Hi, I'm James. And I'm Laurent. And today, we are in beautiful Sedona, AZ.
As the weather gets colder in Chicago, we were hoping to escape the cold weather,
and come to the southwest. And it hasn't been a full success, as the weather here,
has not been awesome. As you can see, it's kind of gray behind us.
But despite the weather being up and down, it is so incredibly beautiful here.
It's just gorgeous here. No matter where you go, it's spectacularly beautiful.
Sedona is a 2-hour drive from Phoenix. And you have to drive through all the cactuses.
It's actually a very scenic drive. And once you arrive in Sedona,
it is beautiful everywhere you look. Yeah, there's not one vista that isn't spectacularly beautiful.
And, when we were there, the weather was kind of cloudy. But it actually
made it even more beautiful, because of some of the rocks were in the sun.
And they were glowing. But the clouds in the backgrounds were all dark.
It was just so beautiful!
So, we started with the Highline trail. It's actually a fairly easy trail. It's fairly flat.
So, it starts close to Bell Rock, and Courthouse Butte.
And it ends up with a beautiful view of Cathedral Rock.
What you're doing?
I'm stuck!
Things don't always go as planned. Yeah, the rain caught us by surprise.
And our hair is a mess. It's cold and wet.
And after the rain, comes the sun. It's beautiful!
And then, our favorite spot, to watch the sunset, is the Yavapai Vista.
It's actually right next to Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte.
And the interesting thing about it, is that you actually don't see the sun set,
because the sun is already hidden, by the mountain behind.
But what you see, is the shadow of the sun, going up Wilson Mountain.
And it's just so incredibly beautiful!
One of the things that's really special about sunset, is seeing the sun reflected in the cloud,
and the light, as it changes color across the rock. It's just beautiful.
And then, we woke up on the next day, and the weather was beautiful.
The view from the hotel was fantastic.
And then, our next activity was to do the Doe Mountain Trail.
This is a little bit harder trail, because it goes straight up, to the top of the mountain.
But, I tell you what: When you get up there, it's really rewarding,
because the views. They're just stunning! Yes. So, the end of the trail is one
of those flat top mountains, that you see a lot over there. And from the flat top,
you have a 360 degree view, of all the valley, and all the rocks. And it's just beautiful!
Be prepared for it to be very windy though. It was a crazy windy!
But that actually made something nice, just because the clouds were moving so fast.
And the view of the shade of the clouds, that we're going up and down the rocks,
was just fantastic. Part of it is on Sedona and Wilson Mountain, that you could see from the Highline Trail.
But then, on the back hand of that, you can also see Boynton Canyon, and Fay Canyon, and Long Canyon,
which are just stuff, that you don't really see from most other trails in Sedona.
And then, a nice activity to do on a rainy day, is to go see the Chapel of the Holy Cross.
From the outside, it just looks like a big cross, that has been planted,
between those two big red boulders. The story behind the chapel is very interesting,
as it was a collaboration, between sculptor Margerite Burnswig Staude, and architects,
including Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright. The design is very simple.
And it's made of a red rock stone, and blends into the canyon. It's a very special place,
and situated with a beautiful view. Yeah, it's a very minimalist structure.
From in the inside, it's really two walls, on each side, and a ceiling.
And then, you can see the cross. And you can see the landscape behind,
through the windows. It's just a beautiful setting for the church.
And then, from the church, you can see Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, and then Cathedral Rock.
So, one of the activities to do in Sedona, is shopping. Especially on a rainy day.
One of the stores, that was recommended to us, was Garland's Indian Jewelry.
Garland is really well-known, for its Native American art and crafts.
The best location, in my mind, is the one on the road, as you leave Sedona.
It's just wonderful, to stop there, and see so many beautiful works of art.
So, right in the center of town, there is this outdoor mall, called Tlaquepaque.
It's such a cool idea. It looks like a very vintage, old Spanish-style, kind of villa.
And as you walk through the interiors, you see gardens, and patios, and terraces.
And the landscaping is just beautiful. It's a great way to shop, and see the art.
Yeah, even if you're not gonna buy anything, it's actually a very quaint little space,
to just walk around. So, you got all kind of stores. You got paintings, jewelry, rugs.
Some of the art was a bit hit-and-miss. There were some good stuff. But some of
the things were like mediocre. And it was way overpriced!
And then, in addition to galleries, there's also the souvenir stores, that have all the crap,
that you can find, if you just want a souvenir of Sedona. I have never seen a souvenir shop,
with such an extensive collection, of things I don't want to buy.
So, while we were in Sedona, we went to see Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon is only two hours away from Sedona.
The Grand Canyon is just one of those things, that you have to see it, once in your lifetime.
And, what made it really memorable for me, was that felt like a tourist, in my own country.
Because everyone that was there, was from somewhere else.
We met people from Europe, and people from Asia, people from everywhere,
just touring to see the Grand Canyon. And it was just really special.
So then, on our way to sunset, we saw some elks, on the side of the road.
And they were right there. I mean, they were 2-meters away from us.
It was really special, just to be so close to these gentle giants.
They're just beautiful. And to be so close to them was amazing.
It was just really special, especially at night, as the sun set,
to see the colors change, against the rock. It was just incredibly beautiful.
And then, we woke up the next day,
and it was snowing. And we got caught by surprise. But we were not the only ones.
I'm sure Grand Canyon after the snow is beautiful. But Grand Canyon during the snow sucks!
Yeah, it was kind of totally unexpected, to see snow in the Grand Canyon.
And on top of snow, you also have this fog that appeared. So you couldn't see into the canyon.
You could see the rim of it, a little bit, but it was just all white. With the exception of
the cliffs nearby. It was really beautiful. But it was cold. And we weren't dressed up for it.
So, while we were in Sedona, we also drove around. And drove on Route 66.
It was really exciting, to be on Route 66, and to see all that memorabilia.
So, often, that song was going through my head, as we were playing it on the radio.
And we stopped by of a little diner, where we had great burgers.
Just a piece of America, that we don't get to see very often.
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