Sedona (Arizona)

...about Sedona.

Sedona is about half way between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon. Now on my souvenir guide, that’s about two and a half inches. However, I seem to recall that it took about seven hours driving to get to the Grand Canyon, and so Sedona, is about three hours away from Phoenix itself, on Route 17, North. That includes time for me to negotiate my way out of the city and on to the correct road in the correct direction of course. ...
...in case.

Sedona is an area of about five hundred square miles, and its attractions are the town itself, Oak Creek Canyon and Red Rock Country. I loved the names of the regions I drove through on the way to the Grand Canyon, by the way. Hey, there’s even an area called BRADSHAW Mountain. I can just imagine cowboys saying it in the movies in that drawl!

Now the biggest attraction in Sedona, so my American colleagues told ... more

Now, I have just been made redundant, as most of you will now know, and I was hoping that as a result, I would be able to travel to Arizona, with my Hubby on Business. He is there this week, and this is why I can sit up until all hours on the internet without being nagged!! Unfortunately, due to commitments at home (signing on at the broo, and a diabetic cat needing insulin every morning), and cashflow reasons (broke, and owed wages and notice from a company in administration!), I reluctantly decided to stay at home.

Now it isn’t like I have never been to Arizona before. Quite the contrary. My previous employer (but one!), was headquartered in Arizona, and therefore I had the luxury to visit on more than one occasion. I have several close friends in Arizona, gained during my travels abroad with business over the last seven years. It was during one of these rendezvous’ with my fellow expatriates that I first heard about Sedona.

Sedona is about half way between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon. Now on my souvenir guide, that’s about two and a half inches. However, I seem to recall that it took about seven hours driving to get to the Grand Canyon, and so Sedona, is about three hours away from Phoenix itself, on Route 17, North. That includes time for me to negotiate my way out of the city and on to the correct road in the correct direction of course. The actual road distance is about 100 miles.

Arizona is the sixth largest state and is in the South West of North America, sharing its borders with California, New Mexico, Mexico, Nevada and Utah.

Now be advised it is hot there. “But it’s a Dry Heat!” cry the Arizonians. My hubby was out in the desert yesterday and it was 103 degrees, pretty warm for May. I was in the area a few years back when the temperatures rose to 121 degrees in the City of Phoenix! I thought I was going to collapse. “But it’s a Dry Heat”, they said. The record temperatures in the desert were 127 degrees Fahrenheit, and on the other end of the spectrum a minus 40 degrees F in 1971! So take your jumper, just in case.

Sedona is an area of about five hundred square miles, and its attractions are the town itself, Oak Creek Canyon and Red Rock Country. I loved the names of the regions I drove through on the way to the Grand Canyon, by the way. Hey, there’s even an area called BRADSHAW Mountain. I can just imagine cowboys saying it in the movies in that drawl!

Now the biggest attraction in Sedona, so my American colleagues told me, over a glass or two of Merlot several months before, is the church built into the rock. This Church is known as the Chapel of the Holy Cross. I made a mental note at the time, to make sure I got up to this church the very next time I was in Arizona. They had described the views from the church as simply breath taking, and awe inspiring, and never one to turn a good bit of awe inspiration down; I knew I had to go there.

Now my next trip was just prior to Easter 2000. I flew into Phoenix and duly did four days work, before beginning my leisure time. This began on Good Friday, as it happens. On Good Friday morning, I picked up my rental car and my cheap Alamo map, and head off into the distance. In a way, I felt my trip could not have been timed better, I wasn’t going to be home for Easter, as I was spending a couple of days in the Grand Canyon region, however to get to go to this magical church and attend mass there on Good Friday, now that I was looking forward too.

I arrived in Sedona and followed sign posts to the church. The scenery up to Sedona had been simply beautiful, with plenty of unusual rock formations to break up the view. Sedona has some amazing scenery, and if you go to the following link, you can down load a fantastic screen saver.

http://www.screensaverheaven.com/ssheaven/s189.html

The church is built right into the rock and is quite hard to see. It is a very small church. I parked my car and walked up the slope to the church entrance, and it was here that my inspiration dampened slightly. Why? Because the Church was closed!

