Taking you on an energetic weekender in Sedona, Arizona to some of the best hikes in Sedona and best places to visit in Sedona. This majestic mountain town is known for its energy vortexes, gorgeous red rocks, and spiritual and healing vibes. This desert mountain town gets cold in the winter, hot in the summer, but a trip to Sedona makes for a magical hiking adventure any time of year.

Hiking in Sedona will amaze you with every step you are in the gorgeous red rocks, you truly do feel energetic forces you can’t explain, and then with the quirky side of town this makes for a perfect weekend trip.

Visit Sedona – Episode Transcript

1 (37s):
Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad podcast. Today, we are taking you to Sedona, Arizona.

4 (1m 1s):
We unfortunately have not all been to Sedona as a squad. Brittany and I have been on a couples trip. I know Kim’s been on a yoga retreat, but I can’t say that Sedona is one of the most majestic small towns I’ve ever been to from its famous red rock desert formations to it’s quaint small town feel Sedona should be on everyone’s radar to visit. And Zayna, you’re listed right on that since you haven’t been.

2 (1m 24s):
So you are right Jamal. I’ve never been to Sedona. I’m super excited to hear all about it because when I think of Sedona, I think of the place where I can go to attune my shock Rez, have a spiritual awakening and do a lot of yoga, which by the way, I’m super into my chakras, cleaning them out and crystals. So this episode is just going to be like so excited.

3 (1m 50s):
I have been to Sedona, like Jamal said, I went to a yoga festival there. It was so nice. I didn’t do a whole lot in the city or in the town itself, but I did just enough. But as soon as you get there, you feel like a vibe and the energy in the air of it. And it has a lot of mystic reputation too, that maybe Jamal can give some history on, but it is just so beautiful. The red rocks everywhere you look, it’s a place you have to go. And I have a fun fact for y’all

2 (2m 17s):
Give it to us.

3 (2m 18s):
I used to work for a major travel companies, content team, and we did a blog post on the best places for certain milestones in your life and Sedona. We put it on our list for being the best place to go after divorce, because you can realign your chakras and your energy rejuvenate, relax and get yourself back on track.

2 (2m 39s):
That’s what I’m saying. That’s what I’m saying. Yeah.

4 (2m 42s):
I didn’t know if you were referencing that for one specific gender or not, but when you said that I agreed because I was like, yeah, I feel like I saw a lot of solo cougars out there.

3 (2m 51s):
So don’t Arizona, by the way. Didn’t like that very much.

4 (2m 55s):
Well, you guys are correct. Say not, you know, Sedona is for its vortexes. I think that’s one of the reasons why Kim’s yoga event was out. There was the four Texas aligned chakras, all that stuff. So we’ll talk all about that. However, it is also, like I mentioned earlier, very famous for its scenic beauty. I mean just the red rock formations that are out there in the desert. I mean, it’s truly a sight to be seen. So we’re going to talk all about that. But before we get into it, let’s go over some general tips.

1 (3m 27s):
First tip is there’s not a lot of shade on any of the hiking trails. So make sure to wear some sun protection and have sunscreen on to protect your beautiful skin.

4 (3m 38s):
So the best months to go are going to be from March to may and September to November. Those timeframes that we mentioned simply because of the weather. Again, Sedona is in the desert, it’s going to be hot. So those are good times to go. Where are you going to have temperate weather also that March to may section the cacti are going to be in full bloom. So you could see those beautiful cacti flowers. And it’s also going to enhance your scenic experience in the desert.

1 (4m 5s):
And if you go outside of the months, Jamal was talking about in the winter, it can be very, very cold. It actually snows in Sedona and in the summer it’s the desert. It gets very, very hot.

3 (4m 15s):
When I did that yoga festival there, I did a sunrise outdoor yoga class and it was so cold me and about half the other people that were in it actually quit halfway through because it was too cold.

4 (4m 26s):
That’s one of the crazy things about deserts in general, not Sedona, but you inspired me to say this because Brittany and I were very recently in Canyonlands and arches national park in Utah. And we went in the winter time here and you know, the deserts during the summer hot, but during the winter, they are cold like below freezing. So I find that to be such a crazy anomaly that people aren’t expecting. So for you to say that before sunrise, it was freezing. Doesn’t surprise me.

2 (4m 54s):
I mean, even in Las Vegas, they have icicles on the fountains during the winter because it gets so cold.

