#2- Into The Vortex!

           

Bree & I are officially on the move for what we’ve coined our “Epic Adventure”! After a great visit with our buddy Tessie & her awesome family in Santa Barbara, we headed to Sedona, Arizona on Thursday arriving around 8 pm. that evening.  As we arrived at Pine Flat campground the first thing we noticed looking up was the amazing canyon wall right next to our campsite, with the stars and bright moon overhead.  Pretty sweet.  Setting up camp at night has never been so easy with the moon acting as something of a street lamp.  Our first night of many camping for the summer had begun, and we were ridiculously excited.

Our sweet campsite in Sedona

Sedona itself is insanely beautiful. The red rock canyons that it is known for, against the blue skies, was some of the most beautiful examples of contrasting colors we’ve ever witnessed in nature.  At sunset, it’s like they glow orange. Amazing.  Take that orange glow and add a rising super moon, super awesome!  On a side note: it’s crazy that the formation of Sedona red rocks dates back to 320 million years!  Due to water, erosion, wind, etc. gives these rocks their current formations, whereas iron deposits that are throughout the porous sandstone and have oxidized (essentially rusted), give them their red color.  In case any of you were wondering.

            The first hike of our journey was referred to us by the “nice” old man camp host.  Turns out, he’s evil.  I mean, nice in every sense of the word, just don’t ask him where to go hiking.  He directed us to a trailhead across the street from our camp, saying “it’s a little steep at first.”  First my ass.  It was steep the entire hike!  Bree & I basically climbed straight up a mountain. Bree almost puked.  And I almost passed out (I blame the elevation).  Needless to say, we made it to the top, and the views of the surrounding canyons and green valley below making it all worthwhile.  Not to mention, overcoming the hellish climb and getting our blood pumping at the same time was a nice bonus.

The view from the hike from hell

Stay hydrated!

 In contrast to the first hike, the second hike in Boynton Canyon wasn’t quite as hellish, but even more stunning in scenery.  This area is one of four in Sedona that are considered “energy vortex” sights.  An energy vortex sight is essentially a spot where there is an abundance of spiritual energy that interacts with ones personal “energy” to help facilitate meditation and healing.  While I do subscribe to the belief system of everyone containing energy, like attracting like, etc.,  I will say I don’t know if I got a super-shot of energy at this spot or not, but we both felt incredibly happy and content.  Vortex or not, it was absolutely stunning to look out at all the red canyons, green valleys, and blue skies stretching as far as you could see.  I did get 2 Yahtzee’s in a row that night to start off the game, to which I give the vortex full credit.

            Back at camp, it has been an interesting (and fun) process getting accustomed to our manner of living for most of the summer.  Both of us already being big campers, and organization freaks, has definitely come in handy.  The amount of stuff we have fits perfectly into the back of the car, with no room to spare, and everything has its

place.  With a few changes here and there of where to keep stuff to make it more easily accessible, I’d say we’ve got it down pretty well.

Super moon over red rocks!

On top of our great campsite and amazing hikes, we also had super tasty bbq’d ribs, and got to listen to our friend Matt perform his electric cello at a house concert here in Sedona, which fit the mood/scenery absolutely perfectly.  While Sedona was an absolutely perfect place to start our adventure, we are now excited and ready to move on to explore Zion! 

That red rock spire is the site of an energy "vortex" here at Boynton Canyon