Every road in Sedona is a stunner!
October, 2014 – After a brief stay in the mysterious and intriguing Navajo lands of northeastern Arizona, we headed south to Sedona.
We had spent several weeks here in the spring, but this is a place that deserves lots of return visits, so we were delighted to stop in town once again.
The spectacular views are utterly breathtaking, no matter how many times you have driven past them, and I couldn’t stop myself from getting some pics out the truck window — again!
A bronze sculpture of a painter recreating the scene while a little girl takes his pic.
The town of Sedona is a fun combination of funky, artsy, mystical and outdoorsy. On the artsy side, a large brass sculpture of an artist creating a painting on an easel stands in the middle of town.
The artist is painting the stunning mountains that line the horizon across the street while a little girl snaps a photo of him.
Two skeletons sit chatting outside a boutique shop.
On the funky side, two skeletons were sitting on chairs out in front of a boutique shop. They were gabbing away, as happy as could be. One of them waved “hi” to us as we walked past.
Another bronze sculpture depicts Sacagawea, the young Shoshone Indian woman who guided Lewis and Clark on their exploratory expedition of 1804-1806.
A bronze sculpture of Sacajawea and her baby.
In the sculpture, she is carrying an infant in a papoose on her back.
Sedona is much loved for its mysterious and mystical side too.
There are vortexes in the area where people get in touch with their spirituality, sometimes experiencing unusual connections and awakenings
What we noticed, however, were the intense sunsets, a hallmark across all of Arizona.
Late one afternoon, the sky lit up in glorious shades of pink and purple.
We see our first Arizona sunset after a season away.
During our previous visit we had seen some gorgeous photos of Cathedral Rock taken at Red Rock Crossing where Oak Creek reflects the brilliant red rock formation in its pools.
Cathedral Rock – without the reflecting pools!
The hike along Oak Creek
There are two ways to get to this spot, either by going through Red Rock State Park or by driving down Verde Valley School Road to the end.
We chose the latter method and followed the trail through some woods and across a large flat grassy meadow where Cathedral Rock loomed at the far end, brightly lit by the afternoon sun.
Then the trail ducked into the woods again, roughly following Oak Creek.
A glimpse of the base of Cathedral Rock
At last the view opened up a little, and we could see beautiful red rock spires near the water’s edge.
It was a warm day, and we came across a group of people sun tanning on beach towels and wading in the water in swimsuits.
Besides getting a little exercise hiking, though, we were on a mission to see Cathedral Rock reflected in the watery pools, not to sun bathe. Unfortunately, we soon found out we were at the wrong end of the trail. So we turned around and headed back.
Passing the turn-off to our truck on the left, suddenly huge flat slabs of red rocks fanned out in front of us.
Mark kneels in reverence at Cathedral Rock — or is he checking the settings on his camera?
Recent rains had filled the crevices with water, making wonderful still, shallow pools that reflected Cathedral Rock in the afternoon sun — in bits and pieces.
The best way to get the reflections was to get really low or even lie on our sides and shoot across the water.
I walked across some dry rocks into the stream a ways and looked back to see Mark bending over his camera in a perfect image of solemnity and reverential worship at the foot of Cathedral Rock!
I had to laugh as I took his picture, and then I lost my balance and plunked one foot in the water, right up to my ankle.
Oops. Never laugh at someone enjoying a particularly spiritual moment, whether it’s with the Divine Essence or with their Nikon, especially in Sedona!
Cathedral Rock is reflected in shallow pools by Red Rock Crossing.
Sedona is for Lovers
Our stay in Sedona was just a few days this time, but we were so happy to be able to stop by once again and take in a few more of the exceptional sights there.
Here is some info about Red Rock Crossing:
- Red Rock Crossing Hike
- Red Rock Crossing – Heart of Sedona
- US Forest Service – Baldwin Trail and Red Rock Crossing
Related Posts:
- Broken Arrow Trail in Sedona, AZ – What a Hike!
- Hiking the “Pig Trails” in Sedona, AZ – Breathtaking! (oink oink!)
- Top Sedona AZ Hikes: Little Horse to Chicken Point + Templeton Trail (Cathedral Rock)!
- Brins Mesa Trail & Unexpected Delights in Sedona Arizona!
- Sedona Arizona – Brooding Skies at Sunset in the Red Rocks
- The Crack at Wet Beaver Creek (Bell Trail Hike), Sedona, AZ
- Sedona, Arizona – Great Beer, Coffee, Red Rocks & Psychics!
- Bell Rock Pathway, Sedona AZ – Hiking & Biking the Red Rocks
- Montezuma’s Castle & Schnebly Hill – Sedona Heights!
- Sedona Reflections on the West Fork Trail
- Sedona – Mountain biking in the red rocks!
- Oh, Sedona – Scenic drives in the red rocks!!
Trailer Life Magazine’s December 2014 issue features our article Arizona’s Red Rock Country, and you can read it here.
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Thank you for the joy that your photos provide. We cannot wait to get back to Sedona with a new perspective and curiosity to explore.