4 (4m 58s):
Sometimes I’ve been, I’ve been to Las Vegas when it snowed. So it definitely does happen. So it can be cold too. Of course

1 (5m 5s):
Another tip is to get to the trails early. A lot of the trails have limited parking or have really popular photo spots. And you want to get there early, before the lines all build up.

4 (5m 15s):
And if you’re going to be getting there early, you’re going to be getting there during golden hour. That is the hour before sunrise. So you get these beautiful colors of the sun before it’s actually officially rose, but you still get those light rays coming in. It’s just so beautiful in the desert, especially with the famous red rocks that Sedona does have. It’s just completely on another level.

1 (5m 39s):
Another tip to know is Sedona is a resort town. So it can actually be an expensive city for hotels and restaurants.

4 (5m 45s):
Yeah. When we were there bringing an hour, looking for a place to eat and we weren’t even looking for anything fancy. And if you’re looking at menus, any restaurant there, quite honestly, that’s not, you know, quick and easy takeaway is going to be 20 to $30 for a plate for dinner. So it is expensive. Yeah.

3 (6m 4s):
Another thing is that it is in the mountain. So the roads to get there are windy and curvy and that can be scary for some people like me.

4 (6m 13s):
I know you have issues on windy roads cam at least when you’re the driver.

3 (6m 16s):
When I went to Sedona to this yoga festival, I went with, I was by myself, but I was meeting somebody there. So I was driving these roads by myself. This was the first time I actually felt like I conquered windy roads on my own. Like hands, both gripping the steering wheel, semis passing me on the road, but I made it there safe. So just know that’s what you can expect on the road.

4 (6m 34s):
Did you actually drive from San Diego to Sedona? Yeah.

3 (6m 37s):
Yes. I, I went to Phoenix first to meet up with a friend and then from there popped up,

4 (6m 40s):
But you drove to Phoenix from San Diego. See Brittany and I took the easy way we flew to Phoenix, rented a car and from Phoenix drove to Sedona, which is about a couple hours. So not too bad.

2 (6m 49s):
Kim, I’m proud of you. I believe in you. Thank

3 (6m 51s):
You. I feel like I can conquer the world now.

1 (6m 53s):
You sure can. And the last tip that we have is to download offline maps. We have lost cell service going on some of the trails, just outside of the city, like only maybe five miles or more outside of the city. And we did lose cell reception. So be sure to download offline maps. So you guys don’t get lost.

4 (7m 10s):
And before we get into the activities and things to do, we’ve already touched upon it a little bit in terms of the descriptions we’ve given up Sedona, but we’re going to go ahead and talk about it a little bit more here. You know, it’s famous for the beautiful weathered and eroded red sandstone, formations of the rocks out there. And they glow orange and red, especially during sunrise and sunset. So they just have these much more beautiful desert colors than you are accustomed to where they’re just more immune colored. These are vibrant reds. And again, when you hit the right hue of light for sunrise, sunset, they just reflect and shine in a different way.

4 (7m 50s):
That makes it unlike any other desert experience or cinder you’ve probably ever seen. So other than its natural beauty, what does Sedona known for? We touched on it earlier too. When we talked about the vorticies as well as clearing out and aligning shock Russ. So I know that’s more your ladies thing. So tell us all about it.

3 (8m 8s):
So the vortexes are crystal formations that have been formed underneath the surface of the earth. So they’re below the ground that you’re walking on. So this energy that’s building in these crystals comes up through the earth and is said to have healing restorative energies. And that’s why a lot of people go there for these different healing. It’s a big spa destination. Some say, you can even feel it. There’s a couple of different vortexes that they have out there. Some are masculine, some have feminine energy and some have both depending on which one you’re going to. And there’s several,

1 (8m 40s):
Yeah, the energy is said to go across all of Sedona, but in these four major energy vortex spots, they’re said to be the most popular where you can really feel the energy there and we’ll list out the spots for you. First one is airport Mesa vortex. There’s also a Boynton canyon vortex, a bell rock vortex and cathedral rock Bortech.

3 (9m 2s):
I think bell rock and cathedral rock are two of the most popular ones they have.

