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I still remember it well. It was in August 2000 and I was in Phoenix for my fraternity's national conference. A friend I was with and I decided to "take a day" and drive up to the Grand Canyon- we knew it was far but we were young- it didn't really matter. Thinking back now I would never recommend anyone try to go from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon and back in a day- even if possible it wouldn't be fair. Especially not for your first time there.
Luckily before we left we got some last minute advice from an Arizona local who suggested taking the route through Sedona rather than bypassing it on the Interstate which we would clearly have done if not so instructed.
Neither my friend nor I had ever heard of Sedona before this point- we had no mental image of what or who we might find there. Driving into Oak Creek and being presented with the views of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte are burned into my memory- when I think of Sedona I think of the view that is the header graphic of this site- before I knew their names I knew them. Although not technically in Sedona just about everything on highway 179 between I17 and Flagstaff is "Sedona" to me.
We were very impressed with the incredible natural beauty of Sedona we felt very bad for "leaving" it but we still intended to make it to the Grand Canyon so we were on our way after not too long. Thankfully this also forced us to take the long winding road up the mountains with amazing views of Oak Creek Canyon. We made it to flagstaff and decided to have lunch- at Baskin-Robbins (hey it was a vacation.) By the time we finished we were both thinking the same thing but I think we were both afraid to say it so as not to disappoint the other. But finally it came out- and I do not really remember if it was her or I who suggested it first but we both agreed- lets turn around and go back to Sedona! We'll see the Grand Canyon some other time. (Which became 4 years later.)
Being we were both Engineers we spent more time than we probably should have admiring Midgley Birdge. The first time we were there you could get substantially closer than in later years after they closed off more areas.
After that we spent time exploring shops at the "Y" (the name for the area around the intersection of highways 179 and 89a that is the center of downtown Sedona) and talking to some locals, although not all that much. We got some more food, saw the Pink Jeeps parked but there were no tours available. We took a try at Schnebly Hill Road but being the rental car was a basic rear wheel drive full size special and not an SUV we didn't get far before turning around- we were already breaking the agreement just by being on the unpaved and rocky road. We made our way back down toward Oak Creek were we waited to see the famous Sedona Sunset we had heard so much about at this point- it did not disappoint but the digital cameras available at the time did not do it justice.
With the day behind us we made it back to Phoenix to join our other friends for the night.
Although we had fun and enjoyed Sedona we didn't think too much about it after we left. The next month I had started my first real job out of college- the job I would keep for almost 10 years that would bring me places and with people I could not imagine- the day in Sedona was really a "college" trip to me and had quickly slipped my mind... until... I started getting images of Sedona in my head. Vivid images. Like no place else I had ever visited before. I joked (with myself) Sedona was "calling" me back. The calling only got louder as the months went on.
Although I couldn't take time to visit Sedona I did start to read up on Sedona. Apparently this town wasn't such a secret after all- there were books, articles, websites- everything. The more I read the more things made sense- Although we had talked some some locals the subject of mysticism around Sedona never came up. I had no idea at the time what a "Vortex" was or that we were more or less standing on one for some time while in Sedona. Those vortex's do strange things- and I had no doubt it was responsible for calling me back to Sedona. In would be almost 2 years before I finally made it back- but that is a separate story for another day.
Luckily before we left we got some last minute advice from an Arizona local who suggested taking the route through Sedona rather than bypassing it on the Interstate which we would clearly have done if not so instructed.
Neither my friend nor I had ever heard of Sedona before this point- we had no mental image of what or who we might find there. Driving into Oak Creek and being presented with the views of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte are burned into my memory- when I think of Sedona I think of the view that is the header graphic of this site- before I knew their names I knew them. Although not technically in Sedona just about everything on highway 179 between I17 and Flagstaff is "Sedona" to me.
We were very impressed with the incredible natural beauty of Sedona we felt very bad for "leaving" it but we still intended to make it to the Grand Canyon so we were on our way after not too long. Thankfully this also forced us to take the long winding road up the mountains with amazing views of Oak Creek Canyon. We made it to flagstaff and decided to have lunch- at Baskin-Robbins (hey it was a vacation.) By the time we finished we were both thinking the same thing but I think we were both afraid to say it so as not to disappoint the other. But finally it came out- and I do not really remember if it was her or I who suggested it first but we both agreed- lets turn around and go back to Sedona! We'll see the Grand Canyon some other time. (Which became 4 years later.)
Being we were both Engineers we spent more time than we probably should have admiring Midgley Birdge. The first time we were there you could get substantially closer than in later years after they closed off more areas.
After that we spent time exploring shops at the "Y" (the name for the area around the intersection of highways 179 and 89a that is the center of downtown Sedona) and talking to some locals, although not all that much. We got some more food, saw the Pink Jeeps parked but there were no tours available. We took a try at Schnebly Hill Road but being the rental car was a basic rear wheel drive full size special and not an SUV we didn't get far before turning around- we were already breaking the agreement just by being on the unpaved and rocky road. We made our way back down toward Oak Creek were we waited to see the famous Sedona Sunset we had heard so much about at this point- it did not disappoint but the digital cameras available at the time did not do it justice.
With the day behind us we made it back to Phoenix to join our other friends for the night.
Although we had fun and enjoyed Sedona we didn't think too much about it after we left. The next month I had started my first real job out of college- the job I would keep for almost 10 years that would bring me places and with people I could not imagine- the day in Sedona was really a "college" trip to me and had quickly slipped my mind... until... I started getting images of Sedona in my head. Vivid images. Like no place else I had ever visited before. I joked (with myself) Sedona was "calling" me back. The calling only got louder as the months went on.
Although I couldn't take time to visit Sedona I did start to read up on Sedona. Apparently this town wasn't such a secret after all- there were books, articles, websites- everything. The more I read the more things made sense- Although we had talked some some locals the subject of mysticism around Sedona never came up. I had no idea at the time what a "Vortex" was or that we were more or less standing on one for some time while in Sedona. Those vortex's do strange things- and I had no doubt it was responsible for calling me back to Sedona. In would be almost 2 years before I finally made it back- but that is a separate story for another day.
