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DAY 11 - VORTEXES AND VIEWS
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| Reasonable night's sleep - no sign of the girls so Mary and I went to find a Visitor Centre at Oak Creek - next village south on the I172.
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| Stepford Aquarobes? | But not before Mary had a slightly unnerving experience. There she was having her "early morning swim" - OK so it was 8:15 when she started , but 2 out of 3 words in a phrase is good! So there she was minding her own business, when, just before 8:30 a small horde of wrinkly octogenarians wearing velour track suits, the little sun peaks and brown wrinkly skin, descended slowly, stork-like, upon the pool. They then disrobed, donned their neoprene fingerless webbed gloves and entered the water for their aqua-robics class. Many had been coming here Tuesdays and Thursdays for up to 16 years. The lady who explained all to Mary was "only a baby - I've only been coming here for 8 years". Suitably spooked, Mary returned to our room.
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| Information Gathering | Back to the plot, Oak Creek to get some information on a) General what to do, where to go etc and b) Where are the Vortexes and which are the easy ones to get to. Oak Creek is similarly spread out, but on a smaller scale (and a different scale to the map we were following - which wasn't to scale).
Found the Information Booth - closed. Found Vortex Information - closed. (This is 9:30am) - perhaps they are all run by octogenarians who do aqua-robics classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays? Eventually found the Red Rock Tourist Office which was open. Got all our information and also details of where the Outlet Village was - right next door. Gave that a quick recce and decided that today's plan was to fetch the girls, come back to the OV, have breakfast, then shop. On the way back we could then stop off at Bell Rock our nearest Vortex.
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| Repast And Shops | So that's what we did - except that the restaurant had stopped doing breakfast (it was after 11 - just) so bagels and tea. Girls had a great time - even I bought some trainers at the Reebok outlet - less than $30.
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| Into The Vortex | EVENTUALLY they had finished (GAP outlet did the best I think) and off to the Vortex at Bell Rock. Climbed to the spot where the Vortex was supposed to be and sat and thought about it. Strange - Juniper bushes all twisted in a helix where the Vortex was strongest.
Now whether the climb had filled my lungs with air invigorating me, and sitting peacefully had relaxed me or I was attuned to the forces supposedly present, I don't know - but I felt something and will try to go back another day. KT and Lucy felt something - but neither sure what.
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| Storm Clouds Gather - And Provisions | By this time the daily thunderclouds had covered the sky and we were treated to a spectacular electrical storm over Sedona and around the hills.
Decided to carry on into Sedona and have a look round - nowhere to park, so off to Bashar's Plaza (where Denny's is) to get some provisions. We are a bit fed up with being "fed . . up" at each meal, so we bought a large pot of yoghurt, a Variety Pack of cereals and a humungous carton of milk, plus cookies and crisps (chips). This means we don't have to have ham and eggs etc every morning - everyone's shorts feel a little tight.
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| More Information Gathered | Back into Sedona - found a parking spot on a side street. Just in time for the main Visitor Centre (closes at 5). Very helpful lady gave us directions to other Vortexes and also the Petroglyphs and Rock Ruins up in the hills. Armed with this info for tomorrow's foray, we walked up to the shops in Upper Sedona.
KT said it first and we all agreed - just like a seaside street - all souvenirs - albeit they are "cowboy" or "Native American" in flavour, but still seaside-touristy.
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| Snacks & Sleep | Had enough so back to our rooms, Mary got a couple of bowls and some tea bags from Reception - who gave her a very strange look. And we had a "midnight feast in the dorm" - well 7pm and in the chalet. Cereals, yoghurt, cups of tea, nachos and crisps. Fantastic. We dozed a bit thinking about the Vortex. 9:30 Mary went for a last swim (it closes at 10). All asleep by 10:15!
Tomorrow - as it is bright in the mornings and thundery/rainy in the afternoons, we will get up early and get away to visit Vortexes and Petroglyphs.
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Words and pictures © Steve Andrews 2001 - 2012