4 (9m 6s):
Well, Brittany and I did cathedral rock. We did the airport Mesa and it’s because we had hikes in that area. I don’t think we did the Boynton or the bell rock, but you said bell rock was maybe one of the most famous. Did you do any one of those two that I mentioned

3 (9m 20s):
We’ll leave bell. I can’t remember because it’s been a few years now, but he was either bell rock or cathedral rock that I did. And we actually, as a group, hiked out into the mountains, laid our yoga mats out there and did an hour yoga practice within these red rocks. It was probably the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever had during a yoga class. It was amazing. And the vortex energy was just there filling us up. Highly recommend. Even if you don’t go for the festival, bring your yoga mat out there and lay it down.

1 (9m 46s):
Like Kim said, Sedona, just such beautiful scenery around you. And you can do other things other than visit the vortex. You can go mountain biking, you can go hiking, but Sedona, it is a healing place. You can go there for prayer, meditation, healing, spot treatments, massages, all of that sort of stuff.

3 (10m 4s):
Where did you guys stay when you went there?

1 (10m 6s):
We stayed at Cedars resort in Sedona

3 (10m 9s):
And that’s a hotel.

1 (10m 9s):
It is a hotel. Yes. And it’s right off of a main roundabout. So just really like in the main downtown area of Sedona,

4 (10m 16s):
It’s funny that Brittany says the roundabout because this is one thing that I wasn’t expecting when we got there. There’s very few roads that actually have stoplights on them. There’s one main one that really does, but a lot of the intersections, even some of the Arizona state highways that merge and run through there all have roundabouts. And so we were at the corner of one and they can be really, really busy. And if you go during a busy time of year, traffic can back up because of those and their close proximity from one roundabout to the other. So do keep that in mind that even though it is small and quaint, it is very well traveled in the sense of how many people visit. So there can be a little bit of traffic backup on those roads.

3 (10m 57s):
When I went, I stayed at the Hilton Sedona resort at bell rock, which is a little bit more of an upscale option. It’s also off of the main drag where they have all the roundabouts, but I would highly recommend it. It’s a great property. This is where they actually hold the Sedona yoga festival. So even if you’re not going for that though, I highly recommend this place. If you’re trying to splurge a bit,

4 (11m 16s):
There’s lots of places to splurge. Like we were saying earlier, this is a resort town. So lots of hotels out there are really, really expensive. Again, the restaurants as well. So splurging, I think, is something that somebody is going to have to do by force. If they really go there to some certain extent,

3 (11m 34s):
Did you guys eat anywhere fun or noteworthy while you were there?

4 (11m 37s):
You know, there were a couple places that we did eat cam to answer your question. But the first day that we got there, we had flown into Phoenix, rented a car, drove, went straight to a hiking trail. And the only thing we really ate of recognition was going to be the dinner that we had. And we ate at the Creek side, American bistro. It was really, really good. I had a shrimp and grits. What did you have again, Brittany?

1 (11m 60s):
I had a country style chicken breast with Parmesan crust

3 (12m 3s):
Sunscreen.

4 (12m 4s):
Oh, it was real. It was really, really good. I actually enjoyed that a lot. We looked at a few other restaurants, really famous ones that they had out there. They were in the resort areas and those ones were more like 40 to $50 a plate. So, you know, if, unless you’re really trying to spend that much, I don’t think they’re really worth recommending. There’s a handful of them. You could do your own research on that. But we did also find for the next day that we were there, we had an amazing Mexican lunch at and it was really, really good. We got a couple tacos, a burrito and it was definitely really enjoyable. So I would recommend that

3 (12m 43s):
Did Lucio. So I didn’t really eat anywhere. Good that I can remember either. I do remember those stocking up on food at whole foods because my hotel had a microwave and a mini fridge. So if you’re in there, we always talk about this. When we go hiking, getting food for your hotel snacks for the day, you know, I was there doing yoga all day, so I needed snacks on the go. But if you’re hiking there totally recommend that to whole foods is a great place to talk up.

4 (13m 4s):
Well, there’s only one whole foods in town. We actually saw it it’s by the tortillas Def way ago that we had on that main road that actually has the stoplights and not the roundabouts. So do check it out. And like you said, Kim, very good point on picking up that stuff to have in the fridge and hotel. We always talk about it.

3 (13m 21s):
So it has the whole hot section too. I’m not sure what it’s like after COVID now, but they have all of the counters and the food that you are getting to go, but it’s freshly made for breakfast and later in the day food to

1 (13m 32s):
So Jamal and I did a lot of hiking and Sedona. So we are going to talk about some of the hikes that we did. The first hike that we did once we drove from Phoenix to Sedona was called cathedral rock trail. And like we mentioned earlier, cathedral rock is a vortex and the hike itself, isn’t hard. It’s only 1.2 miles round trip out and back, but it does have a 750 foot elevation gain. And it is pretty steep.

