The following is a daily travel log of my trip to Sedona, Arizona in 2008 on March 3rd through the 6th:

Monday, March 3

Nothing much exciting this Day. I take the Sedona-Phoenix Shuttle Service from PHX to Super 8 Motel - Sedona and check into my room (which does include an actual Jacuzzi). I walk to the Safeway and purchase my trip supplies (lunches, snacks, hiking fuel, iced tea, scented candle, bubble bath, etc.)

View from my room. NOTE: This Picture like all those to follow have a link to a larger version - Please click the pics

Tuesday, March 4

After getting some much needed rest, I have my appointment with Susan Palmer - a spiritual healer who resides in West Sedona. Then, it is off to Uptown Sedona and waiting for my Pink Jeep Tour. The following pictures were taken during that trip:

Portrait taken by Pink Jeep Tour Guide

I took this picture with the intent to include the seated couple, in order to give the scene some perspective. I quickly discovered that like the Big Sky of Montana - you have to be there to get it. Pictures, no matter how good the camera and I was using my mobile phone, can do the Red Rocks of Sedona Justice. In case you where wondering, I had the permission of the couple. I told the woman that I wouldn’t include her face

This an attempt at capturing the grand vistas available to those that take the Broken Arrow Pink Jeep Tour (the only tour that has permission from the National Forest to do so).

The rock at the top is called Mushroom Rock. In this picture it don’t look much like a mushroom (or a rock for that matter). Remember I am using my Motorola KRZR, which I think did a pretty good job all things considered. So, just blame the photographer

The red rock in the foreground is Submarine Rock. Okay, what you are looking at is what would be the Periscope with the haul of the vessel reaching towards you out of the picture - see it now

Okay, I’m not really sure why I took this picture. Probably because I knew that it would be the last I would take on the tour. I also think I liked how the sun was setting on the trees and rocks. I admit that this is one picture that I had a better camera to take it. However, I was also taking it inside a Pink Jeep

After the Pink Jeep Tour, I added some clothes from my backpack and stayed in Uptown Sedona for dinner. I ate in the Silver Saddle Room of the Cowboy Club. There, I had rattle snake appetizer with a Prickly Pear Margarita {virgin} and Buffalo fillet. When you go to Sedona, eat at the Cowboy Club. The wait staff wear indigo Levi jeans, the hostesses black slacks, and the managers whatever they want (male and female).

Wednesday, March 5

This was the Big Day. My first real hike in Nature since an attempted backpacking trip with my father in 1997 (we were cut short because of snow, but also my neurological condition was beginning to appear after a couple miles). Armed with trekking poles and having preparing physically for almost a year, I took Sedona Taxi (say hello to Forrest, Aeriel, or Dan for me) to the Boyton Canyon Trail Head. After self-registering with the National Forest Service (Boyton Canyon Trail is in a Wilderness Area), I began my literal first step on a long journey.

During the Pink Jeep Tour, it was mentioned that Walt Disney had a cottage in Sedona and that he was inspired by it to create the attractions at his theme parks. I don’t know the history of “Big Thunder Railroad”, but this picture reminds me of that ride - one of my favorites. My favorite is the Matterhorn (sorry North America, Europe still has the best mountains, in my opinion)

This one was taken looking up a stream bed to the red rocks and then the petrified sand stone. For those that believe such things such as myself, the red rocks are uplifted ancient ocean layers and the sand stone is the sandy beaches that would have been above the water. Either way, I think we can all agree that they are a beautiful example of My Lord’s Hand at work.

Here is another picture that I wish I had a better camera to use. The red rock is spectacular; however, I find the sand stone awe inspiring. Probably because 1) It sits atop the red rock and 2) The red rock provides a magnificent contrast.

This was the end of the trail for me. I told Dan to pick me back up at the trail head at 5 PM, so that I could get up to the airport mesa for the sunset that night. Talking to a photographer a half mile back, I realized I wasn’t going to make it to the end of the Boyton Canyon Trail and back to the trail head by my appointment. So, I went “trail blazing” and found this spot to take a self-portrait using one of my trekking poles as a tripod. I don’t look happy, but my Soul is.

For a short video of my Boyton Canyon trail experience, check out below:

Boyton Canyon Hike

After watching the sunshine set on Sedona from atop the airport mesa, I went back to West Sedona and enjoyed a cheap enchilada plate at Cafe Jose - home of the $3.79 3 oz. sirloin breakfast (no, I didn’t eat it - the Super 8 included continental breakfast). I returned to my room and prepared a bubble bath in the Jacuzzi. With my headphones on listening to enya, I had the Spiritual Experience I had come to Sedona to find. It is between me and My Lord. However, I will say that I no longer fear the Infinite Mind of God.

Thursday, March 6

Having been Spiritually Healed, it was time to do some emotional and physical healing. Tlaquepaque was the third recommendation I had received (Susan Palmer, Pink Jeep Tour, and Tlaquepaque) before leaving Seattle. After packing my things and checking out, I went off to Tlaquepaque.

Internationally renowned Tlaquepaque (pronounced Tla-keh-pah-keh), Sedona Arizona’s Arts & Crafts Village. Nestled beneath the shade of the sycamores on the banks of beautiful Oak Creek in Sedona, Tlaquepaque is the most distinctive shopping experience to be found in the Southwest.

Unfortunately for the merchants of Tlaquepaque, the only distinctive shopping experience I had was a cappuccino float and prickly pear candy and jelly. However, I did manage to spend a couple hours there - here is what I found:

This is one of four plazas within Tlaquepaque. I think the picture pretty much speaks for itself (although, I am sure I could write a thousand words about it).

This is the wedding chapel. It might look familiar if you look around my blog enough. Before I took this picture, I met a couple that had been married in this chapel over twenty years earlier. The interesting thing about the chapel is that it only seats 36. This probably discourages many a wedding couple to have their ceremony here. The pews are hand carved leather and the mural (created by the same artist) is taken from John 8:12. To me, this would be one of the most perfect spots for a marriage. The only other place I have found that would rival it would be the chapel in Harmony, California; however, that closed in 1997 and is no longer available. So for now, there is only one place I can think of getting married at…

I liked it so much that I took another picture. I had hoped that the New Testament verse would be able to be read. It is not. Here it is:

I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. - John 8:12, King James Version

Are you getting tired of seeing this face? Don’t worry this is the last photo of me. Again, I don’t appear to be very happy, but I am! No wonder everyone thinks I’m always in a bad mood - I just have a serious face. Either that or I’m getting frustrated because this is the third attempt at a self-portrait. Despite the lack of a convincing smile and the 17 lbs I still have left to lose, I’m pretty happy with the result

Okay, I couldn’t help it. For those of you that don’t know, Sedona is the New Age capital of North America, if not the World. It is unfortunate because there is an energy there. However, it is very, very low frequency and amplitude. You can feel it if you stop, listen, stop, listen, etc. But from what I observed, most tourist want a “quick fix”. Thus, there are places like the one in the background of this picture - A New Age Center, complete with “spiritual readings”, vortex tours, and crystals to buy. You can’t buy spirituality in Sedona, no matter how much you spend. I guess as long as there are people willing to exploit a good thing and consumers willing to buy it… By-the-way, that is a Pink Jeep going by in the foreground

Before getting on the Sedona-Phoenix Shuttle back to PHX, I stopped off at Sedona’s New Day Spa for some much needed physical recovery. On the ride back to “civilization”, I participated in a wonderful conversation regarding one of my favorite “hobbies” - movies. Also, a conversation about Poltergeists (not the movie). Remember, I was in a van with people that were from Sedona.