dokodemo

Sedona had a twofold reputation in my mind; spectacular natural beauty, and new age crystal worship. I knew very little about either of these aspects and so decided to scope the scene. The last few entries on this site were sent from a truckstop en route, as a hot truckstop shower and a little writing and uploading of photos goes a long way towards renewing the soul. Approaching Sedona, the Red Rock National Forest implied that I was indeed entering a special area. Amazing, indescribable red rock towered, cartoonlike, up above brilliant green forest. Dr. Suess-like spires and wax-drip shaped piles littered the landscape.

Waking up to a sunrise in the Red Rocks was memorable... It is with some regret, though, that I have to confess that I enjoyed it from the comfort of my down sleeping bag, and did not take pains to photograph it for posterity. Some things I like to keep to myself, and sometimes its just too cold to get out of bed.

Around 7am, I drove up to the Sedona Airport, site of one of an energy "vortex", one of the many in the area. I'm not totally clear on the mechanics, but apparantly there are areas where the, um, .. energy... flows powerfully, free to be tapped by anyone sensitive enough and willing to visit the area. I'm not really sure I soaked it up, but I tried. It certainly was a nice view up there. A biplane tour came very close to having me as a customer. I'm not sure why I decided not to, I figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I wouldn't regret the cost. I had the time for it, it was a beautiful day, but I just didn't do it. Maybe the vortex didn't want me to.

I took some photos of the city and surrounding cliffs and formations, and then drove into the city itself. Its a fairly upscale touristized town, many faux-adobe (fauxdobe?) galleries and little shops just oozing "southwest" charm like a plastic veneer. I did enter a couple shops like "Crystal Magic" and "Sedona Stone" to see if I could gather intelligence regarding the New Age activities in the town. They were both quite disappointing, junk shops with some nice insence, stones, and vaguely tacky collections of religious trinkets, statues, flags, and so on from all faiths. Little plastic buddhas next to hindu gods next to little glass angels blowing trumpets next to Birkenstock sandals. It was like a little Wal-Mart for the self-help book set. That being said, I did purchase a piece of bizarre shiny rock and spent some time reading the flyers on the bulletin board. One was advertising the services of a self-described "empath" who could explain the magical orbs which control the workings on this plane, and she alone was able to speak with and even influence the workings of the orbs. Sadly I wouldn't stick around long enough to experience this lecture in person.

To my personal peril, I left Sedona without any deep spirit therapy, past-life regression, or chakric tuning. I did stop at the Safeway to get some ginger ale and bread, however. The Sedona Safeway was disappointingly typical... they use the same plastic bags (I was hoping for hemp satchels) and they still accept the clubcard (instead of psychically tuning into my profile).