Sedona is at an elevation of over 4,000 feet. As we got closer to Sedona, not only did we begin to see those awesome red rocks...
...we also saw some snow up on the peaks of the surrounding mountains. I'm glad I wore my jeans because I don't think it made it to 60 the rest of the day!
We stopped at the visitor center in Sedona first to get recommendations on hikes and things to do. Sedona is known for its vortices. A vortex is a place, usually on or near an interesting rock formation, where people have reported feeling inspired by a beneficial source of energy. Hmmm. Not sure what to think about that. Outside the visitor center, there were several chimes with mallets that you could play and I guess find your vortex??? I think Chuck was looking for his. :)
I don't know that we found our vortex but we certainly had fun playing the chimes and we were totally awed and inspired by the big, beautiful, red rock formations surrounding the city of Sedona.
After we left the visitor center, we walked around town exploring all the different shops and stores. One of the things we really like about Sedona is how the architecture blends in with the red rocks so well. There were a lot of stores but it really didn't seem like a lot because the buildings blended in with the surroundings and there were not a lot of flashy signs. The video below was taken behind one of the stores.
We walked around the town for a couple of hours and then decided to find a place to eat our lunches that we had packed and go for a short hike. We drove to Catheral Rock trailhead and ate our lunches in the car because there were no picnic tables plus it had started to sprinkle but not for long.
Before we started our hike, Chuck explained the difference between a hike and a walk. According to Chuck, you must take hiking sticks if you are on a hike because the sign showed a person walking with a hiking stick. If it's just a walk, no hiking sticks are required. :)
See that big rock way up there? That's where we were hiking to.
We could see a lot of people hiking up and down the hill but not too many people had walking sticks.
The first part of the hike was relatively easy with a few rocks to step up or climb over on. We reached this big rock where we could walk out and I took this 360 degree video.
From this point upwards, the hike became more of a climb.
We followed these rock cairns as we climbed up the rocks.
Because I was using both hands, both feet and my hiking stick to climb up, up, up, I didn't take any pictures until we reached this point on the trail.
This is was our view when we looked down.
And this was our view looking up.
At this point, both Ken and I were having second thoughts about continuing up. I was thinking about how challenging it was going to be for me climbing back down. Chuck and my family know how graceful I am which is NOT AT ALL!!! I wasn't afraid of the heights. I was just concerned about how I was going to get back down. Ken kept saying none of us should do what we don't feel comfortable doing. Chuck and Bonnie would have liked to have tried it and keep going up but Ken and I did not so we all decided not to climb up any higher.
We began our descent very carefully and many times were scooting down on our "you know whats". As we headed down, Chuck admitted he was glad we didn't go any higher because the descent was hard on his knees. And none of us wanted to take any chances getting hurt and spoiling the rest of our trip!
We got back down to the bottom of the trail safely and were glad we did this exciting hike even though we made the call to not go all the way to the top. It was definitely the most challenging hike Chuck and I had done. The trail guide had it rated "moderate". I hate to think what a strenuous hike looks like! The yellow circle below is about how far we hiked up Cathedral Arch.
After we left Cathedral Arch, we drove out of Sedona a short distance to see some of the other rock formations.
Our last stop of the day was the Chapel of the Holy Cross.
After parking the car, we walked up to the chapel and were blessed with some of the most beautiful views of Sedona.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross is a Roman Catholic chapel built into the buttes of Sedona. It was inspired and commissioned by a local rancher and sculptor, Marguerite Brunswig Staude. In 1932, she had been inspired by the newly constructed Empire State Building to build such a church and attempted to build one in Budapest, Hungary, with the help of Lloyd Wright (son of Frank Lloyd Wright). With the onset of World War II, the project was aborted. She decided to build the church in her native region of Arizona and obtained a special-use permit to build the chapel on Coconino National Forest land. The chapel was built in 18 months at a cost of $300,000 and was completed in 1936. (Wikipedia)
The American Institute of Architects gave the chapel its Award of Honor in 1957. In Ms. Staude's words, "Though Catholic in faith, as a work of art the chapel has a universal appeal. Its doors will ever be open to one and all, regardless of creed, that God may come to life in the souls of all men (and women) and be a living reality." (Wikipedia) I think she summed it up pretty well.
The inside of the chapel was simple and inspiring.
And the views of God's wondrous creation...AMAZING!!!!
Even to an angel in the gift shop! :)
Thank you, Father, for this beautiful world you created for us to live in and for the cross that reminds us of your precious Son, Jesus, who died for us and saves us from our sins so that we can live forever with You!
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