The first time I came to Sedona was in 1986 during my first round trip in the USA. I was baffled by its beauty right away. Meanwhile I have been to that place at least 15 times during the past 20 years, if not more. I stopped counting. I actually even consider to set up a winter retreat for my retirement there. That is how beautiful it is there.
Sedona is special in every way. The Red Rock formations around town are outstanding. No wonder many movies have been filmed there since the silent movies time. Billy the Kid and Apache are only two out of the countless Hollywood movies that have been shot here.
So it does not surprise that Sedona hosts its own film festival, too.
To stroll around its streets filled with art galleries, fancy restaurants and coffee shops and boutiques is pure fun. But Sedona enlightens you in many different ways. The hiking trails around the town are of magnificent beauty and for each level of hiking condition suitable.
What makes Sedona outstanding is the fact that is beneath the endless beauty beats a healing heart. Sedona has long been regarded as a place both sacred and powerful by the American Natives as well as by people from all over the world. Over 2.8 Million visitors marvel at Sedona´s beauty each year. Art centers like Tlaquepaque make you forget every day burden as one marvels at the incredible art displayed created by some of the greatest Western art talents known nowadays.
This town and its surrounding nature is like a cathedral. People travel from all over the world come here to experience the mysterious cosmic forces that are said to emanate from the red rocks. They want to experience the power of vortexes.
What is a vortex? They are believed and felt to be swirling centers of energy that are conducive to healing, meditation and self-exploration. These are places where the earth seems especially alive with energy. Many people feel inspired, recharged or uplifted after visiting a vortex. It surely works for me every time I set a foot into that Red Rock paradise. The four best known Sedona vortexes where energy is at the highest level are found at Airport Mesa, Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Boynton Canyon. Don’t be surprised to find people doing meditation, yoga or performing other rituals at vortex sites. Please be respectful. There are several companies, individual guides and healing practitioners that offer vortex tours. But everyone is welcome to visit on their own. All vortex sites are easily accessible and maps and directions are available at the visitor center. Show up with an open mind and see what happens. I got married in a second ceremony to my husband held by one of the leading Shamans there named Rahelio. By the way, many of Sedona’s spas offer Native American-inspired treatments using indigenous materials like red rock clay and local plants such like sage.
But Sedona has an interesting past as well. The area had been settled by the Hohokam around 700 A.D. followed by the Sinagua Indians. But in 1066 A.D. the Natives had to leave the area due to the violent eruption of a volcano close by. But the Sinagua returned together with the Anasazi Indians because the volcano had left behind the gift of its ash hence a very fertile soil. The weird thing is that around 1300 A.D. something must have happened again and all the Ancient Natives left overnight so to speak. Scientists even found corn still roasting in ancient fire places as they left. Nobody has an explanation for that incidence yet.
The first white man showed up in 1583 and was soon followed by the first settlers and mountain men in the early 1800s.The first permanent white settler named John Thompson built his cabin in beautiful Oak Creek Canyon on the East side of Sedona in 1876. However it was a Pennsylvania Dutch couple with Swiss roots that gave the town its name. Sedona and T.C. Schnebly moved to the area 1899 to start farming.
Those days a settlement would not receive mail if it did not have a town´s name and Schnebly Station or Oak Creek Crossing, as suggested, was too long and refused by the mail service company. T.C. ´s brother suggested him to use his wife´s name and that is how the town got its beautiful name.
Sedona has the ability to transform lives. The raw physical beauty of the landscape automatically recalibrates your sense of wonder. Embrace the spectacular. Accept the astonishing. This is a place that inspires, recharges, uplifts, soothes, restores and so much more. I would move there in a New York minute.
Fast facts: Sedona is only about a 2 hour drive North of Phoenix. Although staying there is costly it is well worth it.
- Population 10,300.
- Elevation 4,350 feet at City Hall. Ideal climate to escape the summer heat.
- Size: 19 square miles, 51 percent privately owned. The rest is Coconino National Forest.
- The median age of Sedona residents is 59. Fifty-four percent of residents hold an associates, bachelors or graduate degree.
- Sedona hosts 2.8 million tourists per year.
- Delicious food is available on highest quality from all over the world.
