Morning hike and afternoon BMW motorcycle ride to Sedona, Arizona

With a day promising blue skies and sunshine, we decided to start with a hike on the Constellation Trails in Prescott and then join our friends in the Prescott Star 511 motorcycle group for a ride north to Sedona. The trails took us on smooth, sandy paths through manzanita and then up and over the granite rocks that look like hardened sand castles. I stopped and turned in circles several times to take in all of the views, not wanting to miss a thing.

Standing on top of the rocks we looked north toward the San Francisco peaks in Flagstaff, looking forward to the afternoon ride.

45 minutes after we finished hiking we met Brad, Mike and George to ride north to Sedona. With temperatures in the mid-50's and bright sunshine, I stayed warm on the BMW by wearing all of the jacket layers and my heaviest gloves. We stopped in Camp Verde for coffee and hot chocolate, and I switched to lighter-weight gloves as the temperature climbed into the 60's.

Only 7.5 miles long, Route 179 into Sedona is the Red Rock Scenic Byway, passing through the stunning red/orange colored sandstone that is unique to this area.

The road sweeps and winds through the rock formations, giving us the fun of zooming along on a motorcycle with one-of-a-kind views. We stopped for lunch in busy Uptown Sedona and then left the traffic for Dry Creek Road, heading into Boynton Canyon.

We didn't have time today for another hike, and instead relaxed in the mid-afternoon sunshine on the outdoor deck at the Enchantment Resort. Boynton Canyon is home to one of the vortexes, or sites of concentrated energy, that draw people to Sedona.

Maybe it was the sunshine, or Sedona's energy, or riding on twisty, curving 89A south over Mingus Mountain, but I found myself nodding off on the back of the BMW as we wound our way toward home. When we first visited Prescott we drove to Sedona in our rental car, and Mike couldn't wait to ride this mountain road on the BMW. Each time we travel this route I notice something different:  the snow and ice on the edge of the shady side of the road at 7200' elevation, the old mining roads that snake through the pine forest, hawks that soar on the wind currents.

We love to hike through the granite rocks near home and explore the twisty asphalt roads that wind through Arizona's deserts and mountains. Motorcycle friends and a sunny winter day made it perfect.