Sedona, Arizona: An Orgasm for Your Eyes

December 15^th, 2006. We drove nonstop from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I would have walked that far just to see this - a winding highway that should have never been paved in the first place. It subtracts itself from the overwhelmingly natural beauty of being surrounded by these god-like dirty red gemstones of Arizona.

It was at that moment that I felt like I was experiencing the end of the world. Never before have I felt something so massively significant. To see a picture is not enough. You'd have to travel there to understand the emotion. The end of all happiness lies within that town.

In contrast, a year and a half ago, we had a different introduction to Sedona. Before we arrived into the town of Sedona, via my previous home, Mesa, Arizona, my friends and I stopped at a local convenience store. Like all things in and around Sedona, gas was expensive. My friend Alex was curious about the various publications they had there - basically anything and everything you wanted to know about Sedona and energy vortices.

A vortex is a funnel, shaped much like a tornado, which transports energy from the surface of the Earth. This funnel is evident in the twisted tree trunks that you see all around Sedona (check all the pictures to see it in action).

The man who worked there laughed at us for being curious as to whether or not this vortex thing was legitimate. I had a pretty good idea that it was because of an experience that was related to me by one of my best friends. This snobby local attitude was not the only time we were made fun of for being curious.

Our first introduction to the beauty of Sedona was on a hike we took in some unknown location. We experienced the anti-tourist attitude yet again by some local bikers, but it didn't slow us down. After hiking for a bit in the most interesting wilderness I've ever experienced, we came to a flat and wide open area. We relaxed for a bit and observed our surroundings. Rocks piled up in unique formations by past visitors as offerings to the vortex. It's hard to describe in its entirety, but I did feel overwhelmed with positive energy. And, from what I can recall, there was also a sound of funneling wind, without the presence of much wind at all.

Since we'd been up for nearly 20 hours, we decided to skip sight-seeing, get some dinner, and go back to our hotel room. You won't see many fast food establishments in Sedona. Most of the restaurants there are locally-owned ethnic restaurants, such as Mexican, Italian, Greek, and a ton of pizza places. There is something for everyone.

I wanted to make a point to get up around five or six that morning so that we could see the sun rise over by the airport. We slept through the alarm and got up around nine to have breakfast at the Sedona Airport Restaurant minutes from our hotel. If you ever have a chance to visit Sedona, I highly recommend this restaurant for breakfast. It's not the cheapest around, but it's not too expensive. The food is extraordinary and the view from the restaurant is simply amazing! If you can afford it, after breakfast check out the airplane and helicopter tours, as the restaurant is literally sitting on an airport of sorts.

From breakfast, we went to the Airport Trail, which was not too far down the road. This spot is the most amazing to me, but it probably has more to do with the memories on my last trip there.

I was still sulking from the last vortex experience, which was intensely negative, so I wanted to walk off by myself. I did so while my friends, Bekah and Alex, climbed to the top of that enormous rock (also pictured). They could see me and I could see them from the path that I had taken, so I kept walking. Once I arrived at a certain spot, I sat down at the twisted juniper tree. As soon as I did, I was overcome with a sense of peace and deep love, as if someone was sitting behind me and holding me. Moments later, some kid I didn't know came over and talked me into joining Bekah and Alex on the big rock formation.

On top of the rock, we met a local musician that played the harp on top of that rock. It seemed like a silly or crazy scene out of a movie. We laid down next to each other, enjoying the scenery, the music, and just strengthening our friendship. It was one of those moments that you intend to hold close to your heart forever.

There was no hiking on this trip, just picture taking, as you can see. No extraordinary emotional discoveries, just digital paintings of things that have been seen in previous lives. It was not boring, though. It was never that.

I couldn't help but stand there and be comforted, for no reason but feeling grateful standing in this exact same spot again, trying to experience the past.

But, back then we were able to experience the drama of the sun. After the experience on top of the rock formation, we got in Alex's truck and drove to a spot about a mile down the road. There was a gathering of between 50 and 100 people, all with their camcorders and still cameras, ready to take a picture of the sun as it appeared to descend into the Earth. It was certainly a beautiful sight. Everyone clapped and yelled for the sun, which I thought was extraordinary.

"Yay, sun!" Bekah and I yelled as we clapped.

The end of another beautiful day in Arizona.