We took the scenic route from Flagstaff to Sedona, enjoying beautiful winter landscapes along the way.
The mountains surrounding Sedona were dusted with snow, but the town itself, although cold and damp, was snow-free.
This rock formation is called "Snoopy Rock" because some people think it looks like the silhouette of Charles Schultz's beagle, reclining atop his doghouse.
Sedona has a reputation as a kind of "new age" center, attracting people looking for mystical experiences and spiritual peace. Believers and tourists seek out "vortexes," supposedly locations of swirling spiritual energy that create pleasantly mysterious sensations and enhanced emotional or psychological well-being. We didn't notice anything unusual, perhaps because we already felt pretty good.
One of the vortex sites is Chapel of the Holy Cross, a Roman Catholic chapel built in an impressive location in 1956.
In 1957, the chapel received the Award of Honor from the American Institute of Architects. It was later added to the National Register of Historic Places. There are terrific views of the surrounding landscape from the chapel's floor-to-ceiling window, as well as from the parking lot. Of course, there is a gift shop, featuring "the latest in religious accessories".
Sedona has a thriving arts community. Back in 2005, the annual art festival was launched with "Javelinas On Parade," an exhibition of statues decorated by local artists. When we were here for an afternoon in the summer of 2007, we saw dozens of these on display downtown. Not long afterwards, most of them were sold at auction, but, nearly eleven years later, we spotted a couple of them still in place.
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We enjoyed browsing in the shops and viewing public art along the main drag.
Although we were tempted by some of the local art work in the nearby galleries, shopping isn't practical for us at this time, so we just enjoyed what we saw and moved on.
Note: We were here at the end of February.
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