Last Day in Sedona- Red Chile Potatoes

Recipe for Today
Red Chile Potatoes

This recipe was taken from
Authentic Southwestern Cooking
by Lynn Nusom
I purchased the book at one of the National Parks we visited.

After the beautiful sunrise, we packed some water
and headed to one of the Arizona State Parks,

Slide Rock State Park

Slide Rock State Park, 7 miles north of town, is  an extremely popular section of Oak Creek where, for several hundred yards, the water descends gradually in a series of steps while flowing over smooth sandstone strata via a series of natural chutes and pools, perfect for sliding down and swimming in, though many people come just to sunbathe and picnic on the surrounding flat rocks.

 Slide Rock State Park was originally (1910) the homestead of Frank L. Pendley 

who succeeded in establishing a unique irrigation system that harnessed water 

from Oak Creek to plant apple orchards.

 The remains of an old homestead that was established here
by Frank L. Pendley in 1907. 

 Slide Rock swim area.

Cliff Top Trail

From the park entrance, several short trails wind around the grassy land
beside the creek,

 Several well preserved wooden buildings can be seen, together with examples of old farming equipment, an original apple orchard, and an irrigation system used to water the trees.

 The Apple Packing Shed 

Built 1932

 The Apple Orchard

Beginning in 1912 orchards were planted .

More trees were added in the 1930's, 40's. and 50's.

 A waterwheel, part of an irrigation system used to water the apple trees.

Tourist cabins built in 1933.

  

Then we were on the road again back to our resort.
On the way we stopped at a roadside Native American market.
We bought some roasted and salted pinon nuts
that we had been searching for all week.
I also bought a red clay pot made by a Navajo family
who sold many types of pottery.

Pine nuts from the Pinon Tree.
We learned when we purchased these that Pinon trees
 produce once every four years.
This is the year they are producing.

We traveled farther and stopped at another shop to get a red chile ristra.

A ristra (string of chile) was originated as a method of drying
 and preserving chile pods for future use in cooking.

The sunset today was at 5:35 PM.
It was the finishing touch of a beautiful, sunny day in Sedona.
The temperatures were in the 80's today.
It was a great day to play the tourist and kick around Sedona.

Sedona Sunset

 These are the sunset views along Airport Road,
the same location as our sunrise views.
The sky seemed to change in minutes.

We are saying, "Goodnight",

and good-bye to Sedona.

We had a beautiful vacation experiencing the sights

 and flavors of the cuisine of the Southwest Desert of Arizona.