The Real Red Rocks

In Denver there is a famous concert venue called Red Rocks. It's an open air venue built into the mountain. Unfortunately, I've never made a show - they are only in the summer, and I was a bit busy earlier this year. While I am sure that place is great, Ian and I got to see the original, and I'd venture to say, more impressive red rocks of Sedona, Arizona this weekend:

Cow Pies formation in Sedona

Ian and I were in Sedona visiting his mom, and I have never seen anything like it. Everything was a vibrant red color that changed as the sun hit it in different angles. Apparently the color comes from an iron rich sediment from when the area was the bottom of an ocean. The wind, water (now gone), and internal erosion has made some fantastic formations that some even think have medicinal and "higher" power. One major theory is that there are "vortexes" over certain areas. These vortexes are thought of as a tear in the veil between dimensions, swirling with spiritual energy. The major ones are focused on the circular rock formations, such as Bell Rock.

Bell Rock, spiritual vortex

Sadly, we ran out of time and were not able to visit Bell Rock or any of the other known vortexes. Now, I am not one who easily buys into spirituality without any science behind it. But, there seem to be a lot of stories surrounding these vortexes - some of them involving healing people and some where people can sense they are on a mapped vortex without having any idea of where they are located. Whether or not they have real powers, they are beautiful formations and well worth seeing.  For more information on vortexes, see here. 

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Also in Sedona is the famed Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is a beautiful chapel built into the red rocks. After all the hype I figured it would be a huge structure, but it was not. The beauty of it seemed to be in the simplicity and how it fit in with the already breathtaking surroundings. 

The entire town was both very spiritually and artistically based. I think it is because they are surrounded by such impressive nature that they look for some answers. Like I said, I've never been very spiritually based, but I did find the atmosphere calming and everyone there seemed to be very happy and open. 

While we spent a lot of time bumming around Sedona, Ian's mom actually lives in Cornville, AZ - population 4,000. Cornville is not so aptly named since there is no corn. Apparently, it was named Coenville, but the postmaster made a mistake and it has been Cornville ever since. (I have a feeling that mistake may have had some anti-semetic undertones).

Ian's mom feeding the animals - note the goat!

There are, however, lots of small farms in Cornville.  Ian's mom does not live on one, but is surrounded by them. One of the favorite activities of the weekend was to feed the neighbor's "pets" carrots. They consisted of 2 horses, 2 mules and a surly looking goat. It's pretty well known that I am not a super-outdorsy person, but after this weekend I can see the appeal. The views you get are amazing, and there is a quiet that I haven't felt in these past few years living in cities. Don't get me wrong - I am still holding out on living just in the 'burbs and don't expect to ever move out to the country, but I understand it now. 

Overall it was a great weekend. We got to relax in the relative country and in relatively warm weather. It made me miss Texas a lot, and when we got back Denver didn't want to make us feel better:

Yup, we woke up to a few inch dusting of snow this morning - no t-shirt and jeans welcome home weather for us! In true CO style it was gone by the afternoon and it's predicted to be back up in the 50s tomorrow. Go figure.