On Friday, we arrived in Flagstaff mid-afternoon, checked into our hotel and headed for Walnut Creek Canyon National Monument. It's a good thing didn't unpack the car first since we arrived only 40 minutes before the Monument closed for the day! But we took a walk around the rim of the canyon and could see the ruins of the cliff dweller's homes. These homes were on the naturally occurring shelves formed by erosion and averaged only a few feet in depth!
Others dwelt atop the mesas in stone houses. These folks becameknown as the Sinagua people from the Spanish sin (without) agua (water) since they lived in an extremely arid environment with little water.
Oak Creek Canyon & Sedona
Saturday morning was brisk (30 degrees), bright, and sunny. We drove Arizona highway 89A down the Oak Creek Canyon, one of the most beautiful drives in the land of beautiful drives!
At the top of the canyon, there is an overlook that sets the stage for what is to come.
Native Americans (Navaho) were selling hand made items. We bought a beautiful silver "dream catcher" necklace, bracelet, and ear ring set as well as a turtle sculpture with a painting on the top of "the end of the trail" (where an exhausted warrior slumps atop his pony).
We learned that the canyon had been closed for quite a while due to rock slides and had just been reopened this week! Ever seen a canyon switchback with a traffic signal?
(As it happens, this was a blessing since later, traffic from "above" came in packs of 6-10 cars making dodging traffic easier while running up the road for a photograph!)
As the canyon unfolds, Oak Creek crosses the road several times and creates some truly breathtaking scenes.
There are many resorts and private cabins along the canyon, many of which can be reached only by driving across concrete fords (shallow water-covered concrete pathways barely wider than a vehicle!). This one also had a pedestrian bridge downstream a little, allowing residents to park on the road side of the creek and walk across if the water was too high to attempt the ford.
While we watched, this teenager drove cautiously across the ford. Then he jumped out and Dad BACKED across the ford! Why didn't he just go another 50 feet and turn around? Your guess is as good as mine! I was ready to switch to "movie mode" to capture it on film if he drove of the edge - but he made it OK.
Mile after mile of drop-dead gorgeous landscape!
And canyons with babbling brooks!
It's a good place to meet cute girls too!
(Maybe the babbling of the brook covers up my babbling? Could explain a lot!)
Near the bottom of the canyon, we reached Sedona. Imagine Nashville with a canyon and creek running through it! Lots of traffic and lots of "separation places" - places where you get separated from your money!
We saw this cactus flowering (remember the Walter Mathau, Goldy Hawn, Ingrid Bergman movie "Cactus Flower"?)
Holy Cross Chapel
As we reached the southern reaches of Sedona, we turned on a side street to get one more photo of one more beautiful rock formation (YAWN!!!) and happened on the Chapel of the Holy Cross!
With the cross resting on two rock outcroppings, this chapel literally took an act of congress (since the land was part of the Federal Reserve). It just celebrated it's 50th birthday!
As on the outside, the back-lit cross dominates the Chapel.
Just above the altar, mounted to the cross, is this sculpture titled "Anima Christi" or "Soul of Christ." This, of course, is the title (first line) of a famous prayer as well.
The Stations of the Cross were amazing! All simply Roman numerals, but fashioned from large spikes!
Just down the hill from the chapel is this little spread. When I asked the volunteer confirmed it was "some rich dude!" Notice, this little vacation home has an observatory dome, waterfall, and four car garage! The small house on the left is where we will stay when we are invited as guests.
As we drove south from Sedona, I just couldn't resist taking one more photo of just one more gorgeous rock formation! (Sorry! ;-)
The forecast for Flagstaff Saturday night was snow showers!
So in the finest snowbird tradition, once out of the Canyon, we headed east to Gallup, New Mexico where it might rain on us, but NO SNOW!
Tomorrow, Amarillo via Albuquerque.
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