Sedona by Afternoon

I have been so excited to get to Sedona and see this place known for great spiritual energy and beauty.  So far, it has certainly lived up to expectations and we haven’t really even done much more than get our bearings!

Due to my flight back from California into Phoenix, we didn’t get back to camp (which Barry had thoughtfully set up, cleaned and readied for my return!) until 2 a.m.  Then we had a lot of work to catch up on in the morning so our first journey into Sedona was not until nearly 3 p.m.  See even on the road, real life intervenes.  The difference being that I can reach everything I need within one foot of me and I can look out the window on beautiful trees while listening to a nearby rushing creek.  Barry did it even better and spent the morning working outside.

We eventually ventured into town and wandered around “downtown,” basically a single street of shops and restaurants.  We enjoyed browsing the various galleries of fine arts like photography, Indian artwork, and sculptures as well as learning the history of Sedona. This is the site of many westerns, including a few John Wayne movies.  They have a restored building that the Duke once rushed into to lay a land claim in a movie.  (That was for you,  Mom and Matthew)  And did you know that Sedona was named after the first postmaster’s wife, who was born in Kansas City and named by her mother who just liked the sound of it.  I would have bet that Sedona was a wonderful ancient Native American word meaning red rocks or something similar.

I had fun browsing the various crystal stores with their beautiful amethyst cathedrals and large quartz clusters as well as the simple tumbled rocks.  It is fascinating to read the descriptions of how each crystal supports an area of the body or heals negative energies.  I have to admit that I have long had a fascination for rocks. I remember one trip as a kid making my Dad stop in every state so I could pick a rock to take home – and these were just rocks I found on the side of the road!  And I still have the rocks I bought from the Petrified Forest on another trip. So these crystal rocks, with their colors, energy connections, and jewel-like look fascinate me!

We did get to see the spectacular colors as the sun set and lit up the mountains.  If that was an indicator, we are in for some beautiful sights this week.

After dinner, we came back and settled further into camp (so exciting – it includes really nice showers and laundry facilities) as this will be our longest stay of the trip.  It will be nice to be in one place for several days.  I actually have called it home several times – eek!

P.S.  Word of the day is peccary – learned on our history walk, it is a medium sized hoofed mammal which is part of the pig family.  Specific to Sedona, they call theirs javelina.