Red Rocks....rock

...first glimpse of the red rocks from 89A as you top over the hill...

 Sedona, Arizona

Now come on, admit it....that is just fun to say. Feels good rolling off your tongue. Go ahead, say it again-Sedona, Arizona....yeah. Pleasure, as your tongue works, saying each syllable. The rhythm and rhyme is pleasing to the ear and holds something magical. The same magic that is found deep in the pockets of the southwest. Towering red rocks stand like a fortress around this small community. Placed in a divot among the vortex boasting structures sits a small city thriving on the unnatural natural way about living one with nature. Crystals and energy sources can be explored along with those of the "unearthly" third kind.  

Why would you pass up the opportunity to pack your car and set off to go car camping and explore the sites of this enchanted land of the rich and famous?!


Heading north from Phoenix taking an entry from 89A you will pop over a hill and come face to face with a view of the painted cliffs that surround Sedona. There is a small, quick turn off to the right that will allow you to stop and attempt to capture the beauty and magnificence that mother natures slaps you with. 



Sedona hosts many trails and choices to explore. You can take a jeep, helicopter, or hiking guide to seek out the sites. With a little research and free maps from the visitors center you can get a good idea on the scenic route to take and stop at overlook vistas on your own. 

The trail systems  go on forever and it is very wise to take water, layers and a snack along with a good map.

The first hiking area that I came to on my way into town was the Red Rock State Park. It does charge a fee to enter and is good for all day. Has many trails and information on the area and the rocks and habitat that you will face will out in the wild. You will start down in a valley that is surround by a stream then up the red cliffs you climb to different look outs over the park. Great to get a feel for the  area and what you will see once you get into actual Sedona. The rock here is much more deep red than what you will see in the community. 

Taking Red Rock Loop Rd on around past the park you will end up right in town but will have the joy of passing some great views and houses-very eclectic and some very strange.

One of the most popular sites you can't miss is a visit to The Chapel of the Holy Cross that was built in the side of the red rocks. There is limited parking up the winding drive and limited ability to turn around so beware...also, the only public bathroom is a port-o-potty at the bottom.

The view from the top is spectacular overlooking the natural habitat and walking in the chapel shows the amazing ability of those that constructed this building using the rocks as part of the foundation. 

There are spas, hotels, and B&B's in town and several campsites that lay to the north. Staying overnight was a treat! To be out in the wilderness, under the dark starry sky by a camp

 fire... really brought me face to face with nature!

Pack your bags and make yourself just as important as those famous people of the west coast...you won't regret it! 

Superstitious Desert

~*~Superstitious Desert~*~

Imagine the most beautiful painting...one by mother nature. Colors unattainable by humans. Watching  the sun paint the sky and land as it awakes colliding with the stars of the dark night, painting your surroundings in hues of orange and pink. Colors so pure and alive that it instantly energizes your soul. The sun continues to pour onto the earth and you sit in awe of the vast openness of the desert of the southwest. Mountains and rocks sprawl on forever hiding the small valley of civilization known as Phoenix. 

Phoenix is the place to be in the winter time. I got the chance to spend a winter there  and to live like a local  while exploring the surrounding desert and all, well a little, of what it has to offer. 

Arizona is a state that has several different elevations and it is amazing to watch the change of the scenery. Digging deep in my brain to find the elementary   education from long ago on the different types of biomes that you get to experience while heading from I40 down to Phoenix via I17... to see the changes from  tundra to deciduous to  grasslands then finally desert is an amazing adventure . The way nature interweaves these together with such subtlety is   so  flawless.  The colors are vibrant and unrealistic as you try to take the scenery in but also keep your eyes on the curvy, wheel gripping road that descends into the hidden valley of civilization.

I was lucky to stay with a cousin that is an outdoor, 4x4 type of guy that loves the adventure of exploring. Most weekends were filled with going to different trails and riding over rocks winding our way up to the greenery from the dusty ground of the city. This view is from a ride up to Crown King looking south over Lake Pleasant in the far distance. 

A great hike to take to see the change of the land is to drive (four wheel drive) to one of the trailheads at Four Peaks that sits to the east of the city. There are several options on trails around the area and all are easily marked. The one my cousin dragged me up (kicking and screaming with Kentucky low level elevation lungs) was several miles and took about 3-4 hrs round trip through dirt, brush, trees and snow to finally crawl to a great lookout as shown above. Looking at the haze covering the city in the distance and some of the surrounding lakes proved there was a lot of land out there for one to explore!