4 (13m 56s):
Yeah. You know, you get there and it’s called the cathedral rock. I guess you could imagine what the rock formation looks like. It’s a big tall one. So they say, it looks like a cathedral, but you know, it’s 1.2 miles round trip. So only 0.6 little over half a mile up. But realistically it seems harder than it is because it is rather steep up those rocks. So you have to do a lot of climbing of them yourself. I don’t want to say it’s too difficult, but you just look at it and you’re just like, oh wow. I mean, this isn’t a normal hiking trail. You really have to do some climbing, but the climate itself, isn’t very difficult to do.

1 (14m 32s):
So squad tip, Make sure to have nothing in your hands as you’re going up. We saw a lot of people leaving their coffee cups on the side of the rock before they made the climb, because you do need both of your hands to Boulder up the sandstone. And it is a lot easier going down than going up, just so you guys know.

4 (14m 53s):
Yeah. And also to park in this parking lot by cathedral rock to do the hike, there is a $5 fee. However, if you have in America, the beautiful inter-agency pass, which is going to be the U S park system pass. You can actually bypass that fee and not have to pay it, but do keep in mind in order to get there, there is a fee to pay for the parking lot to do the height.

1 (15m 17s):
So we’re near at the top of the hike. It offers you really beautiful red rock views and a view of the city of Sedona and the surrounding area. And when we got to the top, I immediately took off my backpack and laid down and meditated and let all of that healing energy just overcome my body. And it felt really nice. And I felt like I could feel the energy there,

2 (15m 38s):
Jamal, how did you feel?

4 (15m 40s):
You know, I believe in this type of stuff, it’s just hard for me to experience it. Even when I do yoga and they say, oh, deep breaths and release or even meditation, it’s hard for me to clear my mind. So it’s hard for me to experience and accept these natural forces that I believe in. So it wasn’t as exhilarating and fulfilling to me as it was for Brittany. But I definitely did feel something. I will say that I just couldn’t get that full vibe. And I think it’s because my chakras, apparently aren’t clear and I can’t accept that energy. And

1 (16m 15s):
Do you guys know how to tell when you’re in new year of vortex,

2 (16m 18s):
When you’re near a vortex

1 (16m 20s):
Or you’re getting close to Trees that grow in the area start to twist. And so the, And so we actually got some pictures of some trees starting to twist, and it said like the twisty or the tree, like if the trunks and the branches start to twist out and you can see them twisting that you’re, you’re at a higher vortex level.

3 (16m 40s):
That is so interesting. A physical result of the energy. That’s crazy. My mind is wrong.

2 (16m 47s):
I know. Right. Well, has anyone here ever had Reiki done to them?

4 (16m 51s):
I have not. I

1 (16m 52s):
Have.

2 (16m 52s):
It’s amazing. Like energy is so real. Like when I get the Reiki done, I usually feel a little bit dizzy in the head and I definitely feel it up there. And my crown chakra

1 (17m 1s):
And like Jamal and I said earlier, this hike is steep. So people do partially hike it. You’re going to get just the same benefit even if you only partially hive get and just be careful because it’s really slippery when it’s wet,

3 (17m 12s):
Slippery, when wet. Nice tip,

1 (17m 14s):
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3 (18m 39s):
What are some other hikes that you guys did when you were there?

4 (18m 41s):
Will another really popular one in general. And one that we did do is called the airport loop trail. It does have a vortex in that area also, but this trail is 3.2 miles. It is a loop, very minimal elevation gain of 416 feet. One of the cool things though that I found and really liked about this trail is all of the famous and iconic rock formations in Sedona. You know, they’re kind of like Macy’s, if you will, they’re the jagged rocks. And then all of a sudden they’re kind of like flat really on top. And then this airport loop trail is the same thing, but it’s just so wide on top that they said, Hey, this is actually the only spot where we could really legitimately fit in an airport.

4 (19m 24s):
So you hike around the Mesa of the desert, top formation of the rock around the whole airport level. And it gives you when you complete it a full 360 degree view of the entire city, because you’re going around one whole like Mesa level. That’s cool. But the parking out there is really, really tough to do. And once you tell them a little bit about that, Brittany.

