyment of all who come by with the expectation of simply taking a break from our ordinary lives.” If you are interested in a medium other than glass, check out Sedona Arts Center’s weekly classes. Beginning May 12, a six-week Pottery Wheel for Beginners course will be taught by instructor Thomas Connery. Tuition is $220 and includes your first 25-pound bag of clay. The classes are taught on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. If it’s your inner millennial you’re seeking, check out iPhoneography taught by SAC’s marketing director, Kelli Klymenko. The one-day workshop teaches amateur photographers how to shoot, edit and share photos using an iPhone or iPad. Basic video techniques will be discussed, too. That class will be taught on June 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $110. “Programs at the arts center are designed to inspire and open adults to the creativity within,” says Vince Fazio, executive director of SAC. “So often adults don’t give themselves permission to explore the idea of using materials in an imaginative way like children do. Classes like Fun with Art and Wine and our numerous painting crash courses – where all materials are included – are meant to take away the barriers to playing and exploring.” For information on Creative Gateways and AMusinGlass studio, call 928-862-4440 or visit www.creativegateways.com. For more information on Sedona Arts Center, call 928-282-3809 or visit www.sedonaartscenter.org.
SLIDE DOWN OAK CREEK CANYON
Yes, the water will be cold. Yes, you want to wear clothing that you don’t care about because it isn’t easy to remove red dirt from bathing-suit bottoms. And yes, you run the risk of a video of your oh-so-graceful slide going viral on the internet. But we guarantee the laughter will be worth it. Slide Rock State Park is consistently named one of the country’s part of the reason the line of cars pouring into the park on summer weekends can be daunting. Save yourself the frustration – and some cash – by visiting the park during the week or right after Labor Day. (The park entrance fee is $20 per vehicle, Monday through Thursday, May 25 through Labor Day and $30 per vehicle, Friday through Sunday, during the same time period.) The “slide” at Slide Rock is 80 feet long and 2.5 to 4 feet wide with a 7-percent decline from top to bottom. Algae on the rocks of the chute make it slippery, so the area feels like Mother Nature’s waterpark. Add to the slide numerous areas ideal for swimming, wading, sunbathing and picnicking, and you’ll forget that you are hundreds of miles from the beach. The people watching at Slide Rock is bar none. There’s just something about a natural waterslide that brings out the child in everyone. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., May 1 through Labor Day (last entry 30 minutes prior to closing). Hours throughout the rest of the year vary. Visit www.azstateparks.com/slide-rock/ for details.
Go for a slide at Slide Rock State Park in Oak Creek Canyon.