Along the grasslands that sit to the north of the city, before you make your final decent into the valley is a secret past world. Hidden in the walls of these cliffs, built buy their own rocks are many old Indian forts. The areas are full of pottery shards, arrowheads and petroglyphs that narrate the past.

 Something else that you will find in these hills are tons of old mines.  Ruins of small make-shift communities that housed miners and saloons full of cowboys during the gold rush and establishment of the route from Prescott to Tucson. Many of the off road trails are old horse and buggy trails used long ago! Some of the mines are privately owned, some are still being mined and some are open to the passing public to explore cautiously. There are a few dedicated internet sites that have old maps of the mining communities and pictures of what they used to look like. Very interesting to see how the wild west cowboys lived and traveled guiding their way through the vast land. 

The desert is unlike any other place I have been. Every turn I would see something else that would stop me in my tracks to take the opportunity to soak in the smell and feel of this new world. You can't help but become an outdoor adventurer in the winter time in Phoenix. The weather stays in the low to mid 70's with sunshine and blue skies. 

One of the great ways to freely explore and enjoy the terrain is to hike one of the million trails on a nearby "mountain". The city is spotted with trails of different difficulty among the many scattered rocky boulders jutting up from the earth. The best part about the winter is it is "too cold" to run into a snake! Pack water and maybe even a snack and head to the nearest trail to perch and watch the traffic and sunsets below.

During the  holidays  people will hike to the top and decorate the shrubs for Christmas.

Thunderbird Park is one of the more popular hiking areas to the northwest of town. It connects a few hilly options so you have the opportunity to make your trail as difficult/long as you wish. The top always offers a great place to rest but also a little note of congrats for making it!

A perfect place to sip some water and let the sweat dry. You are on the edge of the world up there. It was so much fun to just drive and see a mountain with a trail and say....I am going to the top of that today. 

If you get tired of getting dust in your shoes and want a bit of green on your walk, Phoenix offers a great alternative. Throughout the city runs what is called the Greenbelt. It is a paved path that connects the city through parks, lakes, golf courses and communities. Meandering this path puts you literally in the backyard of some of the most gorgeous houses the city has to offer, along with great parks and lakes that are good for a rest stop. The one thing about the Greenbelt is, you are never alone! There are alway people out running, biking, skating, walking or whatever their choice of exercise. The possibilities are endless!

Probably the most famous thing you will see in southern Arizona are the cacti! The Saguaros are everywhere around town and are even "protected" by the city as to not being able to cut them down...you have to replace or move or...build around them! 

 The cotton candy sky never gets old as the sun sets to the west.

The moon and stars take their place in the skies illuminating the heavens with their magic glow. Away from civilization, deep in the desert is the best place to watch the transition.

The Enchanted Land of Maine

Maine - an enchanted land of its very own. I found myself under its spell when I went for a long weekend travel up the coast. It was winter time and very cold but still magnificent! My first stop was the small coastal shipping town of Portsmouth. The downtown area hosts many shops in the brick building lined roads. Most of the parking is metered parking along the sides of the narrow streets. Here in this little gem you can find a shop for anything your heart desires! I always have to visit the “Life is Good” store and then any other store that supplies locally made items. You can spend your whole day walking around the area and browsing store to store and café to café. The two main things to mention worth seeing is the biggest outdoors store I have ever seen (I got lost) and a "Triple D" Food Network feature.

 Bob’s Claim Hut is along the main road that runs North and South along the coast and is just north of Portsmouth town area in Kittery. It was featured for its Lobster Rolls—which is a must when you are in Maine! The toasted buttered roll (kind of like a hot dog bun type thing) stuffed with oceans and oceans of yummy crab meat, butter and served with a fresh batch of fries. It is like a party in your mouth…but not just any party…like a Graduation kinda party! They have other items (land and sea) to choose from if you are just crazy enough to not want the best thing in the world. On my road trip, I tried a roll at every hut I could find! Just couldn't get enough of the buttery meaty goodness.

Kittery Trading Post is the mecca for the outdoors-man in Maine. They are like the true "outdoors" kind of people! I could have spent days and millions in this place. Hiking, camping, fishing , kayaking, climbing, swimming, boating, hunting…like everything and anything you could think of doing, they had a whole section dedicated to it and tons of neat gadgets! This place was three stories of craziness and I am serious, you need a map!

