Jerome and Prescott

Yesterday we left beautiful Sedona to drive through Jerome on the way to Prescott--all in AZ, of course--to see my friend Neil from high school.

We debated whether to see Jerome--it was not the quickest path to our ultimate destination for the day; but, the recommendation of our friends Tai and Letha won out and we stopped there for a cuppa java and a walk around (part of) town.

We were both dying for a cappuccino or a latte, and our Frommer's guide had good things to say about the Flatiron Cafe. We arrived in town early and had little problem finding a place to park. The cafe, interestingly, is split into two locations across the street from each other; the same staff of two serviced both locations by running back and forth. We visited the corner location.

The Flatiron Cafe

Inside the Flatiron, we were to shown the only empty table and took the menu from the waitress. We immediately decided upon our respective choices: Nonfat Cappuccino for Claire and Regular Latte for Chuck.

Inside the Flatiron Cafe

Chuck's Beautiful Latte

Claire commented on the beauty of her beverage. The owner responded, "I care." He does and it shows. He said the coffee is great because the beans are excellent. Claire loved her brew so much that she asked if she could purchase the beans. He said yes, but warned us that it would not stay fresh long if he ground the beans for us; since we don't have a grinder, we had him grind them anyway.

Magic Novo Beans

Leaving the Cafe with Novo Silver

As we wandered about town looking into the windows of closed shops, we discovered much in the way of familiar tourist offerings. But, there was one curio that particularly caught our attention.

Strange Sign

Since almost nothing was open yet on this beautiful Sunday morning, we continued to do a bit of window shopping. Eventually, Claire made purchases at the Connor Hotel: a pair of lovely earrings and a birthday card.

Connor Hotel

As we were preparing to leave, I spotted an antique sound movie projector. We both thought it very interesting and Claire thought her son, Mathew--a major movie and camera buff--would appreciate it; so she immediately emailed him the picture from the cell phone.

Old projector in Front of Theatre Store

We took the scenic, but curvy, route from Jerome to Prescott. Wisely, I decided to drive this part--to keep my motion sickness at bay.

We put Neil and Paula's address into Susan (our GPS) and she happily accepted it. So, I foolishly forgot that he had warned me that his place was difficult to locate. We finally arrived at a dirt road that ran into a locked fence that paralleled the railroad tracks. This could not be right. There was another road just beyond this, but none of the mailboxes gave helpful information and we had absolutely no signal for our cell phones.

We decided to drive back to find a land line phone that would give us access to Neil. I thought the Church we had passed on the way in would be a good bet; but, we got to a Texaco gas station and grocery store first and stopped to try our luck. The clerk was friendly, helpful, and knew Neil. He let us use the store's cordless phone. Neil rattled off the directions, several times--as I kept missing parts, and we set off again.

It turns out that the original paved road at which we stopped--just beyond the dirt road--was the correct path to follow and five minutes later we were watching Neil wave to us, showing us where to park.

We had a wonderful time catching up: Since the year we graduated from high school, I believe that I have seen Neil only three times: First, just after he married Paula, while they were both still students at Stanford. Next, in 2010, at a mini-reunion of seven high school friends and their significant others. Finally, yesterday. We find that we have similar political outlooks; and we have love of family, and fascination with books in common. We exchanged notes on authors and movie titles and I accepted two books from Neil, which I will begin to savor upon my return to Davis: One a crime thriller, the other is historical fiction about WWII.

I can scarcely begin to say how much we love their home and 76 acre ranch. It is about 40 minutes from Prescott and they venture into town about 3 times a week--for food, yoga lessons and musical entertainment. They designed the place themselves with a spacious 3400 square foot floor plan. Much of the interior decorating was woodwork by Paula--cabinets, doors. There are enormous windows everywhere, providing lovely desert vistas by day and (literally) heavenly views by night. The tour included their original home on the property, about 75 yards away, consisting of a giant living space with several smaller rooms--all upstairs--and two wonderful workshops downstairs: a fully furnished wood shop for Paula and her artistic endeavors, and an auto shop for Neil, who has a restored MGB, a Model A Ford and a partially restored similar vintage Ford in place. They also have a gaggle of farm equipment--tractors and back hoes--two golf carts for local transportation and two jeeps for further forays. (I apologize for not being able to provide pictures!)


