Suddenly Sedona

 

Sedona.  I have been meaning to go there for over a decade.  I kept saying "next time."  It's funny how time gets away from you.  This is it.  This is the place that I said I absolutely HAD to go to in my time off between jobs.  Yet I still managed to take almost 6 months to get there.  But when I did find time, Sedona was nestled quietly into its red rock setting, waiting patiently.  Sorry I took so long.

 



Sedona is about 2 hours north of Phoenix.  The morning I had planned to go there, I set my alarm, got up, and noticed a thick fog had settled around Eloy.  The visibility was near zero.  Not wanting to be blindly going 130 on the interstate in my VW Bug with no visibility, nor wanting to be going too slow and find myself run over by a large semi on the interstate, I decided to stay put til the fog burned off a bit.  Fog isn't really that common in Arizona, how long could it really last?  2 hours later, I decided I was just going have to brave the fog.  20 miles into the drive, it evaporated into the most beautiful day.  Me and the VW bug were back to cruising and singing "everything is awesome..."

Sedona is famous for its red rocks, and even red earth.  The beauty of Sedona has always been a draw to people.  The area shows evidence of human presence since 11,000 BC.  So almost 12,000 years before the Sinagua were thriving in their castles in the sky, people were enjoying the same rock formations I was seeing on this day.  The first major rock formation I came to was Bell Rock.  Very red, very bell like, and as you can seek it was simply a beautiful day.

The road travels past several red rock ridges...but unlike our Rocky Mountains which go on forever, these seem to have popped up here and there, all willy nilly if you will.  I guess it's because they really WERE formed willy nilly.  The Rockies arose from violent tectonic activity...but the red rocks are sedimentary...or the result of deposits from moving waters, hence all the color bands.  Or, if you are a new age type, you may discount the science of it and go with what some contend it is...a portal into the earth or gateway to another dimension.  I'll stick with the science of sediment myself, I did not feel any weird gateways, and if anyone is going to accidentally get sucked into a metaphysical vacuum while minding their own business, it's me, so it's probably not a portal.

A slightly older  and more traditional religion than the portals theory exists in another rock in Sedona...this here is "The Chapel of the Holy Cross," built into the rocks at Sedona.  This was the busiest tourist site I saw on this January day.

And to be fair, they have a great view to attract tourists!

But I didn't come to Sedona to be indoors, so I carried on and took the scenic route at the edge of town, the Upper Red Rock Loop.  It gave a nice view of the formations a littler further removed.

And I had time to laze under a tree and just stare out at them.

And of course I had to get the little VW Bug in the picture.  I was very proud of it, off road in the red dirt, where bigger cars may fear to tread.  Herbie would have been proud!

 

The one place I saw along this little road, which is paved in some spots, gravel in others, and a bit of a dust trail for a few seconds, is Red Rock State Park.  I would have loved to have wandered around this little park for a while.  It is a wildlife preserve, has a couple of miles of hiking trails, lots of birds, and lots of programs for kids that even looked neat for adults...like Tracking lessons.  AND, the ranger at the gate thought my VW Bug was an awesome ride.  So add Red Rock State Park to your list if you are spending an afternoon in the Sedona area.