For my first night in Maine I stayed at a gorgeous bed and breakfast right on the water-Portsmouth Harbor Inn & Spa. They hosted many comfortable rooms with nooks for reading, a spa that offered massages, pedicures and manicures and a Jacuzzi! The inn keeper was a wonderful host and cook! Nighttime cookies and milk, along with tea and coffee then the most wonderful breakfast I have ever had! I had to get her to give me the recipe for her egg soufflé. It was a soft pillowy cloud of sweet dreams topped with Maine blueberry maple syrup and a side of fresh whipped cream and cinnamon (it was to DIE for!). She was also helpful with where to eat for supper and things to see in the area. My little bedroom was on the second floor corner with windows looking out to the “ha-bah” (harbor). It was a pretty snowy night while I was there and the one goal I had was to make it to the rocky coast to get some sunrise pictures of the water and sky. 

top: rocky coast line on a cloudy sunrise    bottom: sunrise over an inner harbor

Driving up the coastline was gorgeous! Postcard perfect! Huge mansions and lighthouses lined the coastal road of hwy 1. York, Maine hosted tons of coastal mansions, beaches and trails.

In Wells I went to a highly rated “sports bar”, The Ramp Bar & Grill, on the water. It was a hidden gem in the middle of a fishing dock area. Highly rated on Yelp! too :) The crazy decor of the hanging buoys was so neat to me! I love the coastal type themes you find in the the beach towns. I was tempted to do this to my house...though I think I would for sure be marked as the crazy neighbor in "land locked" Kentucky!

 

 This is one of my favorite pictures with the way the lights are hanging and seem to glow. It is like a fun party on the water! Defiantly the kind of people I want to hang out with!

 

 North of Cape Elizabeth on Shore Rd-(turn right on Powers Rd then right onto Ocean Rd) you will arrive at a historic lighthouse that will gift you with many great pictures. You will have stuff that should go on the walls of Red Lobster!

Isn't that gorgeous!?! I could have sat here all day if the wind wasn't so strong and nippy! It was the kind that just cuts right through all the layers of your clothes and freezes your bones. There is something about the sea that is so clean and refreshing. It heals all of your pains and worries. Clears your mind, body and soul!

Arriving in Portland I landed in a very fancy bed and breakfast called the Carleton B&B. This, to my surprise was owned by a Kentucky boy, Buddy! It was neat having someone that knew my part of the world way up in this strange little place. He had tons of suggestions and ideas and the greatest was taking the mail route on the ferry to see other islands out in the ocean.

 






 It was a neat experience! I won’t say great only because it was too cold to ride out in the open therefore I sat inside sideways without much ventilation and that is a sure way to make me seasick! So, if you are there in the winter, take lots of clothes and blankets to be able to sit outside and get the great view or just go when it’s warm outside! I did keep going up to the top and walk around the empty deck. I watched the sun setting and the waves in the water, very soothing. Each little island is its own world. There were people that I bet never get off but maybe once or twice a year! The ferry delivers large dollies of items and mail that the people on the island order and they are there waiting for the pickup. Also, on this ferry was a fair group of school kids that use the ferry as the “bus” to get back and forth daily to school. Seems like a very long process that lasts most of the day! I did think it was kind of neat to think that when those people needed off the island, some just jumped in their boats and took off to land. I admit, that would be heaven for me! I’m no land lubber!
 
 

Along the brick roads and sidewalks of downtown Portland I found myself back on the waterfront ready to eat some great food! The parking garage tenet at the ferry terminal highly suggested the nice place next door that was sure to not disappoint! This was the first place I indulged at Flatbread. It is a farmer’s market type pizza and salad chain that is local for Maine and Vermont. They serve in season, local ingredients and cook their pizzas in a brick oven. The place was hopping on the night I was there. Live music and tons of families and young people hanging out on the harbor enjoying the vibrant atmosphere.

 

"farmers market" salad: arugula, beats and goat cheese with house made ginger vinaigrette. This was an addiction! All grown local.

This was the end of my journey as I hit up Trader Joe’s and Wholefoods on my way back to my temporary home in Vermont. Maine was a place of soothing sea and thick pine forests that showed me its beauty and charmed me with its ways. I will always have a love for that place! 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. we are tied to the ocean. and when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came." JFK