Thursday, December 10, 2009

Sedona Skies



Sedona Skies
Skywatch Friday

The scenery in Sedona was amazing. This first photo was taken on Schnebly Hill Road on our drive from Flagstaff to Sedona. We just happened to stumble on to the road and later found out it is considered one of the top scenic drives in Arizona. For the first few miles it is relatively flat and meanders through a Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest with grass under the trees. Later the grade and the road surface get rough. Each switchback turn reveals views of the dramatic red rocks and Oak Creek Canyon. There are not any guardrails and my stomach was getting a little queasy with the 1,000-foot drop offs that were right next to the edge. Lucky we were in a Jeep, as a car probably wouldn’t have made it. This photo was taken outside of the truck with the D700 and the Nikon 50mm/1.8 lens.

Karen wanted to visit a couple of the energy vortexes while we were in town. Reluctantly and a bit skeptical I decided to accompany her. We went to the Boynton Canyon and Long Canyon Mesa Vortex, which is considered to be one of the strongest. Since it was early in the morning we were alone on the ¾’s of a mile trail. Without knowing how close we were to the Vortex I was having a lot of trouble catching my breath. It was a moderate climb to the top of the knoll and I was thinking that I shouldn’t be that out of breath. Right before stepping on the flat area (of the vortex) I literally couldn’t breathe but once on top of the knoll everything returned to normal and I was wasn’t even winded. It was quite an experience and you will not find me doubting the energy at these types of places anymore. This picture was taken a few minutes after arriving at the Vortex. The sun was poking through the clouds with shafts of light landing here and there in the valley.



Here are some more of the rocks. This picture was shot with the Coolpix P6000 right from the Main Street of Sedona while Karen was shopping. The lens was set at 26mm.


This was the view one morning right from the deck of our room at the Southwest Inn. It wasn’t a fancy place but it was clean and well kept up and we got a nice deal on our stay there. This dawn was worth it alone. It went on for about 45 minutes and I was watching it right from bed.


Tomorrow I want to post some snapshots from around Sedona. I saw a funny expression when I was in town. It may be true!

'God made the Grand Canyon but He lives in Sedona.'

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18 comments:

Anonymous said...

i've never been to sedona, its really amazing...beautiful photos.

thanks for sharing

noel

Jim said...

Beautiful landscapes.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

Guy D said...

These are amazing photos, you captured them perfectly, especially the first one.

All the best
Guy
Regina In Pictures

Gaelyn said...

Amazing skies over Sedona. Guess I really should check out a vortex, or two. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Excellent captures.

jakay said...

That looks an interesting mountain biking location, cracking skies and scenery!

Rune said...

Beautiful landscapes and amazing skies!

eileeninmd said...

Stunning photos and my favorites today. They are all just beautiful.

storyteller said...

You've captured the beauty of Sedona magnificently ;-)
Hugs and blessings,
My Sky Watch

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

DFP: Those were certainly wonderful sky photos. I loved them all and couldn't pick a favorite.

magiceye said...

stunningly awesome!

Magdalena said...

These are amazing photos and i loved them all and couldn't pick a favorite.

Have a nice weekend!

~Cheryl said...

Beautiful series and interesting information. We have Sedona on our list--now I'm looking forward to it even more! Thanks and have a great weekend.

Al said...

Aha! That's a picture perfect sky! Beautiful!

AL

Anzu said...

Thank you for sharing the scenery
of terra firma's energy!

joo said...

I would love to be there! Awesome photos and the sky is terrific:)
Have a nice weekend.

BlossomFlowerGirl said...

Amazing is the word for these photos. I wouldn't be half surprised to see Moses coming down the first one!
Have a nice weekend.
Melbourne Daily Photo

DrillerAA09 said...

Absolutely stunning work. The final capture is simply amazing. Well done.

clairz said...

What wonderful photos! I am sending the link to this post to a friend who has asked about vortexes in the Southwest. Thank you for visiting my blog for Skywatch, and thank you for sharing your photos and your experiences.