Gratam Sedona / Arizona

The journey continued from Page to Sedona. We arrived here yesterday and first visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross. A chapel that was completed in 1956. The special thing about the 70-meter-high chapel and its location is that it stands on a 300-meter-high rock. From the outside and from a distance, a large cross is visible in front of a large window wall.

From there we went to the town of Sedona. This city seems to be a mecca for people who are spiritually and/or esoterically "inclined". Many shops offer crystals, candles, scents, soaps, and similar goods that are supposed to contribute to the cleansing of the soul and the finding of inner balance, etc. But even "normal" people like us are welcome...

We immediately noticed how clean and beautiful Sedona is. Very well-kept main and shopping street with many shops where some souvenirs are not overpriced. Although one has the impression that only wealthy people live here and also spend their holidays here, the prices are relatively moderate. There are no "posh" shops like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, or whatever they are called.

We are staying in Sedona for two nights and have bought some things privately for the first time on the tour. We are staying with Sandra and Allen and have a small room there. It is a beautiful wooden house with a wonderful view of the rock formations. But that doesn't mean much here, you are somehow always surrounded by rocks.

In general, the construction style here in Sedona is very special. The houses blend into nature and do not stand out much from the environment. Flat houses with mostly very beautiful architecture. All houses are kept in earth tones and do not extend beyond the tree zone.

There is no poverty here. No run-down mobile homes that have been parked somewhere in the boonies, as is usually the case in the states we have visited so far. Everything is very clean and beautiful.

In the late afternoon of the first day, we decided to hike to Cathedral Rock because this trail can be completed in a relatively short time. However, to get on the trail, we had to cross a creek that was a little wider and deeper than we could just wade through. With many pebbles and barefoot, it wasn't really fun, but still manageable (fear for the camera equipment included).

The path to the summit of the rock, which could only be climbed via a narrow crevice towards the end, was then the end for me. The rock was too high, too slippery, and I had too much fear of heights, making it clear to me that "this far and no further"... Thorsten tried to finish the trail, but he also ran out of steam and we enjoyed the great view of the rock formations and made our way back.

The next morning, Fay Canyon was on the hiking plan. Actually, a 4 km each-way hiking trail that was designated as moderate and supposedly suitable for everyone. Well, we set off and at first, everything was fine. It wasn't until we reached the end of the trail and had the choice to continue walking over the dried-up riverbed with large boulders, go further up "which is great fun for children" (according to the description), that things became "uncomfortable" for me. We hiked past steep cliffs, with the abyss being "a bit obstructed" by bushes and shrubs. However, the higher and steeper the cliff became, the more uneasy I became. Once again, I couldn't continue on the trail and Thorsten had to "forge ahead" alone, but that didn't really make it fun for him either, so we turned back - again after a short break with a view of the hanging gardens on the rocks and the incredible panorama.

I or we almost didn't survive the return trip: climbing down the cliff, suddenly there was a thud and something rushed past us. Thorsten, who was walking behind me, called out "Watch out", and at the same moment, a rock the size of a soccer ball fell down. Immediately afterwards, a young woman came towards us, to whom we directly advised not to continue on the trail as there had just been a rockfall. She was here with her boyfriend/husband and had also heard the sound of the falling rock. Her companion was on a different path above our trail and said that the rock had probably been pushed down from the "hikers" one more "floor up". There are idiots...

To recover from this shock and to cool off, we drove to Grasshopper Point at Oak Creek. On the rocky shore, there were mainly young people who enjoyed jumping into the small lake formed by the mountain stream from the various heights of the rock projections. Some were daring, others rather cautious. A girl of about 12 hesitated to jump into the water from a height of 1.20 meters during our entire stay at this lake. We could understand that she was afraid, but we couldn't understand why she dragged it out for so long. If you don't want to jump, just go back...

Packing suitcases and having dinner on the sunny terrace with a visit from a Javelina herd, which is widespread here and looks similar to our wild boars, only smaller, we spent the last hours in Sedona. Tomorrow we will continue to Phoenix airport and from there to Palm Springs.

We are ending our first third of the USA trip and are still totally excited about what we have seen and experienced in the past two and a half weeks. But to be honest, we are also glad that we now have a "sensory overload break" of four weeks. We will certainly do some things in Palm Springs too, but the "constant newness" will now be limited. At the end of June, we will start the last third of the US trip. After a break, we will be looking forward to it again - promised!