Northern Arizona: Sedona & Surrounds, Part 1

On our recent trip to Northern Arizona, we collected some points of interest to see and experience. We did these things (plus many more!) during a 6 day tour of the area. We rented a car and used Sedona as a base. There will be more of them in the next blog!

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Marguerite Brunswig Staude spent decades searching the area for the ideal location to set a church, and once she found it, she designed it and built the modern structure in the early 1950’s. To blend and contrast with the surrounding mountains, the architects
Anshen and Allen brought her dream to life in this unique location, which is now a city landmark and a National Heritage site.

You park below, and then walk up a meandering path where people throw coins against the rocks, before reaching the ediface on a stone platform. Active church services are held regularly, but you can enter the Catholic church and gain perspective from the inner sanctum’s quiet. People shuffle in and out, but are respectful and quiet. A nice respite from the otherwise very heavy metaphysical focus of Sedona.

Cathedral Rock

Although a challenge to find the right spot to photograph this site, it is still one of the most spectacular rock formations of the area. We were able to walk around the grounds at the base of mountain, getting our shoes wet in the river, until we finally found the
right spot to get the mountain in sunset view. You do have to pay a park entrance fee ($10), but then you can spend all day in the park. Probably a good idea just to sit and relax and be bathed by the reflected light! It is a magical location (and has a vortex to
boot!).

Bell Rock
Without any fee, you can stroll along the pathways that lead up to the Bell Rock base. The views are amazing from this location (although you cannot submit panorama pictures, so you will have to take my word for it!), and the mountain makes for a unique climb in Sedona. The trail is very well sign posted and it is not a challenge at all. You could climb to the upper levels, and that is a more challenging climb. Overall, a great lookout point.

Horseshoe Bend and Dam
Part of the Colorado River takes a nice horse-shoe shaped bend about 1000 feet below the cliff height — which affords a really unique view of the river and escarpment. You can see boats as they travel down the river. Spectacular, and of course, completely open so you could easily fall over the edge. The town of Page is nearby, where you can visit the Glen Canyon Dam.

This is one of the hydroelectric plants on the Colorado River. Built over a decade, the concrete flowed at a rate of 8,000 cubic yards per day during construction. This is one of the two largest man made lakes in the world (Lake Powell), extending back about 186 miles, with nearly 2000 miles of shoreline. . Electricity is generated at a rate of nearly 3.5 billion kilowat hours per year, although variable based on water levels (which are really low right now!).

Antelope Valley-Slot Canyon
One really cannot express in words what this geological formation can in visuals. Formed by water erosion carving through the sandstone of the canyons, this is an amazing site that you have to experience to believe.

The majority of the erosion is a result of flash flooding during a monsoon season, which runs into the slot canyon, eroding teh corridors to create a flowing appearance to the rocks. The pictures do not do it justice, as you can take a different photograph every few seconds as the lighting changes, as you zoom or widen your framing, and depending on the time of the year. It is not as good to visit in the winter as the sun does not penetrate as well, and only two days a year does the sun actually reach the bottom of the canyon.

There is an upper and lower canyon, and we visited the upper canyon (called “The Crack”), which is supposed to be more level, but otherwise the formations are similar (the lower is called The Corkscrew). You must go with a Navajo guide, and so you have to plan the trip in advance in order to gain entry. Set aside about 1.5 hours to get from Page, AZ, to the slot canyon, walk through (with the hundreds of other people there), and drive back. There are 5 Navajo guide companies, so there will be jostling and bumping as you go through (cost for entry is $35-85 depending on tour length, time of day and season of the year). 

Horseshoe Bend and Dam