Sedona

Today we headed south to Sedona. We started off the morning with breakfast up at the airport at the Mesa Grill. The food was excellent and just the right amount. I had the Sedona Scramble which had artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, asparagus and goat cheese. It was delicious, haven’t really had much goat cheese but it was very mild tasting and very creamy.  After breakfast we went to the airport overlook and this was the view.

This is looking at Thunder Mountain, Coffee Pot Rock and Wilson Mountain. The entire area around Sedona is red rocks everywhere. As with the Valley of Fire the rocks in Sedona have a thin layer of iron oxide that the natural weathering of the rock cause it to turn red.

After this view point we headed up town and checked out a couple of artisan markets. Len picked up a really neat copper bracelet and Brenda picked up some really nice rocks and jewellery.  We even checked out a couple of thrift stores.

Almost every side road takes you to a rock formation and a trail. We didn’t go on any hikes as my knees are not up for uneven trails with altitude. I am okay on the flat ground but going up and down hills, the knees just can’t take it. So instead we optioned for pictures.

This is Cathedral Rock and Castle Rock

This is Bell Rock

This is Courthouse Butte

Here are some dessert flowers that were blooming. The Yucca plant was just starting to blossom and the daisies are a stark contrast against the red rock

Our last stop was going to be the Chapel of the Holy Cross but first we stopped at this cool gift store with metal statues, Mexican pots and a very large variety of other gift wear. 

This was also the location of a Sedona Vortex. A Sedona Vortex refers to a unique geological and spiritual phenomenon that is said to predominantly occur in and around the city of Sedona. A vortex is believed to be a swirling center of energy that can produce a range of physical, emotional and spiritual effects. So Brenda and I sat on the bench in the middle of the Vortex and spent a few minutes taking in all the positive energy. Not sure if it worked or not but we shall see.

After we picked up our treasures we continued on to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. This is a Roman Catholic chapel that was built from 1954 - 1956 into the red rock buttes. It was inspired and commissioned by local rancher and sculptor Marguerite Brunswick Staude. The cost to build it was $300,000 and upwards of 25 tons of rock was moved without the use of dynamite. You can see the main feature of the chapel is the 90 ft tall iron cross which serves both aesthetic and structural purposes.

We didn’t go inside the chapel as they were tons of people in the area. In fact we learned that weekends are the busiest, this was only Friday, I would hate to see how busy it is on a Saturday or Sunday.  Tomorrow we are going to head to the Verde Camp to check out the Montezuma Castle National Monument.