January 23-24: Sedona, AZ

January 23 and 24th: The Carberrys and fun in Sedona Arizona

Sedona Arizona ~  A city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the State of Arizona... with the main attraction its array of red sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedona,_Arizona

Sunset view in front of the Carberry's home

January 23, 2015:  We arrived late on the 22nd and spent a wonderful morning relaxing and enjoying our good friends. Jim and Pats home is situated beneath beautiful Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte.  It is such an amazing neighborhood and the views are remarkable!  They were so nice to have us visit at this time as they were in the middle of renovations. The home looked great and I can't wait to see the finished masterbath. After our very relaxing morning we visited my fathers sister ~ Aunt Lulu. I could not believe that she lives right down the street! It was a lovely couple of hours. Lulu was doing really well since breaking both legs this past year. She still uses her walker, and in typical Aunt Lulu form, she showed how she could now walk without her walker and she actually did great!  She looked good and both she and Bob seem very happy in their new home in Sedona. 

 A few days earlier when visiting my cousin, Debbie Hll in Albuquerque, she and I went through quite a few old photographs that she inherited from her mother.  We found we could not identify a few of the relatives so I took some of the photographs to Lulu ~she was able to help identify many of them and it was quite a fun thing to do with her.

Later that afternoon John and I explored the town of Sedona with Jim as our guide, visiting many of the wonderful shops.  I had fallen in love with beautiful Navajo rugs in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, so the search was on to find a beautiful one to take home. Later during our visit, we purchased one at Garland Rugs in Sedona. They had a beautiful collection of Navajo rugs and educated us on the history of the rugs and of the spirit line. This is a fine piece of art which I will hang on a wall. 

Our Beautiful Navajo rug

One interesting piece of information about the rug we purchased is that it has a Spirit Line (Weavers pathway) ~ a small thin line that extends from the center design field across the border to the outside edge of the rug..so that the energy and the spirits can be released. 

http://navajo-arts.com/navojo-rugs.html 
                    (information about the spirit line)
http://www.garlandsrugs.com/collections/storm-pattern-home?sort_by=price-ascending

We also purchased a beautiful piece of horsehair pottery similar to those we found in Old Town Albuquerque the previous week.    Horse Hair Pottery is fired using a special technique. Fine lines are created with the hair from the mane of the horse, and thick lines are created from the hair of the tail. After the pot is fired, it is rock polished....Horse hair pottery is handcrafted by the Navajo Indians on the Navajo Indian reservation. Each piece is a unique, one of a kind, irreplaceable piece of art.  http://www.navajoworld.com/horsehairpottery/

Here are a couple of examples:

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Church of the Rock:  The Chapel of the Holy Cross

Chapel at the base of the Butte

The stock photograph (above right) taken by Mike Koopsen shows the relationship of the Chapel at the base of the Butte called Snoopy Rock.

View to the left of the Chapel

Included in our tour was a visit to the Church of the Rock:  The Chapel of the Holy Cross, built in the buttes of Sedona between to red rock spirals(Snoopy Rock).  I remember this from a past visit to the area and was so happy to see it again.  The afternoon sun shining on the windows was breathtaking. 

The unique architecture and location of the Chapel of the Holy Cross are the inspirations of Marguerite Bruswig Staude, who went on a trip to New York City in 1932. She observed that a cross could be seen in the newly constructed Empire State Building when viewed from a certain angle, and was inspired to built a church based on that design.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_of_the_Holy_Cross_%28Sedona,_Arizona%29

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/usa/sedona-chapel-of-the-holy-cross

Unfortunately, there were so many visitors at the Chapel, that I decided not to enter but just enjoy the beauty outside and walk all around.  My leg inadvertently touched this fern (I had on jeans) and it turns out that just a touch of the end of one of these thorns, and your leg itches for the rest of the day. Not pleasant!  It's a 'Yucca Filamentosa' or Adam's Needle so beware!

Nothing that a good Margarita, burgers on the grill and 
a beautiful sunset can't fix!
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 24, 2015: The four of us took a 'Pink Jeep Tour':  a 2 1/2 hour rugged off road jeep adventure 18 miles west of Sedona. Most of my photos of Thunder Mountain or parts of Thunder Mountain.  Here is a description of our ride!

'Experienced multiple ecotones where the vegetation transitions from grasslands to pinon pine junipers to prickly pear cactus!  Snaked through Greasy Spoon onto the Sidewinder trail and through the Diamondback Gulch arroyo and  Thunder Mountain, Doe Mesa, Lizard Head Rock, Cocks Comb, the spire of Chimney Rock and other popular formations.'   https://www.pinkjeeptourssedona.com/diamondback-gulch-sedona-arizona-tour/  

and....of course, I have photographs!

Jim, Pat, me and John

Thunder Mountain ( Capitol Butte)
The base of this mountain where we started our jeep tour ~ we traveled around 18 miles below Thunder Mountain and other buttes.

The Palatki Heritage Site — in the Hopi language Palatki means
'red house', is an archaeological site located in the Coconino National Forest near Sedona

Thunder Mountain

Pinon Pine

Those darn thorny spikes!

Our Guide and Jim 

Rock and Roll

Company

The top of Chimney Rock on the right.

Sunset over Sedona

Following the jeep tour and a beautiful sunset right out the front and back doors, the four of us enjoyed a wonderful dinner.  Unfortunately, later that evening, John had severe pain in his upper chest and it hurt terribly to breath in and out.  Jim and I took him to the Emergency Room in Sedona and after extensive testing and no diagnosis, he was transferred and admitted to the Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood. John had multiple tests in the ER and at the hospital, including a stress test the next morning which was given by Dr. Kenneth A. Bescek. Thankfully a heart attach and other heart problems were ruled out and following the stress test, Dr. Bescek diagnosed John with inflammation in the lining of the lungs ~ Pleurisy. John was in the hospital until 3pm the next day.   

We can't thank Jim and Pat enough for all their help
 during this time!!

Jim

Pleurisy ...is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining surrounding the lungs. There are many possible causes of pleurisy but viral infections spreading from the lungs to pleural cavity are the most common. The inflamed pleural layers rub against each other every time the lungs expand to breathe in air.This can cause sharp pain when breathing.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurisy