Going to Sedona was very much a whimsical trip on my part. I was days away from getting out to California and I had driven close to 1,000 miles over the past two days to get in position for the final stretch.

I’ll just come out and say it: I didn’t want to drive to Sedona.

A voice in the back of my mind crept to the front telling me that it was just a bunch of rocks out there, what was I really missing?

Needless to say I’m happy I ignored that voice.

My friend and I drove four hours up to Sedona–getting there at 3 P.M. right during the hottest part of the day. It was 104 degrees. The wind was hurting my face. Here’s a picture to prove it.

So, my friend and I braved the harsh heat of the Arizona desert to see some rocks. It doesn’t sound too awesome, but trust me, these weren’t any ordinary rocks.

They were seriously unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my life–almost too magnificent for words to describe. Almost.

If any of you have ever been to Disney World to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, multiply that by 100 and you’ll get Sedona. The rocks are a striking red color and they go beautifully well against that blue sky that’s typical of Arizona.

Speckled across the landscape are little bits of green that blanket dense areas of the desert, but that’s mixed in with tan pockets ascending up from the floor of the Sedona. In two words, it’s gorgeous.

There was this weird energy there too. The locals kept talking about these spiral vortex rocks that were supposedly located throughout Sedona. They’re the source of this mystical energy that you’re supposed to be able to feel. Luckily my friend and I stumbled across one while climbing up this thing called Bell Rock. There’s one pictured below. See how it spirals downward?

I’m sure it might look a little bit better from above.

With the legend of these famous vortex rocks in mind, I do think that, looking back, this legend could be true. The fact is my friend and I went to Sedona and basically drove around for three hours trying to figure out where to go. Because this place was so massive we actually didn’t get anything done and started to feel insanely tired.

We drove back. I felt like we had just wasted our time, and right when we were about to say goodbye to it all, I saw a “scenic lookout” and asked him if we could pull in. We did. And when we got there I saw that Bell Rock was off in the distance.

It looked so cool and loomed so far above that I just needed to climb it. I felt this need to do it–so I did. And, as fate would have it, I climbed up the rock and didn’t go any higher than where I was pictured above. It was like my mind just knew.

I had an amazing time in Sedona. It was yet another religious experience, just like Sabino Canyon in Tucson. I love Arizona in general–maybe one of these days I’ll write a post about why I like it so much.

Thanks for reading guys!