Sedona, AZ: Day 1

After a short morning hike on the Watchman Trail in Zion yesterday, we drove 5 hours to Sedona. This was our first backroads drive- we passed through Kaibab National Forest- where there was so. much. snow! The elevation was 7000 ft, and we saw the turnoff for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which is closed until May. Once we came out of the snow-covered forest, we were back in the desert seeing the pink, towering cliffs of Vermillion Cliffs National Monument.

This was definitely our longest drive so far. We started late in the day and arrived at our Sedona campsite after dark.

We are here for Christmas Eve & Christmas day. We spent Christmas Eve doing some souvenir shopping. We had to stop at the infamous Tlaqupaque- an outdoor shopping market designed after a traditional Mexican village in the 1970s. Local artists and crafters fill the market with unique finds.

Sedona is a special place- apparently known as a vortex. According to the Visit Sedona website, "vortexes are thought to be swirling centers of energy that are conducive to healing, meditation and self-exploration. These are places where the earth seems especially alive with energy." So I read a little more about this and a lot of people buy crystals and stones to take out to specific vortex spots to charge them up with good energy. The most visited ones are all on very popular hikes, and you'll often find people meditating, doing yoga, etc.. at these spots; Airport Mesa, Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Boynton Canyon. I thought this sounded like a fun way to experience Sedona, so we went to a crystal shop in West Sedona and we both picked out 2 crystals.

After crystal shopping (lol), we went to uptown Sedona to the more touristy shops. We found an outdoor pizza place for lunch- and it just so happened they had prickly pear margaritas that we've been wanting to try! Delicious!