Sedona

During a recent trip to Arizona, I stayed in Sedona for a  week. I've been there a few times, and here are some of my favorite photos of the area. Here's Snoopy, taken from Los Abrigados.

Snoopy

And here's a shot of the Chapel of the Holy Cross, taken from the airport loop.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Here's a group of trees I passed through after a long hike. The wind and ground slope and sun direction has them all bent over.

Curved Trees

The coffee pot dominates West Sedona when you look north.

Coffee Pot Rock

On one trip, it snowed all night, and I went out at dawn to catch the sunrise. Here's the Cock's Comb.

Cock's Comb

And here's the coffee pot again...

Coffee Pot

And I think this is my favorite shot of Sedona.

And from my most recent trip...

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Off in the distance, one can sometimes see the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff.

San Francisco Peaks

No photo series on Sedona is complete without a shot of Cathedral Rock. I hiked down to Oak Creek and onto some rocks in the creek to set up my tripod to get some sunset shots.

Cathedral Rock

Finally, I saw only crows, no other noteworthy birds. With one exception. Meep meep!

Roadrunner

By the way, for anyone planning a visit to Sedona, I recommend you skip Red Rock State Park and Red Rock Crossing. The state park is expensive. The crossing doesn't accept national park passes. The best spot to photograph and view Cathedral Rock at sunset is at the end of Verde Valley School Road. Park at the trailhead; use a red rock pass or a national park pass. Cross the road from the parking lot, pick up the trail to walk downhill for a few minutes, and soon you'll wind up right by the stream, directly adjacent to Red Rock Crossing, but on the other side of the water, and you'll be on the shallow side of the stream, able to walk onto the flat sandstone of the stream bed if the water is low enough.

My favorite place to hike is the airport loop. Just about every famous formation is visible at some point as you walk this 3 mile trail. Do it at dawn for stunning views of the first sunlight striking the red rocks. And you might see a few hot air balloons floating by. One morning on this trip I had the vortex rock to myself. The next time, it was crowded.

I think I walked a total of 30 miles in cold, sunny, sandy, rocky, steep conditions, and it was worth every step.