Catching up... Sedona - 11. CATHEDRAL ROCK

This is the last Sedona post for this visit.  And this one was really fun - Diana had been here before and knew where to go and the right time of day for the best shots of Cathedral Rock.

After we parked the car at Crescent Moon Picnic Area Park, we followed a path to Oak Creek.  On the way, we saw this water wheel.  It wasn't working, but was in excellent condition:

Below is Oak Creek.  To get a good shot of Cathedral Rock in the distance, you have to walk across - the Red Rock Crossing - to the middle of the creek.  It wasn't deep, and was easy to walk across.  The only problem was the crevices in the rock that were filled with mossy green slippery stuff.  If you can step across them and land on the rock with each step, you'll be okay.  I had my camera - my NEW expensive camera - in my hand.  Super bad idea.  I was lucky I didn't slip.

We walked across this rocky slab to the area where the people are.  It then falls off and the water gets deeper, so we stayed on the dry slab area to get our shots.

Here's Diana walking across.  You can see how shallow it is:

Cathedral Rock is considered the primary VORTICE area in Sedona. (A VORTICE is a place believed to emit power.)

We waded back through the water, then went back to the path and continued on closer to Cathedral Rock.  Along the way we saw some gorgeous cactus blooms.

We continued walking until we saw a large field on our left.  We went out to the middle of the field and could see another great view of Cathedral rock.  The rest of these photos were taken from that field.

I noticed a bird sitting on a dead branch - can you see him on the right of the rocks with the blue sky behind him?

One of the women standing near us heard us talking about him, and did a look-up on her iPhone.  She said he's a Common Black Hawk.  He sure was regal sitting there on that branch, looking around.  There must not have been any good food scurrying around below him, because he sat there for a long time.

As far as information on this place, if you'd like to visit Crescent Moon Park and Oak Creek to get photos of Cathedral Rock from one of it's best vantage points, the best website I found is Firefall Photography.  The author does a spectacular job explaining the area, how to get there, where the best photos are taken, maps, coordinates, etc.  I wish I had found his website before I went to visit this spot.  If I go again, I'll definitely check back and re-read his information.

He also has some very nice photographs of Cathedral Rock.  I'm not happy with my photos - they aren't clear.  Hmm, new camera.  I need to learn more about the settings I guess.  :(

You'll need to pay for parking at the Crescent Moon Picnic Area Park, and then it's a very gentle walk to the best shooting areas.  I walked across the Red River Crossing of Oak Creek in my regular running shoes, and they dried nicely the next day.  If you have water shoes, bring them. 

This was a super fun excursion, and I really liked walking through the Red River Crossing - made me feel like a kid again!

From me and Katie, have a great day, everyone!  😊😎😍😎😊