We awoke on Saturday to the sounds of birds, the Red Crossbill and Pygmy Nuthatch, bustling in the trees outside our cottage, and we made our way to the Lodge for our morning coffee and freshly baked traditional raisin scones with butter and homemade marmalade. Delicious!

After lazing in an Adirondack chair down by the creek with my newspaper for about an hour, we made our 9 am massage appointment at the Spa at L’Auberge, centrally located on the resort. Uniquely rustic, yet elegant, the familiar aroma of burning juniper greeted us from one of the Spa’s two wood-burning fireplaces. During our stay we saw a number of robe-clad couples walking leisurely from their cottages to the cottage style Spa. We opted to change in the locker rooms provided in the Spa and relax with orange spring water in the Spa’s cozy "chill" room next to yet another crackling fireplace. We had arranged for a L’Auberge Signature Couples Massage which in autumn included lavender aromatherapy. This relaxing "no gimmicks" massage treatment performed by two seasoned therapists was nothing short of exhilarating. The ample and well-appointed treatment room allowed our two therapists to move freely and in synchronization to deliver a world-class experience.

After picking up a gourmet picnic lunch prepared by the resort we were off for a 15 minute drive in our Jeep up Oak Creek Canyon to Westfork Trail, one of the most canopied and picturesque hiking trails in the Southwest. It has been the subject of many of the works of Sedona’s world-class photographers. The trail winds its way along Oak Creek often requiring some moderately difficult stone jumping in order to keep our boots dry. After about an hour into the canyon trail a warm autumn shower began to fall and we quickly took cover under one of the creek carved Red Rock caves along our journey — a perfect place to enjoy our picnic lunch and two glasses of Chardonnay from the local Page Springs Winery. Fortified with full stomachs and an ample water supply we began our trek back, not nearly as fastidious about keeping our feet dry as when we started. The hike was three hours from start-to-finish.

We returned to L’Auberge to relax and get ready for our 5 pm sunset jeep tour up Schnebly Hill Road which is a "primitive" rock laden dirt road that begins just one mile from our resort and winds up to the Mogolloon Mountains revealing spectacular Red Rock views of Sedona. Our Pink Jeep tour guide, Dan, a former anthropology professor from Seattle, shared both the ancient history of the Red Rocks and the more recent Hollywood history including the many Western movies filmed in the Sedona area over the years. For those skeptical of both "Jeeps" and "tours," this can be a mind opening experience.