1 (19m 49s):
Yeah. So where the hike actually starts, there’s only like seven spots and there’s nowhere along the side of the road to park. So if there’s no parking there and Jamal, I drove by it, like at least three or four different times, there is a parking lot up the road and you can pay $3, but parking there, we’ll add another 1.2 miles to your trip. So the total mileage of the loop will be 4.4 instead of 3.2.

4 (20m 13s):
Yeah. And so like Brittany was saying on the road, there’s only those minimal parking spots. You can go to the top when you’re actually at the Mesa formation there and pay to park. It’s only $3. So not too bad in the grand scheme of things, but when you’re going up and driving that road to get to that parking lot, they also have a beautiful overlook where it’s very famous to watch the sunset up there, FYI. So I want to throw that out, want to throw that out for sure. But when you’re driving up that road, it’s actually rather steep. And so when you think to yourself, oh fuck man. If this is where the trail head is, where I see those seven parking spots down below, like, I really don’t want to hike that, but they have a trail from that parking lot that meets down to it.

4 (20m 56s):
And even though you really do have to hike down and when you’re done with the loop, actually hike back up to your car. It’s not as steep as the road looks, so it’s a lot more manageable. So don’t let that discourage you. That’s why we kind of looped at a couple of times, cause they were like, fuck, we really don’t want to add on more than a mile and it’s rather steep. So it’s actually not too bad.

1 (21m 16s):
I went in October and we expected the weather to be nice and fall lake. And it was actually really, really hot and there’s no shade on this trail. So that’s what we were more worried about was just like the lack of shade and it just being really hot outside and we hiked it mid day. So if you do have to add on that extra trail, because you couldn’t find parking at the Trailhead, you’ll be taking the Sedona view trail to the airport loop trail. And once you’re on the main trail, the airport loop trail, we do recommend squad tip Going counter-clockwise for the better views that you’re going to come across. And it’s kind of counterintuitive because where are the trail head is and where the cars are parked, they’re facing some red rock and you just kind of gravitate to that.

1 (21m 57s):
And behind you is the road and you actually have to cross the road to the other side to start this loop.

2 (22m 3s):
I have three questions for you. So did you guys do it in order like cathedral rock trail first and then airport loop trail? Yes. Does it matter like in order, like, would you recommend doing that as well? Or does it matter if one of our listeners did airport loop trail and then cathedral rock?

1 (22m 20s):
Well, I mean, it really depends on the time of day, I would say for airport loop trail, if you go closer to sunset, that’s a really popular area, but you can do them in whatever order works for you.

2 (22m 30s):
And then third question clearly, it sounds like you have to drive from one to the other. You can’t just like walk,

1 (22m 35s):
Correct. You do need a car to drive.

4 (22m 37s):
You can see cathedral rock from the airport loop road though. But yeah, you definitely don’t want to hike that it is rather far,

1 (22m 46s):
But while you’re going around the rim of the airport, you can also catch really small planes landing or taking off, which is pretty cool to see as well. And it has really, really good views of the red rocks and so Dona, and don’t forget to actually visit the vortex because the vortex isn’t on the actual hike loop it’s right next to where the Trailhead is. And you have to climb a small little hill to get up to the vortex.

4 (23m 9s):
We did do that. We laid on it. I feel like I felt the energy and vortex there more than I did at cathedral rock, but I don’t know. I just felt more relaxed in a way I should say. And I don’t know if it’s because I was tired because now we had done two hikes in the day or what it was. But I feel like I felt the energy more like I was more at peace in a sense. So one of the other really popular hikes to do in Sedona is going to be devil’s bridge. And it’s an iconic Sedona hike. And devil’s bridge is the largest natural sand stone arch in the Sedona area with beautiful red rock views as the backdrop. So this red rock formation actually forms its own natural bridge and arch.

4 (23m 52s):
That’s why it’s called devil’s bridge. And you’re standing on top of it. And obviously you have a platform, but there is absolutely nothing below you. It’s a beautiful hike and a very iconic spot.

1 (24m 2s):
This was actually my birthday hike. We did this hike on my birthday. I was super excited to do it. I wanted to do it at sunrise and Sedona is a really small city and outside of Sedona in the desert, it becomes hitch black

3 (24m 16s):
Pit. You see a lot of stars.

