SEDONA, Ariz. – You needn’t be a desert rat to fall instantly in love with the rugged, red-rock monoliths that define this city of artists in northern Arizona’s Upper Sonoran Desert.

Nor do you have to be a New Ager, although if you believe in the mystical power of vortexes you’ll fit right in.

Thankfully, you don’t even need good weather for a visit you’ll never forget. We would have preferred the brilliant sunshine and azure skies one associates with the desert. Especially since neither my husband nor I had thought to pack winter coats or warm shoes for our trip.

Grabbing our sweaters, we got into our Chevy and made the 120-mile drive north to the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon.

Locals take this fantastic scenery pretty seriously. So seriously, the McDonald’s on Route 89A is the only one in the world to wear turquoise arches; officials thought the traditional yellow would clash with the surrounding red rocks.

In comparison to Scottsdale’s cosmopolitan glamour and Phoenix’s breathtaking sprawl, Sedona feels downright sleepy; it takes all of 10 minutes to drive through town – and that’s if you dawdle. Still, 3 million tourists make the trek each year to drink in the view and commune with nature.

With those kinds of numbers, I would expect the Uptown area, with its eclectic mix of kitschy souvenir shops, expensive cowboy boots and gorgeous views of Snoopy Rock on one side and Merry-Go-Round formations on the other, to work harder at being quaint. Then we happened upon the cobbled streets and intimate courtyards of Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. This collection of Spanish-style stucco buildings, constructed in the 1970s, does a terrific job of evoking a tiny Mexican village. It’s filled with more than 40 specialty shops, many of them exclusive galleries displaying the work of local sculptors, jewelry makers, painters and ceramic artists.

At a tiny store called Feliz Navidad, I found a wonderful glass ornament in the shape of one of a Saguaro cactus. My husband, meanwhile, was charmed by the colorful desert landscapes at Point of Sedona Gallery.

We both were fans of Oak Creek Brewery, where we ate fried dill pickles at the polished wood bar and warmed our chilled bones with a pint of locally crafted amber lager.

Thanks to the lousy weather and a tight budget, we weren’t able to take one of the popular hot-air balloon rides across Sedona’s red-rock area (prices start about $200 a person). We also passed on horseback riding along the banks of the Verde River and what probably would have been an exciting jeep tour up a historic dirt road toward the sandstone cliffs of Mogollon Rim.

While shopping for dangly turquoise earrings for our twin daughters, a shop owner informed us that rainy, winter days were the perfect time to enjoy the fireplace at Enchantment, a luxury resort/spa in the heart of nearby Boynton Canyon. Purchases in hand, off we went on Highway 89A through West Sedona with our photocopied map and great expectations.

Maybe it was the unexpected arrival of snowflakes, or the fact the clouds had finally dissipated, revealing two of the city’s most famous rock formations – the aptly named Coffee Pot Rock and Capitol Butte – the drive couldn’t have been prettier. As we negotiated the narrow mountain roads, driving farther and farther into the woods, one spectacular formation after another exploded into view.

Enchantment itself, which is surrounded by the Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness in Coconino National Forest, was, well, enchanting. And that was before the prickly pear margaritas and deep-fried “beaver tail” cactus at its café overlooking the rocks, Tii Gavo.