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!  😊😎😍😎😊

Catching up... Sedona - 10. DOWNTOWN SEDONA SCULPTURES

First up is a little cutie-pie - not a sculpture.  He's a real dog who was walking along with his owner and we thought he was darling in his "doggles."  (Remember Katie's Doggles?  I'll post that photo at the end of this post.  I got them for super sandy/dusty wind storms so her eyes wouldn't get full of dust and sand.)  Anyway, apparently this little guy has eye issues, including not having working tear ducts, so he needs to have eye protection.  Doesn't he look like a character?  His owner picked him up so we could get a good shot.

As we wandered through the Sedona downtown area, we saw lots of interesting sculptures and other things that were blogworthy.

This first one looks like a little girl taking a photo of the sculpture, but she is part of the sculpture.

This little girl IS real:

And here's Katie in her doggles and sun visor - remember these photos?  January 2014.  She looked so CUTE!  She was a good sport.

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

Catching up... Sedona - 9. V BAR V RANCH PETROGLYPHS

If you like Petroglyphs, this is the place for you!  It has more than anywhere else in the Verde Valley.  It's easy to drive to, and an easy walk to the site.

Down a little path on the way to the visitor's center, there was a very large fireplace/chimney fenced off that must have been from the original V Bar B Ranch.  I can imagine it in a huge living room heating the area.  Here it is from the front:

And the back of the chimney -  which was probably outside the house.  There was a vine growing up the bricks.  The outside of the chimney of the house I grew up in had the same thing.  Our vines were from a beautiful climbing bougainvillea plant. This one was dry, so I don't know if it was dormant or dead.

Along the path to the petroglyph site, I saw this informational sign showing what the area probably used to look like, and explaining how the hillside in the distance was probably used.  For now, it's just a hillside, covered with grasses and bushes and the terraces can hardly be seen.

There were beautiful small fields of grasses blowing in the breeze along the way:

We walked up to the site right at the beginning of the volunteer's talk.

He was very interesting and informative, and answered our questions.  I was most interested in his vest, and want one!  I have a small collection of vests, and I loved this one.  I asked back at the Visitor's center if I could buy one, but she said they were only for the volunteers from Sedona's Friends of the Forest.  Super nice looking vest!

Okay, after that totally unrelated vest envy, here are best photos I took of the rock art carvings.  The volunteer explained many of the carvings.  Most are self explanatory.

This first one, though, has a planting calendar carved into the rock that isn't obvious.  See the two smaller rocks wedged into the top of the crack?

From Stories in Stone near Sedona, Arizona: The V-Bar-V Petroglyphs:  -- Marking the passage of time across what is now believed to be a solar calendar or panel­—one of very few worldwide—shadow stones naturally wedged in a rock crevice play light and shadow across the cliff face. The precise times of the vernal equinox and summer solstice, important events for planting and harvesting, are tracked by light and the sun’s transition across the southwestern sky.

For more information on this site, click on this link:   V BAR V HERITAGE SITE.

From me and Katie, have a great day, everyone! 

Catching up... Sedona - 8. MONTEZUMA WELL

"The Well is a place like no other.  It shows us the power of water to affect land, life and people. It is an oasis in a harsh desert, home to species found nowhere else.  It is a peaceful pond, yet is is also the setting of a nightly struggle between life and death. And it is the ancestral home and a place of great power for Native Americans whose fore-bearers lived here."  Quoted from the National Park Service flyer.

This was another interesting short trip to see how and where Native Americans lived many years ago.  One of the cultures to build here was probably the Hohokam, who lived alongside one or more cultures who had been in the Verde Valley even longer.

By the 1100's, the people of the Sinagua culture began building small dwellings in the cliffs around the Well.  Over time, they built more than 30 rooms along the rim.  Their Pueblo here was one of the 40 to 60 villages that dotted the banks of the waterways throughout the valley.

By 1425, the people had migrated to other places, but the Hopi, Zuni and Yavapai all recount oral histories of their ancestors living here.  The Western Apache, as well, have revered this landscape for centuries.

(The above was also from the National Park Service flyer.)  Very interesting place and history.

Every day, the Well is replenished with 1.5 million gallons of new water. Like a bowl with a crack in it's side, the water overflows through a long, narrow cave in the southeast rim to reappear on the other side at the outlet.


There was a duck down in the water - a Mallard?  From Wikipedia:  At least five endemic species are found exclusively in Montezuma Well: a diatom, the Montezuma Well springsnail, a water scorpion, the Hyalella montezuma amphipod, and the Motobdella montezuma leech — the most endemic species in any spring in the southwestern United States.  Snails, water scorpions, leeches...  YUK!  He must have liked  them, because he kept ducking under to feed.

Montezuma Well is a beautiful, very peaceful place, even with sightseers wandering around.  I saw  that cool caterpillar shown above inching along the path. We walked down the shaded path to the water, where I found the room in the the rock wall with the door (below the caterpillar pic).  I was pretty close to it, and was able to see inside.  The rest of the rooms/dwellings were built high into the cliff walls.  These ancient people must have been great climbers!  I wondered if the lower dwelling was built for expecting and new moms or the elderly people who couldn't climb up to the cliff houses. 

This was well worth a visit - no pun intended - and free, too!  Here's a link to find out more if you are interested:  Wikipedia info for Montezuma Well.

From me and Katie, have a great day, everyone!   😎💧🤓💧😎