1 (24m 18s):
Yes you can. It’s really beautiful. And there’s no lights lining the road. So it’s kind of eerie, but Jamal and I got to the Trailhead while it was still pitch black. And we’re like, dude, how the fuck are we going to hike? You know,

3 (24m 31s):
What about your headlamp?

4 (24m 32s):
We didn’t bring our headlamps. And we wanted to do this hike early for a couple reasons. One, we wanted to be there for sunrise. And two, we know this hike is very, very popular. If you don’t have a four wheel drive vehicle to get closer on a unpaved, like literally sand road, the lack of four wheel drive is going to have you get stuck in the sand. So you have to park in a parking lot. That’s a little bit further, but there’s three different ways that you can get to devil’s bridge from different parking lots. And it’s known to be really crowded. So you want to get there early, especially if you don’t want to wait in an hour plus line to take your photo on the bridge too. So we got there early fucking dark and we’re like, well, we clearly can’t hike this at this point.

4 (25m 14s):
Yeah.

1 (25m 14s):
Yeah. So we’re like, what are we going to do? We got, probably got here a little too early. So Jamal and I turn around and we drive back to town. We go to the nearest Starbucks and I got my birthday Starbucks drink, Jamal got a drink as well. And then we decided to drive back and see if it was any better. And then at that point, the sun was starting to let up a little bit so that we had enough light to start our hike.

4 (25m 39s):
It was golden hour at that point.

1 (25m 40s):
And it was so beautiful. This was probably one of my favorite hikes that we did not necessarily because of devil’s bridge, but just because the landscape was glowing, orange and red and it was just so beautiful. So around what time did you actually start the hike? We probably started it about 30 minutes or so before sunrise was expected.

4 (26m 0s):
And even though you can’t see the sun at that point, the light rays really come in fast in the desert, especially that location where we’re at in Sedona. So the sun wasn’t up, but it was enough light to be able to say, okay, I can actually see, I know where the trail is. And what I really liked about devil’s bridge and the trail that we did is that it was really well marked. I feel like sometimes a lot of trails, even in national parks or other regional trails, they’re not very well marked. This one really was you have to be a fool to get lost out here. I feel like,

1 (26m 31s):
And like Jamal said, there are three different ways to access this trail. And the length of the trail depends on where you parked. So if you have a four by four vehicle, the trail, it’s only going to be two miles round trip because you can park the closest right outside of that. You can park onto a street and it’s called the dry Creek and Vista trail. And it’s just really a dirt road. And that makes it 4.6 miles round trip. But like I just said, most of it’s going to be on a boring dirt road and there’s not going to be a lot of views. So the parking lot Jamal and I parked in was called the mess cow Trailhead. And it’s mostly flat, but it does go through a really beautiful desert landscape scenery. And it’s only 4.2 miles round trip. And we would recommend it this way, especially if you don’t have a four by four car.

4 (27m 13s):
Yeah. And when we were done and actually leaving devil’s bridge in the light and could see, we did see the trail that Bernie’s talking about, that would be the dirt road, the dry Creek Vista trail. And it’s basically people walking along that road that you would need the four by four to go. So it’s pretty much a straight path, super Sandy. And I was like, this shit looks boring. And what we did, what actually went through the desert and a lot more scenic that way. So don’t take the cheap and easy way out and do the mezcal. If you don’t have the four wheel drive, I think it’s going to be the best way for you to experience devil’s bridge.

3 (27m 47s):
And then after you did that hike, did you guys just head back to Phoenix to come home? Was that the end of your day?

4 (27m 52s):
That was because we had a short trip. We flew in on a Saturday, drove, did what we did the day before, which was going to be the airport loop cathedral. And then we did devil’s bridge the next day, drove back and flew back on a Sunday.

3 (28m 7s):
So one day

4 (28m 9s):
The, yeah, so it was a real short weekend or for us, but we did some other stuff which we’re going to talk about right now too. So we’re not really talking about it. And the order in which we did just more of the highlights, these are good hikes to do. These are good things to see in town. This right here is some of the other sites that we saw.

1 (28m 25s):
So we did go see chapel of the holy cross. And I really wanted to see this church because I’ve read so much about it. And it’s a chapel that rises 70 feet out of a 1000 foot red rock cliff. And the architecture is inspired by the empire state building. So I really wanted a chance to go visit this church. Did you visit it Kim while you were there? Yes.