Now you don’t have to have to have reached a great age in life, or even have a strong belief in religion to know that Good Friday was a real important date in the Christian calendar, and therefore the last thing I expected to be closed on Good Friday, was a Church! So no, I hadn’t checked that before I left Phoenix.

The sign on the door said “Closed for Easter”. I kid you not. I have the photographic evidence to prove it. The other day in the year it closes is Christmas Day. Mmmm.

I was able to peer inside the church. It was extremely small, and all joking apart, it would be pretty hard for them to accommodate all the people who might want to attend a mass here at these times. I was able to see why it was so special. Behind the Altar, the walls of the church was simply panes of glass, which then overlooked all the magnificent scenery, and the location, half way up the mountain, added to the spectacular view.

A Little Bit of History of the Region.
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Just to prove to you that my trip wasn’t completely wasted, and I did in fact learn something, I will share a little bit of history with you.

Seas advanced and retreated through the area millions and millions of years ago, leaving sedimentary layers, still clearly visible on the rocks we see today. Man was known to arrive in the region 7500 years ago, and over a period of thousands of years evolved their skills to become Farmers and Basket Makers.

The Hakataya population replaced these original inhabitants in about 700 AD and they made pottery as well as farmed the land. By the year 1600 AD, the Tonto Apache had arrived, and they still live in the region today.

American pioneers entered the region in the 1800’s and while these two groups lived together amicably for a little while, by 1860 fighting and raiding of crops was taking place and the army had to be sent in. Camp Verde Indian reservation was established for the Native Americans living in the area.

In 1901 a white settler named Theodore Schnebly and his wife acquired 80 acres of land in the area, and Schnebly applied for the first post office. He wanted to name this Schnebly Station but the name was rejected as too long. He therefore submitted his Wife’s name – Sedona and the area is now celebrating the centenary of the post office and its name.

What else can the Town Offer?
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I spent quite a while looking through the numerous art galleries in the town. Sedona is known as one of the Art Capitals of America, and you will see why if you ever get to visit. The scenery is so inspirational. One traditional form of art is the SandPainting. I purchased “Home of the Bear”. Unfortunately I wanted something to carry home with me, and the picture I bought was about 15” square. Some of the art work was a lot larger, and extremely impressive, if not expensive too. Sandpainting originates from Navajo healing ceremonies. Sand from the painting is rubbed over certain parts of the patients body, and when the ceremony is over the sandpainting is destroyed, thereby destroying the illness. No-one is getting their hands on my painting. Another impressive traditional craft was the Navajo Rugs, which were absolutely beautiful; however a long way out of most people’s budgets, costing upwards of several thousand dollars. Other art included dolls, and brasses.

Other popular trips include the Pink Jeep tours, where you can get closer to the scenery, and explore the rocks and the rock paintings.

There are plenty of places to eat and stay the night, although it is probably wise to book a bed ahead, as it is a popular destination.

Other Attractions in the Area.
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1. The Grand Canyon. Visit it at dawn or dusk, hike right down to the Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon, or take a helicopter flight over it. Fantastic and not to be missed.
2. Route 66. I stayed in Williamstown. Route 66 runs right through this town and I enjoyed exploring the small section of this great road.
3. Oak Creek Canyon. Take the scenic route further north on Route 89, for even more fabulous scenery.
4. London Bridge. That’s the second time I have mentioned London Bridge in two ops over two days, and I haven’t had to go to London to mention them. This is the original London Bridge, moved brick by brick to Arizona, now standing at Lake Havasu.
5. Hoover Dam. Constructed in the 1930’s to tame the Colorado River, and a fantastic engineering feat that the world has seen.

Hope you all get to go one day!

Helen

PS: Did I mention the spectacular scenery?

 

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