Day Trip to Sedona

The past few days have been chock full of travels. On Thursday, Anna, Juan, and I drove to Sedona so they could see "red rock country." I was happy to go back; it's great to have a place so beautiful within a two-hour drive. 

We decided to visit the Airport vortex. John and I had visited Sedona last November and hiked the Boynton Canyon vortex trail, which was about a six-mile hike roundtrip. I wanted to visit a different (read: easier) one. Luckily, the airport vortex hike did not require a Red Rock Pass, so we save ourselves $5. Do you know what vortexes are? Read about the Sedona vortexes here. 

Except, we didn't even realize we visited the Airport vortex until after we left it. Whoops. 

Taking some fun pictures at that big rock near the entrance (i.e., the actual vortex spot)

While driving along Airport Road, we spotted a gravel pull off  for parking and the trail for the Airport Loop. Eagerly, we set off hiking to find this vortex. We chose the Airport vortex because it was a 1/2 mile hike - the shortest of the vortex hikes. And even though Sedona has a high elevation, the temperature was still hovering in the 90's. 

We started along the path and hiked for approximately a half hour before we decided we were not on the right trail. (The Airport Loop is a 2.5 mile hike around the Sedona airport.) So we turned around and hiked back. On our hike back, we spotted some tourists standing on the top of a rock from across the valley and wanted to climb up there as well. Turns out that actually was the vortex we should have gone to and saved ourselves some time. 

After the hike, we returned to town to eat our packed lunch and explore the shops. I found some prickly pear cactus taffy and had to try some. It has an interesting berry/grape flavor. 

On our way out of town, we drove down Chapel Road to see the famous chapel built into the rocks. 

Chapel at the Holy Cross, a Catholic church

A fun surprise we saw as we were driving? The obnoxiously huge mansion built on the road right below the chapel. So millions of visitors get to gawk at this mansion while they visit the chapel. We were driving by it and marveling at the features: four-car garage, two-story fountain outside, huge garden, observatory, etc. Clearly, someone has an inferiority complex and is trying to show off. 

This mansion, apparently owned by a rich Romanian doctor

Being the nosy person I am, I wanted to see the inside of this place. Luckily, someone has already creeped for me. Or, gotten a tour. Choose your wording. Here are some pictures of the palace. 

We had planned to hike along Fay Canyon as well, but nixed the idea. It was too dang hot. So we made it home in dinner to make some delicious dinner. One of the perks of living in Arizona.