For the past few years, I had been wanting to go to Arizona. I wasn’t really sure why, but that state has always called to me. I finally made it, still traveling with Mitchell, taking the historic Route 66 in.
Our first stop was the Petrified Forest National Park. We parked the bus and took the motorcycle along the 26 mile road that made up the park. The first stop along the route was the Painted Desert. It was a beautiful stretch of hills that looked as if they were painted different shades of reds and browns; it was a masterpiece.
We spent the day hiking on little trails and stopped at every lookout point we could. The whole place was unlike anything I had ever seen. There was a section called the Blue Mesa Trail, which had rolling hills that looked blue.
Jasper Forest is where we really started to see large chunks of petrified wood, which are trees from millions of years ago that fossilized into quartz and other minerals. They were all different shades of reds, purples, yellows and browns.
Our last stop in the Petrified Forest was Crystal Forest. It contained more petrified wood than the rest of the entire park. The ground was littered with pieces as far as you could see.
Our next destination was Sedona, Arizona. We drove there on winding roads through the hills, and in the distance we could see beautiful, red and brown mountains, which surrounded the city. Upon arriving in Sedona, it felt as if we were at the bottom of a bowl, the sides of which were made of red mountains.
We pulled into a park, where a friend had told me an ecstatic dance was happening. We arrived just as it was starting. It was a free dance held in the grassy area of the park. A DJ was set up and multiple people were flowing to the music as dogs ran around, seeming to be dancing too. We joined them in dance until the sun set.
The next day we set out on a hike because I wanted to see those red rocks up close. Maggie came along with us, and we explored random little caves and crevices in the rocks along the path.
As we hiked higher and higher, we could see the peak, which had another stack of red rocks reaching towards the sky in a jagged, cylindrical shape. We made it to the top at the perfect time, just as the sun was setting. The sky was splashed with yellows and oranges peaking out through the clouds.
The next day we took to exploring the shops around Sedona. We found a little ice cream shop there called the Black Cow Cafe. We got ourselves little ice cream sundaes, and mine was one of the best ones I’d ever had. They loaded it with hot fudge and caramel, topped with home-made whipped cream.
As we explored, we came to a man who was holding a snake. He had all sorts of cages full of snakes and lizards. The animals he had with him were rescues, and they were out raising money. He let me hold a baby boa constrictor.
That night we went to a drum circle we had learned about through Facebook. I invited my friend Michael, who I had met in New England earlier in my travels, and our paths crossed again in Sedona. It was lucky for us that he came because he brought maracas. That's what I used during the entire drum circle because I sometimes have trouble keeping beat on the drums.
The event was held at a trail head, and tall cliffs towered right behind us. The energy from the land, mixed with the energy created by the drums and all the beautiful people, made the experience magical.
We ended up moving the bus out of the park to a free campground in Coconino National Forest outside of Sedona. We went down a long dirt road that had random dirt pull-offs. Since we were in the desert, there weren’t many trees, mainly just shrubs. But we did find one spot with a cute juniper tree at the edge. It was the perfect spot, and the stars at night were amazing.
While we were out exploring, we found a cool skate park. We took our rollerblades and zoomed through the bowls and dips of the park. While we were there, we met a girl named Nicole who told us about another ecstatic dance that was taking place the next night.
The dance was about a quarter mile hike up Yavapai Vista Trail. We took Maggie with us, and were planning on leaving Thomas the cat at the bus like we normally did, but he kept trying to follow us. We thought he might enjoy the dance and decided to bring him along. He walked up most of the trail himself, but would occasionally plop down in the path and stare at us as if to say: “okay, I’m tired, carry me.” Mitchell would then pick up Thomas and carry him for a bit.
As we got closer, we could hear the music. The path opened up to a flat area on top of one of the red cliffs. It made an excellent dance floor with a perfect view of other cliffs towering in the background.
Maggie instantly ran to join the dancers, while Thomas hung off to the side, watching. Thomas stayed around, exploring the edges of the area and made friends with all the kids.
This ecstatic dance was one of my favorites I’ve ever attended. Every person danced so freely and openly, and they were all so inviting. Even if they didn’t know you, they would still come up and say hello. As the dance ended, without a word, everyone formed a circle, touching their palms to the person next to them. Slowly the circle turned into a moving spiral that brought everyone together.
It was the perfect ending. I was full of bliss and felt completely connected to the people and place. Everything about Sedona was special: the people, the view, the land.
The bliss remained until I woke up to the news. Roe vs Wade had been overturned. Abortions would now be illegal in multiple states. I feel strongly that this should be every woman’s choice. Suddenly I was filled with angst.
Feeling helpless, but like I needed to do something, I found a protest about an hour from our camp. We drove out, worried the rain would put a damper on things, but it did not. When people feel that passionately about something, a little rain won’t stop them. We all met at city hall and marched throughout the city chanting things like “my body, my choice”. This went on for hours, and was mostly peaceful other than a few people who did not agree with our cause.
Sedona is only a few hours from the Grand Canyon, and it’s always been on my bucket list to go, so of course we had to take the opportunity. My friend Michael joined us.
When we arrived, the view of the Grand Canyon was breathtaking. I had seen pictures before, but there is no comparison to seeing it in person. The only thing I found disappointing was the fact that it was cut off by a railing, which makes sense for safety I guess, but it took away from the view!
To my delight, just a short walk down the trail, the railing no longer existed. You could walk right up to the edge, where we were able to dangle our feet off the high cliff. I loved it because it was a bit of an adrenaline rush just sitting there.
One thing I really enjoyed about the Grand Canyon was the squirrels. They would come right up to you and let you pet them. I think they assumed I had food, but I didn’t; I just wanted to be friends.
There were also parts of the canyon where you could walk out into the rocks that made a peninsula. It was like a catwalk high up in the sky.
We stayed long enough to see the sun set over the canyon. The sky painted itself beautiful shades of pinks, oranges and yellows. But the coolest part was being able to see far off in the distance, where it was raining in front of the sunset. It literally made the rain look purple.
As we went to leave, we were told they were having a star party that night, and would be setting up telescopes. We decided to check it out, and I’m so glad we did. There was a large, dark field where no lights were allowed. We were able to see the entire Milky Way. By the edges of the field telescopes were set up. We saw star clusters, stars that had exploded and were now gas, and double stars. I had never looked out of telescopes like that.
Our time in Sedona was starting to come to an end, but I didn’t want to leave. We spent the last few days exploring swimming holes and hiking trails with Sedona’s famous energy vortexes. An energy vortex is located where ley lines intersect. Ley lines criss-cross the earth, sort of like longitude and latitude, and are said to carry rivers of supernatural energy. Energy vortexes are pockets of concentrated energy that certain individuals are supposed to be able to harness. These locations gave me a sense of peace and calmness, and made me feel balanced.
The last two days we were there, I just happened to wake up early. I stepped outside to watch the sunrise, and to my surprise, the sky was filled with hot air balloons. I’ve always loved hot air balloons, and it gave me an even stronger sense of belonging to this place.
On our last day, we attended an ecstatic dance on the rock again. This time it was in honor of the new moon, and they followed it with a huge drum circle that played out as the sun set. It was the perfect ending to my magical time in this magical place.
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