Sedona Arizona - Some funky energy

Wild west country - Red Rock State Park

Saturday we took a detour on our way from Flagstaff to Williams via Sedona and one of the Arizona state parks. Wow was that a good choice.

The road from Flagstaff to Sedona is designated as a scenic highway, we have travelled down a number of these and they are always nice but the section of highway 89A is really spectacular and was well worth the detour on its own. The road descends (or ascends depending on which way you are going) via a series of hairpin bends (think Monaco grand prix) through a wooded valley, with occasional clear sections where you can see the rest of the valley. The landscape is straight out of a Hollywood Western with a mixture of Ponderosa pine forest and red sandstone rocks.

Dry wash - when it rains this bed would flood

If the drive was not spectacular enough we then explored Red Rock state park. The park looks again looks like a western movie come to life, this time with orange desert rocks and cactus. Red rock is also one of the best parks that we have visited as all of the walking trails are well marked and there is masses of information about the wildlife that might cross the path (we even identified some Mountain Lion faeces). The highlight was probably the deer that decided to pose for a few pictures whilst eating its lunch.

The deer was far more interested in lunch than us

Prickly pear - the purple bits are the fruit

If any scientist can give me a final identification on this I would be grateful - my guess is grasshopper

The grasshopper's red leg that turned into a wing

Too much energy I think

Look close there is a 8-10 cm camouflaged lizard in there 

Melting

We decided to stop off in Sedona to sample the New Age vibe before journeying on to Williams. There was every possible amenity in the town that a tourist might need; Jeep tours to the famous energy vortexes, local arts and crafts for sale, or Reiki healing sessions. We managed to avoid any of the vortexes draining our funds but the upbeat vibe of the town had some effect, whether it was the harmonic energy or the good weather and friendly people.

This was another one of those last minute changes to the plan that turned into an ace day, thanks Arizona.