Sedona, Arizona
“Land of Vortexes”
Friday and Saturday, June 15-16, 2018
Clear, Cloudy, 95°
“Whatever path brought you here
There is a reason why you came,
Through you may not know it now.”
― Ilchi Lee, The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart
Sedona, Arizona, you may have heard about it, read about it, but it does not begin to give you the feel of what exactly Sedona is. Coming off the interstate highway just south of Flagstaff you travel down road SR89, also called, Oak Creek Canyon. Sedona is a true oasis, in the middle of the Arizona desert.
Upon descending, the road goes through a series of hairpin turns (no trucks over 50 ft.) towards the Mogollon Rim. The roadway continues in Oak Creek Canyon down in elevation, curve after curve, until you see Oak Creek which provides access to Slide Rock State Park. You continue along this wooded area, away from the canyon, towards Sedona.
As you near Sedona, the massive Buttes and Spires start to come into view and almost as quickly as you start seeing these, you arrive in the center of town.
There were all kinds of shops on each side of the road. You’ll find resorts and spas, canyons and red rock formations in all directions. Many restaurants were mom and pop places with no visible “chain” in this part of town. There were the typical chain eateries as you went down several roads further out of the downtown area.
The campground was just down the hill and across the creek from the main road. It was nicely shaded with trees all around. The spots were nice but there was only one bathroom for the one hundred or more sites; it also happened to be located at the far end of the campground. It was easier to park the RV and get an Uber to go into town as there was very limited parking and nothing that could accommodate the size of the RV.
The Uber driver was named Bevin and she took us up into town the first night to look around. I wanted very badly to get a pedicure, as my feet were in rough shape and in dire need of attention. There was a shop on the main street but it was closed so that will be on the agenda tomorrow. It turned out that Bevin was also a guide and she knew about the four different Vortex sites around Sedona so we arranged a time early the next morning to be picked up for the Vortex hunt in and around Sedona. At the campground when the sun dips down below the horizon it introduces the best show in Sedona, the night sky. Stars and planets gaze upon you from millions of light years away, pretty cool to see so many without the lights of the city dimming their glow.
There is so much more to Sedona than meets the eye.
Beneath the endless beauty beats a healing heart. Sedona has long been regarded as a place both sacred and powerful. It is a cathedral without walls. It is Stonehenge not yet assembled. People travel from all across the globe to experience the mysterious cosmic forces that are said to emanate from the red rocks. They come in search of the vortexes.
What is a vortex? Sedona vortexes (the proper grammatical form ‘vortices’ is rarely used) are thought to be swirling centers of energy that are conducive to healing, meditation and self-exploration. These are places where the earth seems especially alive with energy. Many people feel inspired, recharged or uplifted after visiting a vortex.
What is a Vortex Sign
The four best known Sedona vortexes are found at Airport Mesa, Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Boynton Canyon — each radiating its own particular energy. Some are thought to produce energy flowing upward while at others the energy spirals downward, entering the earth. (*Visit Sedona.com website)
Bevin said there are two female and two male vortex sites in those mentioned above and we would do the hikes at Boynton Canyon (female) and Airport Mesa (male). I was pretty skeptical but was curious after reading about it in my research for the trip and wanted to see what it was all about and if there was really anything to the stories. Being an adventurer at heart, you have to be open to the possibilities of almost anything and if there is nothing to it, anytime you can get outside to walk in sunshine, breathe fresh clean air amid dazzling panoramas, it is a day well spent. I think part of it is in the advertising so you have to feel better.
“Yet even if you have no particular interest in the metaphysical movement, plan on visiting Sedona’s vortex sites. It is virtually guaranteed that you will leave feeling better than when you arrived. Your heart will be lighter, your smile will be wider and you will feel more energized. Because here’s the wonderful secret: Vortexes are located at some of the most devastatingly scenic spots found among the towering red rock formations.” (*Visit Sedona.com website) See what I mean.
Bevin forgot her water so after retrieving it, we stopped just around the corner from her house to see the dramatic architecture of the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is built into the red rock cliff and just seeing it is an experience in itself.
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Opened in 1956, even after half a century, the chapel has a contemporary, almost out-of-time look, a sculptural feel, and a surreal effect as it juts out of two red mounds on a spur of rock that is 200 feet above the ground. Just to the right of the Chapel is the rock formation “Two Nuns”.
Two Nuns Rock Formation is just to the right of the Chapel
The chapel's most prominent feature is a cross that seems to have been wedged into the rock by some devout pilgrim, who later built a chapel around it. It is an unforgettable sight from all angles. Looking at it directly, it seems the rocks parted to embrace the structure. From the side, it looks like it was dropped into place; from above.
