Leaving Flagstaff in the morning, we head out to spend the day in Sedona, about 45 minutes away. After a few switchbacks to go down the canyon, we first end up in a narrow and verdant valley. Just a few more miles and we arrive in the town of Sedona, where we quickly stop only to buy something to eat for our pic-nic. Then we continue on driving a little bit further south until the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It's a pretty vista point with a tiny modern chapel built in 1957, at the top of a small hill. A very small dirt path starts from the parking lot and leads you away from the crowd of tourists who come up the hill to the chapel. We walk down the path for a few minutes to take advantage of the views. The contrast between the lush vegetation and the red rocks formations that surround you is what makes this place so beautiful in my opinion. It's different from the other typical arid landscapes you can see in this region.
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| View of the mesas from the Chapel of the Holy Cross |
After this quick stop, we get back on the road to go further south, and stop in the parking lot located just north of the village of Oak Creek. The hiking path (4.5 miles) makes a loop around Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, two huge rocks, one of which known to be a "spiritual vortex". A lot of people in pursuit of spiritual harmony come to Bell Rock to revitalize themselves. Sedona is considered a "New Age" capital, and its touristic industry is catering to supporters of this spiritual movement. It is possible to climb up Bell Rock, or you can also simply go around it. We haven't walked into a lot of people when hiking the 4.5 miles loop, which made the experience even more pleasant. Plus the path is more or less flat all along.
In the end, this was a very good foretaste of the rest of our journey... I highly recommend it.
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