Sedona trip – 2016 – Cooks' Blog

Our 2016 vacation kept us in Arizona, at scenic Sedona. This is a popular tourist destination that is renown for its classic western scenery. The red rock buttes of Sedona have appeared in many western movies. For photography we had 2 cameras with 4 lenses, both DSLR and the Micro Four Thirds type.

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Day 1 was really a half day. I spent the afternoon being shown around the area by pro Larry Lindahl.

Our first stop was just north of Sedona, to view Ship Rock. This spot was at the Jim Thompson trailhead.

Ship Rock

Next is a butte called the Giants Thumb. This is NE of the town of Sedona, off the Schnebly Hill road.

Giants Thumb

We then hopped down to the other end of the valley to see Cathedral Rock, the iconic image for Sedona

Oak Creek with Cathedral Rock

Oak Creek sustains dense foliage along its banks. An unusual sight in arid Arizona.

Oak Creek mini jungle

A little further up Oak Creek there is a small abandoned mill house.

Old mill near Oak Creek

The second day, with Myrna instead of Larry, we headed for the airport mesa. Just north of that is a little saddle with on overlook of the Oak Creek valley. The butte in the center is Twin Buttes.

Twin Buttes from north of the airport mesa

We headed SE, beyond Twin Buttes, to just north of Cathedral Rock. The same formation shown in the iconic Oak Creek shot earlier, but this time the north face. Which looks very different, arguably just as dramatic.

North face of Cathedral Rock

Further SE of Cathedral Rock, at the south end of the valley, lies Bell Rock. By Sedona standards a small feature, but it still has its charm.

Bell Rock

From Bell Rock we could look back north and see the south face of Twin Buttes. The large features on the right end that are shaped similar to Bell Rock are called The Nuns!

Twin Buttes, south face

At the west end of Twin Buttes, not far from the highway, is the Chapel of the Holy Cross. One of the landmark icons for Sedona.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

For the afternoon we drove north west of Sedona, up into the wide Dry Creek Basin. This shot shows the northwest side of Capitol Butte on the right. The town of Sedona is on the other side of Capitol Butte, so this would be considered the backside of that feature, not the more common view. The equally high peak on the left is Wilson Mountain.

Capitol Butte

We finished off the day south west of Sedona, driving down by Cathedral Rock. This is a distant shot has Cathedral Rock in the center. The isolated butte on the left is Courthouse Butte. The elevated ridge on the distant right is Castle Rock.

Cathedral Rock

The last day was just the morning before heading back to Phoenix. We started just north of town of Sedona. The feature seen here is the east face of Coffeepot Rock.

Coffeepot Rock (east side)

This is a closer shot of Coffeepot Rock.

Coffeepot Rock

On the way out of the valley we stopped to look back at the imposing Courthouse Butte. When arriving from the freeway this is the first major redrock feature you will see.