It was probably that one weekend in January when the playoffs were over and the Super bowl was upcoming. No football on the TV, so I head up to Sedona to enjoy some crisp winter air. The cowboy feeling that The West usually gives me was extra strong this morning as I get out onto…
Tag: Sedona
A Labor Day hiking loop around Sedona
The unexplainable pull to walk returns. It’s Labor Day weekend, but up in Sedona the temperatures will still reach 100 degrees by noon, if not sooner. Best to start early, and so I arrive at the trailhead just after five A.M. I only had a vague idea of the hike I wanted to do, and…
The Sanctuary at Sacred Mesa
I exit the Boynton Canyon Vortex and decide to try, once again, to find the infamous Robber’s Roost cave that is somewhere in these Red rocks. Off trail I go, wandering through the Red Rock wilderness, yet the cave eludes me once again. No wonder robbers used this place as a hideout from the law….
Boynton Vortex
It’s been a few weeks, more than enough time for the snow that came ripping through the area last month to have melted away. Back to Sedona I go, with the plan this time around being to venture deep into the Boynton Canyon Vortex. Although I arrive early (7 a.m.) the parking lot at the…
The Birthing Cave
It’s just before 7 a.m. and the lyrics to “Mother Earth” are rolling around my brain as I hope to find the Birthing Cave out in here in Sedona. “You know when you’re bornYou first see light of dayThrough a gap in your mother’s legsIt’s the truthAnd from that minute onMost of us guysAnd some…
Long Canyon Vortex
The storm that I could feel approaching in my bones while camping in Colossal Cave came the day after I left. It covered most of Arizona in a blanket of snow, and if you have never seen Saguaro’s under a blanket of white, I highly recommend it. Snow never lasts long though here in the…
Edge of the World
It’s the first weekend following the US Presidential election of 2020, and the world is still awaiting the results. I decide to get out of town instead of watching the news, and try to find the Edge of the World. I figure that, depending upon the outcome, it’s the perfect place to celebrate or jump….
Airport loop vortex
Time to shift my latitude a few degrees from the Mogollon Rim down to the Vortex. November is the start of prime hiking in Sedona, and for my first hike of the new season I go to a trail recommended by a fellow blogger, the Airport loop vortex. Located just up from the middle of…
Dogie
Dogie : meaning ‘a motherless calf in a range herd.‘ I return to the trailhead that I discovered previously when exploring the Palatki ruins. The snow and ice is rapidly melting, creating a slippery river at the trails descent into the wild Sycamore backcountry wilderness. It’s a beautiful February day, with clouds shimmering on the…
24 hours of near perfect light
You could feel the magic in the air from the moment one awoke. Special light was seeping in through the windows from the sunrise. Today I venture out, once again, to try and find the hidden Hopi cave located somewhere in the Sedona Vortex. I find a dirt road and start hiking, exploring, wandering….wandering….wandering….alone in…
the Palatki ruins
The open BLM lands around the Vortex area call my name once again. During my past few trips I’ve stumbled across signs pointing one to the Palatki ruins of the ancient Native Hopi Indians. Today I follow the signs along the dusty and desolate road to their destination. Arizona truly has many hidden oasis areas….
Loy Butte
There is an ancient cave dwelling out here, or so I’ve been told. Southwest of the Vortex, bumbling along a dusty BLM road, I search the red rock desert for this place of healing and meditation. There aren’t any trail markings for this place. This is attempt number two trying to find it. I settle…