Still Sedona

In this month’s issue, writer Marti French takes readers on a quick tour of Sedona, Arizona, a place so spectacular that readers of the newspaper supplement USA Weekend voted it in 2005 as the “Most Beautiful Place in America.”

Marti visited Sedona before this summer’s wildfires started scaring tourists away. The fires destroyed some homes, forced evacuations, and temporarily closed roads and the Coconino National Forest.

The fires are now over, rains have come to make greenery flourish, and Sedona is back in business, but it has taken awhile for the news to spread. Jennifer Wesselhoff, director of tourism for the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, said people are continuing to call to ask if Sedona is going forward with scheduled activities. The answer, of course, is yes.

Whenever a forest fire, flood or earthquake strikes, the headlines and television news clips often give the impression that an entire area is engulfed in disaster, when it’s usually somewhat less than that. Such was the case in Sedona with the June fires.

“We were very fortunate,” Wesselhoff said. “A lot of the fire was in remote areas.”

The drive along State Highway 89A through Oak Creek Canyon is a highlight of any visit to Sedona, and there are places where fire reached the road, but very little of the fire area is visible from the highway. Wesselhoff said tourists will enjoy the drive as much as ever this fall.

“Sedona is just as beautiful as it has been,” she said.

Slow Season
The Phoenix Business Journal has reported that Sedona resorts lost many bookings after the fires and that some stores reported that sales were down 25 percent.

Wesselhoff said there is no doubt that business was off this summer, but fortunately summer is the slow season in Sedona anyway, along with January and February. Spring and fall are the busy months.

To lure visitors back, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce has been running television advertisements featuring actor Nick Nolte, and touting the fact that Sedona is still unique, still magnificent and “still Sedona.” And businesses are also trying to bring tourists back by offering special discounts. You can see the tourism promotional video with Nolte and also find discount offers on the Chamber of Commerce Web site at www.visitsedona.com.

Fall Festivals
For many RVers, especially those without children to care for, fall is an ideal time for sightseeing. Crowds have thinned out as families with school-age children have returned home from their vacations, and the weather is still good enough to travel comfortably.

In this month’s issue, we point out a lot of place to visit this fall, with our annual guide to fall festivals. If you are into music, classic cars, beer gardens and celebrations of food, you won’t have any trouble finding an event to attend. We can’t list every festival in the West, but we give you a sampling and tell you where you can search the Internet to find more.

Fall is also traditionally a time when new vehicles begin popping up on dealer lots. If you have $2.5 million to spend on a motorhome, you might want to check out our Product Spotlight featured vehicle this month—the Vantaré Platinum Plus from Featherlite. If you are in the market for something more affordable, we invite you to see our roundup of 2007 models elsewhere in this issue.

Write to Mike Ward, editor at RV Life Magazine, 18717 76th Avenue West, Suite B, Lynnwood, WA 98037 or e-mail editor@rvlife.com. Find First Glance on-line at rvlife.com