A weekend getaway at Sedona

I had a very short visit to Sedona in June when I was traveling to Phoenix with a young golfer. This time I dedicated the whole weekend to Sedona. Driving up Friday afternoon after work from Phoenix, I didn't get to Sedona till it was dark. It was still quite hot. After I checked in a small inn, I went out for a walk. The moon was spectacular, perfectly round and glaring in the still darkness. From the distance I could vaguely see the outlines of red rock mountains. I then thought it was Mid-Autumn festival when the moon is supposedly the roundest.
Sedona is more than a red rock county with breathtaking landscapes. It has become a "sacred and spiritual" place since 1980s with the discovery of Vortex. Sedona is believed an ideal site for reading natural energy because all of the three know types of hot spots or vortexes exist here. I've done some research on this subject and still don't quite understand the relationship between "vortex" and " the spiritual". What has come obvious is that there are as many psychic readers as red rocks in town. Sedona's staples include red rock mountains, psychic readers and pink jeep tours. All three meet needs of all tourists.
I spent several hours strolling through Tlaquepague arts & crafts village. It's a truly charming Old Mexico set with intricate alleys, titled courtyards, and gardens. There are quite a bit great yet overpriced arts. What have impressed me most in the village are a dozen of native American featured statues in the gardens and courtyards. They are vivid and attached no price tags. Cross the street are a "new age" center that is the home of a dozen psychic readers and sells spiritual items and a crystal store that sells crystals to heal people. Psychic reading is tempting for people that have "questions" about their life and future. Who don't? I stepped in the new age store where there are a list of bios of psychic on the wall with their photos. Psychic reading is a very unique profession that doesn't require any education or "working experience" or a proven track record . It's paid $40 per 15 minutes! A gypsy looking photo will do all. A female with long and fuzzy hair, gazing eyes and in some exotic dress seems a good candidate. I had mulled over the idea of psychic reading for a moment and realized it's such a silly thing. What could one possibly get from 15 minutes chat with a strange woman? The fact is no matter what a psychic tells you, how do you know she is right? If you don't know whether she is right, why bother to pay $40 to have her to tell you whatever she wants to tell you?
Airport road took me to a nice overlook point where several red rock mountains rise over the desert. It was a hot day. Glazing red rocks, steamy desert and muggy sky comprise a unique landscape. My attempt to hike up to Cathedral Rock via Crescent Moom Ranch trail failed as it was getting late and dark when a few other hikers and I figured out where the trail is. On Saturday night I treated myself with organic green salad at a famous local organic vegetarian place called "Chocotree". The atmosphere is cool with an eco featured museum and fits well with the spiritual set. The salad is sort of "overdo" mixture of a dozen kinds of "organic greens" including seaweed.
It was said over 60% of tourists have traveled to Sedona to seek some spiritual experiences? What's an spiritual experience? for some people, it's a guided(paid) Vortex/yoga tour or " world class inspirational mind and body therapies offered by spas" or a pink jeep tour or an one-hour psychic reading, or a fancy organic green salad dinner that I had the night before. I woke up 6:00am Sunday morning and had a short phone chat with my dear sister. I jumped out of bed and got on my own "spiritual tour". There are four major 'hot spots" where the Vortex exists. The most famous ones are Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock. I stated off on Bell Rock Pathway trail, hiked up to the Bell Rock and came back down and hiked through Courthouse Butte loop. It's 3 hours hike around Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. Before I headed over to my second hike to Cathedral Rock, I stopped by Chapel of the Holy Cross, my favorite spot in Sedona for a spiritual moment. Climbing up to Cathedral Rock is not difficult. It takes some scrambling and bouldering in over 100 degree. The view is spectacular on the submit. They say when you are in the "hot spot" of Vortex, you will definitely feel it. A local woman named Barbara told me she feels the energy, the balance and the inspiration when she's in the Vortex area. This didn't occur to me. I was not seeking the electric mind transformation any way. I was happy and hopeful to hike up and happy and hopeful to get back down. When I left Sedona, I was looking forwarding to getting back to my routine world for all the good possibilities.
They say in Sedona, Vortex inspires you, psychic reads your future, crystal heals your wound, pink jeeps get you to off road. I say I had a good time climbing rocks and left my prayer in that Chapel of the Holy Cross.
Sedona is indeed nothing but a red rock county. A spectacular one.
My plan to grab a late lunch at Jerome didn't work out well. I rushed to airport and missed the flight. I got to fly back on the next flight. As always, it all worked out just fine.