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11:47 pm - Vacation -
Day 7 (Back in Sedona)
Today (our last full vacation day) will be a day of some fun photos as we try
to get the most out of every minute left of our vacation.
We ate at a wonderful restaurant in Sedona last night called The Heartland
Café. Owned and operated by Chuck and Phyllis Cline, this comfortable yet
sophisticated little place was recommended to us by our friend Dan. Chuck had
worked as a chef at Dan's Forty-Main restaurant in New Jersey  and
later he and Phyllis set out for Arizona to fulfill their dream of owning and
managing their own  restaurant.
Unfortunately, after the long holiday weekend
neither Chuck nor Phyllis were in attendance last night. That, however,
didn't stop us for enjoying one of the best meals of our trip. If
you're anywhere near Sedona,
I highly recommend the Grilled Beef Tenderloin with garlic mashed potatoes
& onion chutney.
I
failed to mention previously the hike we took the other day to Bell Rock and
Courthouse Butte, two of the more prominent rock formations in Sedona. There
is also supposed to be another vortex at Bell Rock, but we failed to locate
it as we headed, instead, to the base of Courthouse Butte. The Bell Rock
picture to the right gives a good idea of the color of the earth that is so
extraordinary here.
 Somehow
I also forgot to mention one of the most inspiring sites that we have visited
on our trip. If you're in this area and can check out only one thing, be sure
to visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Most people are under the impression
that it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and, if my memory serves me
correctly, we actually saw a picture of it at Wright's winter home in
Phoenix, Taliesin West. However, the actual architect was Marguerite Brunswig
Staude, a student of Wright's. Nevertheless, one glance and Wright's
influence is strikingly evident. The building is a modern Catholic chapel and
it rises 200 feet from the ground. Built in 1956, the chapel is set in
between two large red rock formations and, while there are no regular
services at the chapel, it provides a wonderfully relaxing spot for
reflection.
We climbed the vertically inclined ramp and threaded ourselves through quite
a throng of people to get a glimpse of the chapel's simple interior.  Looking
through the clear glass towards the sun dappled red rocks with the light
refracted by the enormous cross, we paused to take in the stunning beauty of
the dazzling countryside.
Now how could I have forgotten to mention that earlier? I'll have a little
more to say on the chapel a little later on.
By the way, if you haven't noticed already, clicking on any of the pictures
in this and earlier entries should take you to my photo storage center on
Bravenet. Clicking on 'Album Home' will then take you to the complete set of
photographs for that particular album, Sedona, Grand Canyon, etc. You'll need
a fairly fast connection to display the pictures without first falling asleep
while they download.
Anyway, today Beth wanted to visit the Enchantment resort so we headed toward
the area near Boyton Canyon. Boy, were we in for a surprise. As we approached
the resort, we noticed the only way to gain entry to the parking area was
past a guard station. We were just interested in seeing the place and perhaps
having a drink, but apparently you either have to be staying there or have a
dinner reservation (with a long waiting list) to even gain entry to the
grounds. In the words of a basketball player who used to play for one of the
pro teams in our area, "Whooptie-damn-doo!" It's their loss.  Beth
is the past President of the state chapter of Meeting Professionals
International as well as currently sitting on the International board, which
puts her in a position to make recommendations on where a number of
corporations hold meetings, retreats, dinners, etc. I'll think she'll find it
hard to recommend a place that won't let us even take a look at it.
Being this close to another beautiful hiking area, we decided to take on the
4 mile trek through Boyton Canyon. This is a fairly rugged trail area and we
found ourselves stopping not only to admire the scenery, but to catch a
breather as well. I believe some of the most interesting rock formations in
the entire Sedona area are to be found here. I'm not sure if the formation at
left has an actual name, but I dubbed it Screaming Rock and that's how I will
remember it. The terrain in this area is quite a bit greener and I'm not sure
why that is, but it makes for a very interesting contrast to the red rock
formations. Once again we failed to find or experience the vortex that is
supposed to be located in this area. I think we'll just have to come back
again some day and plan a vacation around seeking out and tracking down the
mysterious Vortices of Sedona.
 Just
before sunset, we decided to do a little shopping/ exploring and ended up in
an area known as the Hillside Shops and Galleries. As the name indicates, it
is built into the side of a hill with stairs leading to various levels of
shops. While
looking around some of the galleries, I spotted a stairway that seemed to
lead to a level above most of the shops so I decided to explore. What I found
was a small restaurant called Shugrue's Hillside Grill with, I would
estimate, seating for about 50 persons. What caught my eye was that, on
looking through the front door, I could see clear through to the other side
of the restaurant to a beautiful view of some of Sedona's most alluring
vistas; this just as the sun was close to setting. I
shouted down to Beth to come up and take a look and as we stepped inside, we
realized that there was a deck on the far end of the restaurant. Naturally,
even though the temperature was dropping, we decided to sit outside and have
a  drink
and watch the setting sun. These pictures demonstrate that we, for once, had
made an smart choice. We decided to stay and have our final dinner in Sedona
with this beautiful vista as our backdrop.
On the way back to the hotel, we decided to make one final pilgrimage to the
Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is spot lit until about 10:00 pm and as we
traveled down the tiny road leading to the chapel, we thought we would
probably run into a number of other folks coming to gaze at this striking
location. Wrong, again - and wonderfully so. We had the place all to
ourselves; just us in the dark, a 200-foot lighted cross and the astonishing
red rocks of Sedona. We couldn't have asked for a more memorable final
evening.
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