Crescent Moon Ranch. Photo by Deb Weinkauff.
CELEBRATE THE GREAT OUTDOORS AT CRESCENT MOON RANCH
Sedona is great year-round, but there’s something particularly magical about fall. The crisp air. The changing leaves, and of course, the city’s famed red rocks. We love to pack a lunch and dine at Crescent Moon Ranch – one of Sedona’s most photographed sites. This place is a true city treasure. It offers plenty of things to love about Sedona: Oak Creek, Cathedral Rock and natural beauty all around. Although the city is home to much tougher hikes, a stroll around this area is so soothing.
Crescent Moon Ranch. Photo courtesy of Coconino National Forest, Arizona.
If you really want to soak it all up, you can even stay overnight in a three bedroom, three bathroom home that’s part of Crescent Moon Ranch. The Forest Service restored this home, which dates back to 1938. Just a few steps from the ranch house is a homestead barn that was once home of John Lee, a cattleman who settled this place back in 1880.
Museum of Northern Arizona. Photo by Donavan Seschillie.
TAKE THE KIDS TO THE MUSEUM OF NORTHERN ARIZONA
Learn more about the history of our dynamic region at the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA). If you’re looking for a family-friendly activity, the museum also caters to children. Best of all? Kids ages 9 and younger receive free admission. The museum recommends visiting during non-peak hours if you’re with children. Head to the museum’s website to find plenty of scavenger hunts you can print out and even a MNA Kids Map you can check out. The scavenger hunts include pictures of ears of corn, gourds, volcanic rocks or broken pottery and ask kids to count the number of each item they can find in each gallery. If they need breaks, the museum is home to the Discovery Room where they can participate in quiet activities like reading, watching videos or doing puzzles.
Museum of Northern Arizona. Photo courtesy of the Museum of Northern Arizona.
Children also can take in some fresh air and run around the Jamie Major Golightly Courtyard. The museum is surrounded by Flagstaff’s beautiful forests, and kids can enjoy the landscape on the nearby Rio de Flag Nature Trail, an amphibian pond, see lush gardens or play on the Cheshire Park Playground. When you’re back at home, the museum also has plenty of online programming like an annual junior art exhibition for kids. Visit musnaz.org for more information.
Theatrikos Theatre Company. Photo courtesy of Theatrikos Theatre Company
SEE LIVE THEATER AT THEATRIKOS THEATRE COMPANY IN FLAGSTAFF
Since 1972, Theatrikos Theatre Company has supplied the residents of Flagstaff with stellar live theater. The nonprofit company bounced around from venue to venue until finding a permanent theater back in 1989. Today, visitors can residents alike can enjoy six MainStage productions annually. If we’re in Flagstaff and we’ve got time, we always make a point of seeing a show at the downtown Flagstaff theater. From Oct. 6 to 22, Theatrikos is putting on “Stage Kiss.” From Nov. 24 to Dec. 17, theater-goers can enjoy a special production of “A Christmas Carol: A Twisted Musical Comedy.” Theatrikos has special plays just for kids as part of its TheatrKids including camps, the musical “Matilda” and “Puffs,” a comedic retelling of the Harry Potter series. In partnership with the Sedona International Film Festival, Theatrikos also shows films too. We enjoy supporting an organization that has been an important part of Flagstaff for 50 years.
Private Vortex Room at Amara Resort & Spa. Photo by Derek von Briesen.
INDULGE IN PRIVATE DINING
If you’re looking to throw a lavish celebration, consider booking the new private Vortex Room at Amara Resort & Spa in Uptown Sedona. Amara’s on-site restaurant, SaltRock Kitchen, will craft a three or four course specialty menu intended for 10 to 35 people. Lunch and dinner are offered. Some sample dinner menu items include lobster al pastor tacos, short rib tacos, butternut squash relleno, organic chicken adobo and olive oil cake. The private room features red rock views through double doors that open to Amara’s courtyard and high-quality paintings of the natural landscape created by local artists hanging on the walls. During the crisp fall and winter nights, guests can gather around the hotel’s outdoor firepits.
SaltRock Kitchen. Photo courtesy of Amara Resort & Spa.
Another private dining option in town is Chef Jordan Rhode, who specializes in creating private dinner parties for his guests. His dinners typically start at three courses and go up from there. His food is inspired by what’s in season.
SaltRock Kitchen. Photo courtesy of Amara Resort & Spa.
Check out some of Jordan’s creations on his Facebook and Instagram pages using the handle outofsoup. In one recent post, he posted a colorful salad featuring green, yellow, purple and white.
Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria. Photo courtesy of Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria.