A man’s house is his castle and fortress, and each man’s home is his safest refuge. ~ Sir Edward Coke

Sedona, Third Day

We were on our way by 6:08am, today. The trailhead begins right out our front door across the yard. For the first half hour, we had no problem following the directions: "Straight down the path and circle around counterclockwise."

Our Goal For the Day

Well, after about 15 minutes of going up the trail, clockwise, we thought we were probably blazing a newish (not virgin: there were markers) trail.

On The Trail

Getting There

We finally arrived at a lovely viewpoint about half-way up Castle Rock. As we hiked, yesterday and today, we noticed that air currents periodically changed from warm to cool, and back again. I doubt this had anything to do with putative vortexes, but it was interesting to note them as we passed along. I also noted that I had more uphill energy than usual; but, that may simply be due to getting a good night's sleep. So, I remain agnostic on the question of vortexes in Sedona.

Taking in the View

We looked back to see where we had been.

Looking Back

We lost sight of the trail several times and were each, separately, trying to find it. We met Jim, a local, who showed us the place to catch the trail, again. We enjoyed talking to him about his experiences, here, in Phoenix, and in Alaska. He used to find oil wells around the world; but, the invention of GPS put him out of business.

We Found the Trail!

We came back to our room to find a young couple scoping out the resort as a potential wedding site. I finally noticed a tiered platform across the yard that would be perfect for holding a ceremony.

Later, an actual wedding took place, right in front of us, as we merrily read our books.

The Aisle and Wedding Train. Note our gas Barbecue.

At the Altar

May you always need one another -
not so much to fill your emptiness
as to help you to know your fullness.
A mountain needs a valley to be complete;
the valley does not make
the mountain less, but more;
and the valley is more a valley because
it has a mountain towering over it.
~ Blessing For Marriage by James Dillet Freeman

Sedona, Second Day

We wanted to start our day viewing the sunrise--something we keep talking about but keep letting slip away. More slippage. But, we did get an early start, beginning at 6:15am.

We combined two trails, today; first we walked down to the trailhead and took the Courthouse Rock loop.

Starting Our Hike

Running Man Shadow

Light and Shadow

There Be Giants on the Trail

Modeling Cool Bandana

Modeling Cool Trail

Cairn Marks the Trail

Then we took the Bell Rock Trail up the side of the mountain. This is the site of one vortex. "There are several energy centers, or vortexes of subtle energy, located in the Sedona area...If you actually go to one of the vortex sites, which is where the energy is strongest, it can be a very uplifting experience. The energy you take in at one of these energy centers can stay with you and affect you positively for days afterwards."

"In addition to being a beautiful and serene place, Sedona has long been known as a spiritual power center. This is because the power that emanates from the vortexes produces some of the most remarkable energy on the planet. This energy is the reason Sedona is full of people that are "on the path", that is, people who have made a commitment to grow and become as much as they can spiritually. It is also the reason that such a large New Age community has sprung up in the Sedona area, bringing with it a variety of spiritual practices and alternative healing modalities, and it is the reason Sedona has sometimes been called a spiritual Disneyland."

The only evidences I had for being at an energy center were the fact that I could keep up with Claire--unusual, these days--and I felt strong the entire hike. But, this could also be due to being at a lower altitude and getting a good night's sleep.

Pushing On

Rest Stop

Looking Back

Going Down

View

Horse or Bike Warning

The Trails

During the first hour of the hike, we encountered only 3 other people. During the next hour, we saw about 10 more; during the last hour, we ran into almost two dozen, about half on mountain bikes. We appreciate the solitude of starting early, especially since this is one of the area's most popular hikes.

The rest of the day will be spent drinking coffee or iced tea, blogging, eating or lounging around the pool and hot tubs.

Inside the big world that you cannot control, you have the small world that you can control. In that small world, if you look, you can see whether to go this way toward the good, or the other way toward bad. ~ Volya Rinpoche, character in Roland Merullo's Breakfast with Buddha

Sedona, First Day

It took us less than 3 hours to drive from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to Sedona, AZ, a high desert community at 4,500 feet. We decided to take the fastest route; so we left by the South Entrance. Arriving too early to check-in to Red Agave, Sedona's Red Rock Adventure Resort, we stopped for guidance at the first Visitor Center we encountered.

