Mystical & prickly
A visit to Sedona’s high desert is like being on Mars, but with cacti, writes Julie Hill.
It would be a shame if you wanted to visit Sedona in northern Arizona, but didn’t like the colour pink. Surrounded by enormous pink sandstone rock formations, the desert earth is pink and, because of strict building codes, the low adobe houses are painted in matching pink tones.
The only other acceptable shade in town is green, as in the lush forest of the surrounding Verde Valley or the stunning range of alien-looking succulents. Even the local McDonald’s has turquoise arches instead of golden ones. The overall impression is of being on Mars, but with cacti.
In this high desert, semi-arid climate that never really gets cold, at an elevation of more than 1300 metres, you’ll become familiar with the difference between a butte – pronounced ‘‘beaut’’ not butt, FYI – and a mesa, geological formations that have flat tops and sides that are usually steep cliffs (a mesa is bigger). Rocks are named according to their shape, hence Snoopy, Elephant, Grand Piano and Spaceship.
And the alien theme continues well past the city’s appearance, for Sedona is known as the most New Age town on Earth. On the main drag you’ll find shops called Crystal Magic, Sacred Light and Mystical Bazaar, which peddle chakra balancing, reiki, aura photography, psychic readings and UFO tours (‘‘UFO sighting guaranteed!’’). The reason this town of roughly 10,000, heavily composed of wealthy retirees and artists, receives around four million visitors a year, is due in large part to its reputation among New Agers as a mystical Mecca, who believe the red rocks are imbued with what they call ‘‘energy vortexes’’.
The vortexes (never vortices) are supposed to be powerful centres of kinetic energy capable of a deep effect on those who visit them. The four main ones are Bell Rock, Airport Rock, Cathedral Rock and Boynton Canyon, all easily trampable. The legend goes that the ancient Native American Yavapai people knew about this ‘‘Great Mother’’ energy, and celebrated it in their paintings and sacred dwellings. But the idea of the vortexes was unknown to the settlers until resurrected in 1980 by psychic Page Bryant on the advice of her spirit guide Albion.
Sedona’s first people date back to around 10,000 BC. Among its earliest inhabitants were the Anasazi (ancient ones), who created cliff dwellings and rock art that can still be seen today, before mysteriously disappearing. The more recent Native American history is disturbing: in 1876, the two tribes of the Verde Valley region, Yavapai and Apache, were forcibly evicted and out of the 1500 people marched to San Carlos, only about 200 returned a quarter century later. The tribes are now a single, though culturally distinct, political entity, the Yavapai-Apachi Nation.
I visited Coconino National Forest to see 2000-year-old petroglyphs thought to have been etched out by the resident shaman. There are cranes, snakes, humans, crabs, bears, a cougar taking a ride on the back of a deer and a spectacular self-portrait of a shaman wearing the Milky Way as a hat. As the light changes during the day, different figures pop out or disappear from the rock face. More recent images were made by the Hopi tribe, including a maiden on
There are cranes, snakes, humans, crabs, bears, a cougar taking a ride on the back of a deer and a spectacular selfportrait of a shaman wearing the Milky Way as a hat.
her wedding day with big hoops of hair on the sides of her head – allegedly George Lucas’ inspiration for Princess Leia’s hairstyle. And for some of the best-preserved ancient cliff dwellings in the United States, there is Montezuma Castle or the Honanki, Palatki or Tuzigoot ranch sites.
English settlers arrived in the 1870s; the city is named after Sedona Schnebly, wife of the first postmaster.
Originally a humble farming community, Sedona later became established as a tourist and holiday destination. The magnificent Chapel of the Holy Cross, which rises 21 metres out of a 300m red rock cliff, was constructed in 1956, commissioned by sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude.
Having inspired Native American artists and artisans for centuries, Sedona is still known for its high proportion of artists and galleries. German artist Max Ernst claimed to have dreamed of Sedona’s fantastical landscapes before emigrating to the city in the 1940s, where he built huge sculptures in his garden and apparently enjoyed one of the most productive periods in his life.
Between the 1920s and 1970s Sedona also became the location of choice for Westerns. More than 60 Hollywood movies, including Johnny Guitar, Angel and the Badman, Desert Fury and Blood on the Moon, have Sedona’s red rocks as a backdrop.
For a tiny town full of retirees, there are surprisingly numerous, though pretty relaxed, nightlife options. PJ’s Village Pub and Sports Lounge offers pool and karaoke, while Full Moon Saloon, with its homely couches and TV above the bar, serves full tumblers of whisky masquerading as shots. Microbrewery Oak Creek Brewing Co has live music and five beers brewed on site.
If you’re in the mood for some Mexican food that will throw shade on every taco you’ve ever eaten, accompanied by a delicious black salt margarita, there’s elegant Elote. At the Cowboy Club you can order the ‘‘Diamondback Rattlesnake’’ – wild rattlesnake cakes served with grilled prickly pear cactus. The Daily Grind makes a perfectly acceptable flat white served in an adorable Mason jar. There are also, of course, plenty of eateries suitable for the astral traveller, the pinnacle of which would be ChocolaTree Organic Oasis, with its ‘‘God-conscious’’ teas, vegan alfalfa sandwiches and specialty chocolates.
In nearby Cornville, there is the psychedelic wonderworld Eliphante, a joyous yet bonkers paint-splattered sculptural village built by the artist Michael Kahn and his lover, Leda Livant, in the
1970s. Structures include the houses Eliphante, so-named for the trunk structure that sticks out the front, and Hipadome, and the subterranean studio Pipe Dreams.
Arcosanti in neighbouring Mayer is an experimental town also built in the 1970s by Italian architect Paolo Soleri according to his ethos ‘‘arcology’’, based on minimal resource use and access to the natural environment. Designed to eventually house 5000 people, the village is still in construction. There’s an outdoor amphitheatre, bronze-casting and ceramics apses, and rooms for overnight guests. Volunteers on the site can be found toiling on Soleri-brand ceramics and bronze bells.
Slightly further afield is the Grand Canyon, a two-hour drive away. After being surrounded by some frankly phallic-looking rocks, it’s something of a relief to stare into a giant chasm. You can hike down into the canyon or take a gentle walk around the rim, or simply marvel at the amount of people who own selfie sticks.
If you can withstand temperatures that shoot up to 40 degrees Celsius and beyond, it’s worth visiting Sedona during the monsoon season in the summer months of July and August, when you can enjoy the sight of lightning pinging from rock to rock. The rest of the time, you can work on lowering your body temperature in the cool waters of Buddha Beach.
If you’re the type who enjoys a spot of reiki, or perhaps has always fantasised about owning a crystal wand, this is a place where no-one will judge you. So, for the spiritual tourist, my final hot tip is to visit Rima Thundercloud at Mystical Bazaar for a psychic reading. She’s really quite specific.
The writer travelled on her own dime.