Sedona Features Timeless Beauty, Energy and Art

Rainbow Over Sedona Red Rocks ©Mary Montague Sikes

As visitors drive toward Sedona, Arizona, a sense of amazement is inevitable when all of a sudden the timeless red rocks rise up in the distance. The views are incredible. Clouds appear as angel images. A rainbow ascends from nowhere into the sky.

No matter how many times we visit this mystical mecca, it is never enough. So many art galleries, so many rock centers, so many spiritual retreats, so many trails to red rock formations--there is never time to see them all.

Bell Rock ©Mary Montague Sikes

We just returned from a week in Sedona. Although I planned to revisit Cathedral Rock, Airport Mesa, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Tlaquepaque, and more, I didn't get to them. We drove by Bell Rock many times and felt the remarkable energy of that formation. We dined at Miley's where a huge new painting of Bell Rock dominates. We feasted on seafood omelets at the Golden Goose and enjoyed lunch at Shugrues above the Hillside shops. And we spent a lot of time with art.

Art and the energy are what drew us to Sedona the first time. During a two week visit a few years ago, I enjoyed a pastel workshop and then took a metaphysical workshop that I found fascinating.

Ever since that early visit, those red rock images have crept into my artwork. Red rocks along with energy have also stolen their way into my writing and my novel, Eagle Rising. 

Something special exists in the timeless landscape of Sedona. Something special pulls us back again and again.

More Shopping in Sedona

When we went back to Sedona last summer to check some of the places that made me write Eagle Rising, I went shopping again. This time at Chico's I found more wonderful jackets to use for book signings and other things as well. My favorite find was a pair of white jeans at a remarkable price and a gorgeous gold and silver belt. Yes, I have a real thing for belts. This is not quite as impressive as the unique belt with the beaded medallions I found last year, but it is impressive enough to be hidden away for special occasions.

I was disappointed to see that Sedona has crept ever closer to Bell Rock--the site so prominent in Eagle Rising. A shopping mall has grown up near by, and the special little restaurant with the stained glass window depicting Bell Rock is gone. It doesn't seem quite right for a place as unique and picturesque as Sedona to change.

Mary Montague Sikes, Author
Eagle Rising, Secrets by the Sea