This proved wise, as the clerk was very helpful and we discovered that some of these "centers" are really fronts for time-share sales! We found out some of the places that would be interesting to visit, some that we would avoid, and trails we might choose to hike. We also found the sites of several vortexes (energy centers). Sedona is renowned for its stunning red buttes and monoliths and the thousand foot formations that surround the town.

Sedona

We drove right on by the Gallery District, with its oversized and overpriced life-sized sculptures of bears and what-not. Claire wanted to check out the Hummingbird House at the "Y"; but, that proved of little interest to us--many expensive doodads, but none we thought of as gift-worthy. However, we did treat ourselves to New Horizons, a CD by local musician Robin Miller. As we walked around, we heard a piece that sounded like one of Pete Haycock's numbers. Robin obliged us by playing samples of each track before we decided we would like it.

Sedona

We started back, stopping at the Tlaquepague shopping area for coffee at The Secret Garden Cafe. I had a scrumptious chocolate chip cookie to go with our cappuccinos. The place was so pleasant we returned, later, for lunch. We loved the food, the service, the weather, the ambiance.

The Secret Garden Cafe

Claire's Southwest Veggie Cobb Salad, with sliced portabella mushrooms, roasted red peppers, dried corn, sun dried tomatoes, diced cucumbers, spiced pecans and asiago cheese on a bed of organic field greens.

Chuck's Hummus Pizza, topped with black mission figs, roasted red peppers, carmelized onions and feta cheese.

Shopping Center

Flower

Metal Monk Sculpture

Changing Woman Sculpture. You may recall the legend about her from the blog in Canyon de Chelly.

Driving back to our resort to check-in, we decided to stop at The Chapel of the Holy Cross on the way. This Catholic Church was conceived by artist Marguerite Brunswig Staude before WWII as a interdenominational site; she collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright on the design; but, before it could be started, the War broke out. Finally, it was downsized dramatically and located here in Sedona in 1956.

On the Way to the Chapel

The Chapel

Entering the Chapel

View From the Chapel

Statue Head from Assisi

Sculpture by Marguerite Staude

McMansion Seen from Chapel

Next, we headed to our resort, to check into our studio apartment and to try out the pool and two hot tubs! The weather, pool and tubs were perfect. We enjoyed the scent of rosemary as we went from pool to hot tub to pool and back again.

We love the way the space is laid out. We have a studio arrangement with the bedroom and kitchen being the main area. The bed has a pillow top, which is comfortable, but requires a pole-vaulting stick to climb onto. The kitchen has a microwave, oven and stove, refrigerator, and a set of dishes, pots and pans. Just beyond is the bathroom sink; straight ahead from there is the toilet and shower; to the right from the sink is the changing area, with large closet and tall dresser with several drawers. The quiet at this special place is rejuvenating.

Preparing Dinner in Casual Attire

Our Humble Abode

View from Our Front Yard

At night, Jo, the manager, started a fire in the stone circle and brought out the makings and tools for s'mores--chocolate candy on a bed of roasted marshmallows in a graham cracker sandwich. After polishing off two of them, I returned to the pool and hot tubs for a final, relaxing bath.

I finished Breakfast With Buddha, tonight: Wisdom clearly presented in a gentle way. I thought it got better as it progressed through the relationship between Otto and Rinpoche; but, equally true, I found it less hard to accept the foibles I share with Otto as I began to see him as human rather than an object of judgment.

Teaching Method: He'd offer a lesson, usually taken from everyday experience, and then allow time for it to sink in, time for the living of ordinary life, which, after all, was the point and purpose of his teaching. ~ Otto Ringling, character in Roland Merullo's Breakfast with Buddha

Grand Canyon, Second Day

This morning we were going to hike first, in the cool of the day, and then chill out after. We walked to the South Rim, watching the mule-riding group about to descend the Bright Angel Trail. We soon discovered that nothing was open, yet, and we would have to limit our explorations of facilities to external views for awhile.

We ended up walking from Maswik Lodge to the South Rim, along the Rim Trail to Bright Angel Trailhead, Kolb Studio, Lookout Studio, Bright Angel Lodge, El Tovar Lodge, Hopi House, Verkamp's Visitor Center, and The Trail of Time, ending at Yavapai Geology Museum. At this time of day, we were pleased to encounter very few tourists.

