My, my, my... Sedona

I promise, this is our last Arizona posting.  Since we both work full time and have a million things going on outside of work, we have all these pictures sitting around waiting to be edited and written up into a post.  It's only taken two weeks to get to them all.

While we were in AZ, Randy and I took a day to ourselves and headed up for a day trip to Sedona.  We both love Sedona.  The beautiful views, the calmness of nature, and Buck Thornton's World of Jerky.  Well, the last one is all Randy.   I enjoy the store, but dried meat really isn't my thing.

So we set out on the two hour drive north from Phoenix to Sedona.  The clouds were unlike anything we see in Pennsylvania.  Calm, slow moving, easy going.

We saw a ton of Saguaro cactus, which I believe is endangered.  These cacti (that sounds funny, cactuses?  Succulents?) can get really tall (up to 50 feet!  That's like 8 1/2 me's!)  and Grandma has a couple in her yard as you've seen before.  The area between Phoenix and Sedona is like a Christmas tree farm of Saguaros.  Makes me feel like I'm in an old Western movie.  Randy was an excellent driver and didn't get annoyed with me as I snapped pictures out his window.

I hope you guys like this shirt.  You'll probably see it everytime we go to AZ since I left it there.  We're all about packing light to avoid baggage fees.

This is a scenic view rest stop on the way.

There are some of the most interestingly, and I hope, inappropriately named places.  This and Horse Thief Basin are my favorites.  Like I said, western movie in my head.  Randy and I had a playlist of songs we deemed appropriate for the trip.  I didn't realize how many "western" songs Bruce Springsteen has or how much mariachi music Randy has on his ipod.  It was an eventful trip.

As we rolled into Sedona, the dirt got redder and the sky got grayer.  We were hoping for a desert Thunderstorm.  How cool would desert lightning be?

Unfortunately we never got that storm, but the clouds blocked the direct sunlight which was good for Randy's heat migraines and better diffusion of light for pictures.

Our goal for the trip was to hit as many vortexes as possible before sundown, and then hit Buck's and get some dinner before we left town.

Our first stop was Bell Rock.

A quick side note on vortices.  We didn't really know much about them.  They're supposed to be electromagnetic subterranean flows of energy.  Some people say they have found healing or had some sort of vision or paranormal experience.  We weren't setting out for any of those things, mostly we were just curious.  I'm not here to argue if the Hopi indians were right or wrong or if the New Age people in Sedona are on to something, or are just really silly, but I imagine they are like stone circles in Ireland.  Unfortunately for Randy and I, they aren't as nicely marked in Sedona.

We hiked up to Bell Rock and found a little trail off the main road that went around Bell Rock to our right and went deep in between Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte.  We took it because we wanted to find the vortex, but what we found was lots of cactus, a tricky trail, fewer people, and an uneasy feeling of getting lost.  So we turned around an got back on the main trail.  We passed a lady with her little girl and her mom, and Randy asked her, "Is there supposed to be...  a vortex?  around here somewhere?"  While her mother kept moving to stay with her daughter, she stopped an chatted for a couple of seconds.  She said the whole area is a vortex and we'd have a better chance of feeling it because we didn't have any kids with us.

So we kept hiking up and up.  Some parts of the path are really tricky, climbing up steep areas and hanging onto rocks.  Of course I don't really have too may pictures of those areas because I was too busy climbing.

There were people who actually climbed to the top of the mountain.  Randy and I decided that next year we will get to the top, or close to it, but we didn't want the sun to go down while we were on the rock.  The trail can be treacherous, and while we are no strangers to climbing the Airport Mesa in the dark by the light of my iphone, we didn't want to get stuck up there without flashlights.  It's a LOT further of a hike and the fun would quickly diminish in pitch darkness.

We got about halfway up the rock to a little flat area and decided to stop and see if we could feel the vortex.

Just then the sun came out from behind the clouds and the valley was bathed in the most beautiful light.

So we sat and chatted and soaked up the sun and we felt good.  Calm.  Energized.  Inspired.  I don't know if it was the vortex, the beautiful view, being together, or just a sense of well being in communing with nature, but it was wonderful.

And then we decided...  to walk back down before it got dark.  Going back down was a lot easier than climbing up.

Our next stop as we headed into town was the Chapel of the Holy Cross.  It closes at 6.  We got there at 6:01.  So I got these pictures from the road.  Fortunately, we were there last year, and hopefully we'll make it again next year.  It is a beautiful and powerful structure and just being able to look at it for a couple of seconds was good enough for this trip.  Some people say there is another vortex near the chapel, but I like to think of it as a spiritual place for people of all religions.  It is a catholic church, but it's welcoming to everyone.  I've heard that some people have had supernatural experiences in the chapel, but I don't have any experience with that.  It's a beautiful church with a beautiful view and it is a wonderful reminder of the beauty of life.

Then of course we went into the downtown area of Sedona and got some jerky.  Every time we go, Randy hopes Buck will be there so he can have his picture taken with him.  He's still jealous of when I was there a couple of years ago without him:

I got my picture taken with Buck, and I got to wear his hat.  We'll have to remember that he is only there on Saturdays and get an earlier start next time.

Then we got a great dinner recommendation from the proprietor of the pet supply store across the street.  If you ever go to Sedona, check out Open Range.   Maybe a little touristy, but check out the view from our table:

The food was amazing.  All organic and free-range meats.  Randy got a bison burger and I got a French Dip.  Both were excellent.  The chef is from Kansas City and makes a mean BBQ sauce.  Sweet and savory and awesome on sweet potato fries.

Then we hopped on the road and headed back, lit by the light of the full moon.  It was a good day and a great trip to AZ.