A Trip To Sedona

This is what greets you when coming to Sedona, Arizona. It's about 4,500 ft. in elevation, close to what Salt Lake City is. It averages about 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix which is 2 hours south. We flew into PHX early Sunday morning, picked up our rental car, a 2007 Infiniti G35, and went to breakfast. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. It was Suzanne's first time and I think she was overwhelmed with the decor and huge menu. After breakfast it was time to hit the road.

We drove north and made a brief stop at The Boulders, one of the resorts American Express Travel has a marketing agreement with. It's beatiful and nestled among huge boulders. By this time were were beginning to feel the effects of 105 degree weather so we hit the road again heading for Sedona. The scenery is pretty blek, sand, low bushes (sage?) and cactus (tall skinny ones).



Through my work I was able to arrange two nights at the L'Auberge Inn and Spa in Sedona. It's rated on of America's top 75 hotels by Conde Nast Traveler magazine. It is absolutly gorgeous! Very secluded, exclusive and romantic. It's just what we needed for 2 nights and three days.









This is our Garden View Cottage nestled amongest the oak trees, along Oak Creek Canyon. There is a strong feeling of being in nature, much like a National Park. The tall trees, shade and sound of the creek are very relaxing. We were ready to start our relaxation. The photos are the outside of the cottage, the view from the porch, the inside (it was really big, with fireplace and nice leather couch), and scones and tea on the porch. This is the way to live!









One of the nicest things about L'Auberge is the Creekside Patio Dining. The table are on the edge of the creek, under the tall oak trees with the sound of the water cascading over the rocks soothing your soul. The chef grows his own herbs in a little fenced garden and creates wonderful food including Eggs Benedict with fresh squeezed orange juice. If you look closely at the last photo you might see a blue herin stretching his long neck up toward the tree tops.






Sedona is known as a very spiritual place with an abundance of Vortexes (consentrations of earth energy). The hotel arranged for us to have a tour of with Linda Summers. She has a few legitament degrees, is a Reiki trainer, and knows a heck of a lot about the history, geography and spiritually of the area. She took us on a tour and explained the signifigance of the rock formations and why the Indians lived here. This was the highlight for Suzanne.







We did a little exploring on our own too. We went to Palatki Red Cliffs Heritage Site. We hiked, in 100plus degree heat and direct sun, to the cliff dwellings, the pictographs (painting on rock) and the petroglyphs (carvings on rock). We we hiked along the creek Suzanne noticed the young tree growing in a Y formation to help hold up the much older tree.




As we end our visit to colorful Sedona we visit Cathedral Rock, probably the most photographed scene in Arizona. Walt Disney built a house nearby and spent as much time as possible there.



Walt said he was very inspired and got a lot of ideas from Thunder Mountain. This is the highest peak in the area and therefore draws out the thunder and lightening from the storms. I'll bet you can't guess which ride at Disneyland is named after this mountian.



Now we close this posting.....


We leave you with a peacefull waterfall at L'Auberge. Until next time, enjoy every day!