Kolb Studio. This 1904 building was added to on several occasions and ended up with 5 stories; but, it was never anchored to the canyon wall until the park service took it over, around 1990. And, it practically sits on one of the fault lines in the park. We were told that there was a quake here, quite recently.

South Rim

Lookout Studio. This was built by Fred Harvey and Santa Fe Railroad to compete with and drive the Kolbs out of business. It did not work.

Lookout Studio

On the way back along the Rim Trail, we went through the places that hadn't opened yet on the way up, stopping at Bright Angel Lodge for a cappuccino--it was so hot we had to wait to drink it. Chuck then had a double-scoop ice cream chaser of Butterfinger and Espresso Chip.

Suicidal Squirrel. I am sure this is not the same guy from yesterday. Apparently, times are tough at the Canyon this year.

Deer in the Front Yard

Lookout Looking

Relaxing

El Tovar Lodge

Hopi House

We arrived at the Bright Angel Lodge restaurant as it opened for lunch at 11:15am. Claire had the Spicy Santa Fe Lettuce Wrap and Southwestern Corn Chowder soup. Her eyes were bigger than her stomach; so, we got our first squirrel bag, so she could take it back to our room refrigerator and finish the wrap at her leisure.

Claire's Spicy Wrap Lunch

Chuck enjoyed the Southwestern Beef Stew in Bread Bowl. The picture-taking was delayed due to excessive hunger; so you miss the image of stew overflowing the bread onto the plate.

Chuck's Beef Stew in Bread Bowl

We especially enjoyed the current Grand Canyon art exhibit at the Kolb Museum.

We walked back to the room to deposit Claire's lettuce wrap and to download pictures, while waiting for the afternoon lecture on the human history of the Canyon.

Wild Ones from Brazil. I am not sure if this was the same bunch we encountered earlier on the trip; Claire says they are different. They were hanging outside the Vercamp Visitor Center where we were to begin our pm walking tour. We were impressed by the diversity of the group--there were males and females, young and old, bikers and squares in the group. It was comical to see these rough riders spraying on gobs of sunscreen. Where's the pride of "manliness?"

The Ranger, A.J., was wonderful. He was not used to being at the rim, he spends most of his time at the bottom of the Canyon, at Phantom Ranch. So, the planned 20 minute lecture-walk lasted an hour and a quarter--but no one complained. He covered the human history from 10,000 years ago to the present day, emphasizing the importance of water throughout that time: With the exception of the time period at the end of the Ice Age, this has been a (semi-arid) desert area, surrounded by deserts on three+ sides.

At the end of the talk, which ended at Kolb studio, we walked a short distance down Bright Angel Trail to the window in the Rock. At that point, we decided to call it a day and retreated back to our room.

Kolb Brothers. They did photo portraits of visitors; they did landscapes; they photographed themselves, as in this photo; and they did the first commercial action movie--themselves running the Colorado rapids in a boat. One brother lived in this studio until his death at 95 in 1976.

Bright Angel Trail Window

We became fascinated with Mary Colter and decided to put in a bit about her:
Mary Colter began her adult life as a school teacher in the 1890's. She became an architect, designer and decorator for the Fred Harvey company in 1902. Her designs were unique for their time because she used the cultural heritage of the region rather than imitate European styles. She was also influenced by Frederick Law Olmstead--she thought that structures in places of natural beauty should not detract from their surroundings, but should, rather, fit in, using vernacular architecture.

Mary Colter

She had a relationship with the Harvey organization that lasted about 46 years, designing hotels, restaurants and union station facilities. This was quite unusual for a woman in those days. She designed many of the buildings at the Grand Canyon, including Hermit's Rest (1914), Lookout Studio (1914), Phantom Ranch (1922), the Watchtower (1932) and Bright Angel Lodge (1916, 1935). Her buildings have their roots in the American past and in the Indian and Spanish heritage of the land she loved.

The color of the Great Canon itself is red, a light Indian Red, and the material sandstone and red marble and is in terraces all the way down. ~ Thomas Moran, Grand Canyon Landscape Painter, American Hudson River School