Sedona

Sedona. So much has been written and said about this area in the Arizona desert that I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it. Certainly I knew there were wind blown red cliffs to be seen. Previous visitors I have known have reported it is quite a “spiritual” place. There are “vortexes” reported to be all over the area. As I understand it, a vortex is a place that has very high energy emanating from it. I was excited when we left Phoenix because I would finally get to see this very special place. As we pulled off of the highway and into Oak Springs (the first real glimpse you get of the rock formations) I was…well...shocked. The first thing you see is a good sized community of condominiums, upscale homes and strip malls. There is even a large outlet mall. Granted, all the buildings are painted almost the same color as the rocks but still, one rather expects to see some natural grandeur as opposed to just another cutesy little burg catering to the kitsch buying public. Chris took me to a shopping mall that is disguised quite nicely with flowers, sculptures and pretty little shops and restaurants. There is even a beautiful little alcove that is chock full of kinetic sculptures that move with the wind. We wandered from gallery to gallery and shop to shop admiring all manner of specialized wares for the souvenir hunter. These would be the “much wealthier than I” souvenir hunters. To be honest, I came close to letting Chris buy me a very pretty watch but then I realized how much that money could buy that was really needed in our lives. Further, I haven’t worn a watch in two years so it isn’t likely I would wear one with a price tag in excess of $250. We had a great lunch at a brew pub in the shopping area and then pushed on to Flagstaff. As we proceeded beyond the construction that was being done to widen the road and yet another group of buildings housing more opportunities to shop, take a jeep tour to a vortex or have your tarot cards read I found that I felt cheated. Where is it possible to get away from the commercialism and just revel in the beauty of nature’s (or God’s) creation?. We continued on to Flagstaff and spent the night in a lovely forested campground with a couple hundred other “campers” 100 yards from the highway. The next day we had planned to go to a museum in Flagstaff but I really needed a second look at Sedona so I asked Chris to take me back. It was a good decision. Without the trailer following behind we were much more mobile and were able to pull off at the different turnouts to admire the beauty and take photos of the incredible cliffs. I realized this area is rather like a mini-Grand Canyon and it is quite breathtaking. We even drove to a “vortex” that had a view of several beautiful mounds. Try as I might, I didn’t “feel” anything. I am not one of those extra sensitive people who feel the harmonic vibrations emanating from the universe. Still, I can appreciate the beauty and the fantasmagoric majesty of places like this. We had a lovely lunch at a restaurant that seemed to be hanging on the side of a cliff at treetop level where hummingbirds were feeding next to us and we were able to, for a moment, ignore the adjacent diners and focus on the beautiful red cliff across the valley. By the end of the day I was happy to have given Sedona a second chance. It is as special a place as many of the beautiful anchorages I have enjoyed in Mexico. I tried to keep my eyes averted from the strip malls but they are still there. They are for the other tourists. Having living spaces that are so small one is hardly able to find room for necessities much less trinkets has caused me to lose much of that “need” to buy. I think it is a good thing. I tend more to collect pictures and memories these days. The memories will be mine until the end of my days. The kids can have the photos.

Sedona will be one of the special memories.