Sedona always calls me back. This time, it was the mountain bike trails webbing out from Bell Rock that enticed me from the rear-view mirror. Next time…
Surprisingly, Sedona reminds me a little of Las Vegas. One of those “you’ll find what you’re looking for” sort of places with a split personality that alternately caters to the New Age/ Art Gallery set(s) as well as to outdoor enthusiasts. I hereby confess that I bypassed the town of Sedona completely this time, seduced instead by the scenic hiking opportunities that spread out beyond its arty abundance.
Sedona’s eclectic mix of art and new age shops are obviously a huge draw for many. But its monolithic red rocks anchor the Arizona town firmly into the more natural beauty from which it sprung to life. The slightest stirring of passing clouds sweeps the dramatic landscape with ever-shifting thrills of color. And within the fleeting minutes of a Sedona sunset, the giant rocks glow appearing to radiate their own buried light…
Southwest of Sedona off of State Route 89A, the trails of Red Rock State Park meander along the region’s
famed Oak Creek and up reddened trails into the pinyon-juniper biotic zone. During my recent visit, silvery sagebrush, prickly pear cacti and gnarled junipers sparsely dotted the higher elevations. Liberal amounts of oxidized iron colored the clay, limestone and sandstone varying shades of red. Occasional flowers bloomed stubbornly out of what sometimes looked like shards of broken clay pots along the trails.
The mysterious House of Apache Fire is perched above it all, teetering into ruin on the edge of a cliff. The forlorn adobe structure begs questions. Its intriguing history includes lavish living, the dismal deterioration of a marriage and the shady maneuverings of a cult…
Ultimately the adobe house and former Smoke Trail Ranch acreage landed in the preserving arms of the Arizona State Park Service. And this lovely land, spotted from the air and selected to be a very private get-away became Red Rock State Park and another compelling reason to return to Sedona…
More “Arizona” to come…