ENJOY WINE AND THE SCENERY AT COTTONWOOD’S MERKIN VINEYARDS HILLTOP WINERY & TRATTORIA
Merkin Vineyards is a major player in the Arizona wine scene, and the winery’s presence is about to expand in a big way. Slated to open on Oct. 6 is a new facility in Cottonwood (specifically 760 Verde Heights Drive, just a few steps from Main Street in Old Town Cottonwood) that promises to be something special. Spread across seven acres, the full name of the ambitious project is Caduceus Cellars Hilltop Facility and VSC Ventura Room and Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria. Visitors can start their adventure at the Merkin Vineyards Pocket Park Gelateria, located at the base of the facility. As you might expect from the name, look forward to trying out fresh gelato made by Kelley E. Foy – a previous Open Portfolio featured artist. It’s also here where you can nab a token to take the Hilltop Tram all the way to the top. The tram is a nod to the area’s past as a copper mining destination. At the top of the hill, visitors will find The Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria, which will feature a winery and barrel room, on-site greenhouse and bottle shop, and serve as the new home of Merkin Vineyards’ restaurant the Trattoria.
Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria. Photo courtesy of Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria.
Chef Chris Smith will lead the kitchen of this 6,600-square-foot restaurant that will be home to a central bar, an outdoor patio and impressive views of the entire Verde Valley. Food-wise, anticipate handmade pizzas and wood-oven pizzas. The neighboring Caduceus Cellars Hilltop Facility & VSC Ventura Room will feature a 9,500 squarefoot production facility, a 4.5-acre vineyard consisting of Graciano, Tempranillo and Garnacha grape varietals and a new Velvet Slippers Club (VSC) private tasting room, which is available for reservation only. Private tastings and tours will be offered. The project’s goal is to showcase high-quality Arizona wine. “In the many years I’ve been working towards this moment, one of the things I discovered when it comes to bridging the hurdle of exposing people to Arizona wine is context,” said winemaker Maynard James Keenan. “So by putting a place like this in the middle of Cottonwood with five acres of vines, to winery facilities with a full greenhouse and a full kitchen, all the context becomes visible, and you kind of break down the barriers of whatever preconceptions you have of Arizona wines.”
Nashwa Farms Equestrian Center. Photo courtesy of Nashwa Farms Equestrian Center.
CELEBRATE THE AREA’S RICH AGRICULTURE HERITAGE
Northern Arizona has a rich agriculture history too. If you want to experience this for yourself, you can visit places like Camp Verde’s Nashwa Farms Equestrian Center. This is a full-service boarding facility where people can store their horses and see some of the stallions that call this place home. The full-size, lighted arena can be rented out for events too. Nashwa also grows four different types of hay. Campers who bring their horses can also camp with them at select locations in Sedona, Montezuma Castle and along the Verde River. Best of all? You can book a free one-hour farm tour if you’d like to see this place in person.
Nashwa Farms Equestrian Center. Photo courtesy of Nashwa Farms Equestrian Center.
Although not open to the public just yet, Rancho Almasomos is another agriculture destination. The 131-acre ranch in Cornville is biodynamic – meaning the farmers and workers don’t use chemicals to farm and use nutrient-rich soil to grow nutrient-rich crops. The ranch has three fields and one orchard where apricot, apple and persimmons trees have been planted. Rancho Almasomos claims to be the first in Arizona that is biodynamic. Animals you might see include Punkin’, a donkey, Pie, a mini horse, chickens, three goats, a cow and a ranch dog.
Nashwa Farms Equestrian Center. Photo courtesy of Nashwa Farms Equestrian Center.
Even though it’s not currently open to the public, keep this place on your radar. It hopes to one day be open to the public and has held events in the past. The ranch held an Earth Day celebration back in April.
Goldenstein Gallery. Photo by Cucoloris, CucolorisLLC.com.
EXPERIENCE THE ARTS IN A NEW, PERSONAL WAY
Sedona is an artistic town that’s home to plenty of creators and galleries. If you’d like to experience the arts in a more personal and exclusive way, consider booking a Sedona Custom Art Tour with Cobalt Escapes. On this three-hour tour, you’ll go inside the homes and/or studios of two Sedona artists and one gallery. Enjoy chatting with them about their life, work and why they decided to live in a city as vibrant as Sedona. Cobalt will tailor the tour to your art preferences like photography or pottery. Tickets start at $139. Another way that you can experience the arts personally is by attending one of Goldenstein Gallery at L’Auberge de Sedona’s Artist in Residence programs. Every week, you can head to the Uptown Sedona hotel to chat with artists who work in a variety of mediums like painting, sculpture and jewelry.
Goldenstein Gallery. Photo by Cucoloris, CucolorisLLC.com.
