Sedona - (How to Make Some Money in AZ)

by wanderingrudie

Great stop in central Arizona for those who are on a bit too tight of a budget.

When you are short of cash and you need to employ one of the many tactics listed on digihitch (music, jewelry, spanging, etc.), what do you do when you are in a crappy town for it?

Flagstaff doesn't get enough people with available cash. The only place where there are enough people to do any good is on NAU campus, but college students aren't exactly the kind of people who will buy anything on a whim.

The Phoenix and Tempe area is a city that is built out, not up, so there are not that many places that get much thoroughfare. This makes it very difficult to sell anything on the street, and on the north side the cops don't take too kindly to street performers or vendors. They wont do much, per say, but they will watch you closely to see if they can get you on any charge, no matter how small.

The best possible place to make some cash in Arizona is Sedona. It is a breeze to hitch a ride there. South out of Flagstaff on I-17, and then turn west onto Schnebly Hill Road. If you want the scenic route, follow S. Beulah Blvd south out of Flag, which becomes 89A. 89A follows the Oak Creek Canyon all the way to Sedona. It's beautiful along that way and takes the same amount of time as I-17.

Sedona is solely a tourist town. Anywhere you go along the main drag and surrounding streets you will find crowds of tourists walking around looking at the shops. Everyone has lots of loose cash on them because Sedona is a very expensive place. You can set up anywhere along the main drag (still 89A all the way to almost Wickenburg) and make loads of easy money from the many tourists wandering the streets looking for authentic handmade souvenirs or some enjoyable entertainment.

At the end of the day, you can hitch back up 89A to any one of the turn-offs along the canyon to camp. Every turn-off along Oak Creek Canyon is there because it an easy place for drivers to pull over and climb down to the creek. The ground at the creek is stomped flat in many of these and the water is clean and good for bathing in the morning. It is usually safe to drink, but be wary. Your best bet is to walk to one of the campgrounds and use the water pumps there.

You can repeat this process until you have sufficient funds to continue on your way. It's nothing to get a ride back to Flag if that is the way you want to go, or just as easy to keep following 89A south to Cottonwood, where you can turn onto Hwy 279 and hook back up with I-17 to continue on south to Phoenix if that's your notion.

Either way you're headed, Sedona is the place to go if you need money or a nice place to sleep between Phoenix and Flagstaff, or just want to see the Red Rocks that actually attract all the tourists in the first place.

Source: http://www.digihitch.com