Sedona Arizona area and the Grand Canyon

Since I have been covering places on the Western side of the US lately (I promise to get back to Kentucky and the near areas soon) I figured I should take a moment to cover one of my favorite non-Kentucky areas- Sedona Arizona!

I made my first trip to this area several years ago when my wife's work sent her to a training there. At first, I thought about not going. At the time I figured Arizona was just a big state with a lot of dusty cacti everywhere. It just didn't sound spectacular. I am embarrassed to admit that I almost passed on going out West! We thought about it though. My wife's work was covering pretty much all of her expenses. I could piggy back on this trip for the price of a plan ticket. What the heck, I finally decided, so I went.

For our first trip to this area, we stayed in the Phoenix area at a nice resort. My wife went to her training. I slept in, went to a nice coffee shop near the hotel (I had to specify that I wanted my coffee hot in this area) and read. After that, I went swimming for the rest of the day.

Her training ended after a couple of days, and we rented a car to venture out of Phoenix. We went to the Grand Canyon. We were still on a time limit, and we didn't have time to really go in the Canyon. We were still able to appreciate it.

I have mentioned before that there are some sites in life that look perfect in pictures, but you cannot appreciate the place until you are actually there. The Grand Canyon is that way. It takes a moment for your brain to comprehend it.

Here is a bit of a funny personal story about the Grand Canyon, not that any of my readers (mom) would care.

A few weeks before we realized we would be going to Arizona, a co-worker of mine said that she had always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. After several decades of thinking about it, and trying to get everything together, she had decided that this was the year she would go.

Well, after various expenses and situations came up, she realized that she just wasn't going to be able to make it to the Canyon. She was very sad about this, but she said she was glad that my wife and I would be able to get there.

Being the good friend that I am, I made a point to send her a post card on our trip daily. I told her about all of the sites, and I told her about how my wife's work took care of most of the trip. I even called her from the Grand Canyon to tell her about how amazing it was. I also figured that, since I was her friend, I should get a picture of me talking to her on my cell phone, with the Canyon in the background. I very kindly gave her an 8x10 of me, talking to her on my cell phone in front of the Canyon when we came back.

For some reason, my friend did not appreciate this kind gesture.

So, back to our trip near Sedona. We had a great time at the Canyon. You can't take a bad picture there.

We drove through Sedona on the way there, and on the way back to Phoenix. I don't even know how to start describing this place. I hate to use a cliche, but it is other worldly.

The sky has a nice blue to it, and the ground is red. There is a nice warmth going on too.

Sedona has a reputation for being a "New Age" type place. There are a lot of psychics (we will save the debate about the legitimacy of psychics for another day), UFO fans, and crystal shops. If you are in to that stuff, you will, without a doubt, love Sedona. If you could care less about the New Age movement, you will still love Sedona.

Personally, I loved all of the art shops, and the spectacular view. Wherever you are in Sedona, the view is amazing.

We loved the "Red Planet Diner" too. It has a funky, alien theme. Go for that, and go for the food. Even without the cool decor, the wings and shakes are worth a stop.

Oh, there is a cool magic/novelty shop there too, that we love. Check out their site. They have some cool Sedona info there to:
http://www.funstoreusa.com/

When we first arrived in Sedona, we stopped at a little jewelry shop. A friend once sent me a card of Snoopy Rock, and I asked the person running the store where Snoopy Rock was located. She told me to go to the door and look slightly to my right. I love this huge formation.

The first time we drove through Sedona, we stopped at an art/jewelry shop owned by Robert Shields of Shields and Yarnell (don't ask anyone in their 20s or younger if they know who Shields and Yarnell are.... you will feel old. Trust me). I thought that was so cool. We came back through on our second trip, and the shop was still there, but it was not owned by Shields.

Sedona is one of those places that you have to go to to appreciate. On my next trip to the area, I think I want to just walk around and admire the scenery, and appreciate the moments that I will have there.

Meteor Crater is in Arizona too, and its another favorite spot.
http://www.meteorcrater.com/