On the drive out to Boynton Canyon, Bevin said we would pass the McDonald’s I wanted to see. I first saw the teal green McDonald’s arches on the Roadside America website so wanted to check it out and find out a little about this one of a kind burger franchise. (Rumor had it that it would not be allowed to be built unless they complied with the local sign codes.) Here is what I found.
At last count, there were more than 36,000 McDonald's restaurants in the world. But the McDonald's in Sedona is one of a kind.
There's perhaps no more recognizable brand than the McDonald's "Golden Arches." At the Sedona McDonald's, those arches are turquoise (or teal green, or jade, depending on whom you ask).
McDonald’s Teal Green Arches
And while this deviation from the norm has spurred all sorts of theories about building codes and city ordinances, the truth is a little less exciting, according to a news report from a few years back.
It's hard to imagine today, but Sedona wasn't even incorporated as a city until 1988. The McDonald's franchise came along a few years later, when the city was still firming up its building and signage restrictions. The franchise owner worked with the city on the look of the restaurant; since the shopping center next to it featured turquoise signage, the color was a natural fit for the McDonald's.
The fast-food stop opened in May 1993 and has become a minor tourist attraction, with visitors posting photos of "the world's only Turquoise Arches" to social media. And you have to admit, turquoise goes a lot better with Sedona's stunning red-rock views than yellow would.
You can see the unique McDonald's for yourself at 2380 W. State Route 89A in Sedona. (Fox News Report)
The first Vortex we were going to was in Boynton Canyon. There was a parking lot to access the Boynton Canyon Trail. Bevin said we could park on the side of the road, cross over a barb wire fence and cut the long distance in half. So that’s what we did. She was worried that recently the resort up the road was having vehicles towed for illegally parking and not using the designated lot. We worked our way to the main trail and from there just followed the signs and the red trail markers as you climbed you way around the rocks leading up to the vortex area.
Boynton Canyon Vortex Site is up on hill between Spires
Bevin went back and moved the car after she was sure we were on the right trail heading up, as there are several trails in this area. It was about a twenty minute climb when you arrive at the base of a 30 foot high hill where the energy is the “strongest”. This vortex is primarily a female one but is said to facilitate a balance between the masculine and feminine side, or yin/yang balance.
Vortex site just past tree
As I climbed up the steep rocks to get to the center point between the two spires I could feel a soothing calmness come over me.
End of trail at Vortex site
It happened while I was breathing hard from the climb but quickly the “energy” of calm, relaxation and mellowness took over. Did I feel the Vortex? I don’t know but it was a nice calm feeling that came over me and continued for several hours after hiking out and driving to Airport Mesa Vortex.
Arriving at Airport Mesa, there were several vehicles already there and looking up, several hikers were on top of the main rock formation. At first, this was an easier hike up the main trail but when you reached the top of an overlook point the trail up to the top of the main vortex point got quite a bit steeper. The overlook had views to both sides, with Thunder Mountain (Walt Disney’s inspiration for his roller coaster ride) on one side,
Thunder Mountain
and Cathedral Rock on the other.
Cathedral Rock
Bevin and I did the hike up to the top of this rock spire and the views, once at the top, were pretty incredible. You could see many of the named mountains and rock formations, including:
Bell Rock,
Bell Rock
Chimney Butte,
Chimney Butte
Twin Butte,
Twin Butte
Coffee Pot Rock, Red Rock, and several others could be seen, as well.
After the tour to the vortex locations, we came back into town and had lunch. Bevin dropped us off so I could get my pedicure. The ladies were really friendly; I told them what I wanted and the lady who was going to work on my feet, Kimberly, told me to get in the chair. As I took off my flip flops she looked at my feet and made a horrible facial expression, laughed, and said she did not want to work on my feet as they were such a mess. Years of wearing flip flops has calloused both of my feet and every time I get a pedicure I get similar reactions.
Kimberly laughed and started working on my feet and after clipping my nails she started in with the “cheese grater” removing layers of callouses. She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more with the dark brown pieces of dead skin falling to the pad she put down on the floor to catch the droppings. Then, she started on the other foot, lol with the same process. After almost an hour she finished, earning her pay and tip for making my feet soft and mostly smooth once again. It was great and Kimberly was a good sport for having to deal with such a mess.
Sedona is a beautiful place; it has healing for the soul, feet, and the atmosphere in this wonderful community should be a model for other parts of the country. Vortex or not, Sedona makes you feel good about things which is what most of the advertisements stated, and if you like McDonald’s, then you can visit the only Green Arches in the world, to boot.