3 (28m 48s):
Yes I did. I, I don’t think I went in, I saw it though. It’s built into the rocks, right? Yes.

1 (28m 52s):
It’s built into the rock for unique a gift shop and there’s a small seating area with the pews, but you do have limited parking in this area. And so you will have to park and then walk up the hill to enter the chapel.

4 (29m 6s):
I mean, it was really beautiful. I mean, this church is really built into the rock formations and not only that, what it’s built out of obviously fits and matches into the natural landscape. So it just has that one cohesive, beautiful look to it that it is actually natural and part of the scenery itself, but it does have a cross formation that you can obviously see from the outside. And then that on that cross is the glass windows. So when you’re actually inside in the church, it’s a big glass window. You see the cross and then you can also see out into the desert. And it’s just absolutely beautiful in there. It is very, very small, but worth checking out.

4 (29m 49s):
And it is a unique, one of a kind experience. I’ve been to a lot of churches in Europe and I’m not going to sit here and say that they are not impressive because they absolutely are. But this is probably the most impressive church I’ve ever seen in the United States. And it was very small. So that’s St a lot. One thing I did forget to say about the church though, that I want to bring up is there is no public restroom. If you need to use the restroom, it is a porta-potty that’s along the side of the road. So not what you would expect of a church, but it is so popular that obviously they don’t have a public restroom for war people to use, unless you’re actually there for service and a parishioner. So do keep that in mind. But one of the other really, really cool places to go and Sedona is the arts and crafts village.

4 (30m 34s):
Now this is a mall, but it’s not a mall in a sense, it’s a very distinctive shopping area experienced with vine covered, stucco walls, cobblestone, walkways, and each area that you go into has its own courtyard and a sense. And it’s such a unique experience that I’ve never been to a mall. And I hate to use that word to describe it like that though. And I really enjoyed it.

1 (30m 60s):
It’s not a multimodal, it’s a village and they have these beautiful arched. Entryway is. And like Jamal said, there is a courtyard. Some of them have water fountains in the middle. And it’s really just a really nice shopping experience. They have pottery shops, candle shops. They have these beautiful candles where you can put them up to light and they would eliminate Sue. You could see all of the different colors. They had lots of restaurants and they even had a Christmas shop where we purchased our Sedona ornament

4 (31m 28s):
And the cool things that they actually had in this arts and crafts village. Since Brittany’s harping on me, that it’s not a mall is a liquor shop. And guess what? They give you samples. They have Keala, they have bourbon. They have lots of other European style alcoholic beverages out there. And even during times of COVID right now, they had a specific tasting area. They would give you the sample of it. They said, this is the only place that you could pull off your mask. And they did really didn’t limit the samples that you can have. And if Brittany and I weren’t about to be doing a hike after that, I would have drank a lot more of those free samples and indulge myself over there. So that was really cool. So do check that out.

2 (32m 7s):
Yeah. I learned the hard way that you don’t drink and kayak. So I can only imagine if you drink and hike.

4 (32m 13s):
You’re talking about big bear. I

2 (32m 14s):
Am talking about big bear, man. I could not handle those kayaks. So I can only imagine, like I said, the hiking

3 (32m 19s):
Wind was against us that

2 (32m 21s):
Day. It really was

1 (32m 22s):
Dawson. We, we killed it, man.

2 (32m 24s):
Well, I mean, we had Emma in our kayak too, and she was trying to jump out.

4 (32m 29s):
No I

1 (32m 31s):
Don’t blame,

4 (32m 32s):
But see for us, we had the hike afterwards. It was a hot day I had to drive and you know, liquor is different, a beer, you know, you take a couple of them, it’s going to catch up to you, but do check it out in the evening and purchase something from there. They have a lot of unique alcohols and it was a cool experience in that shop. And just in general, the arts and crafts village is amazing to see

1 (32m 54s):
Last thing we did in the area. And it wasn’t actually in Sedona. It was about a 30 minute drive south of Sedona heading back to the Phoenix airport was Jamal and I stopped at Montezuma castle national monument. And what it is is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in north America created by the synagogue.

4 (33m 13s):
So Kim, you’re all about Mesa Verde and similar. This is like a Mesa Verde. Clearly it’s only a national monument and not a park because there’s only one dwelling in the cliff side versus the numerous that’s at Mesa Verdi.

1 (33m 28s):
That’s untrue. It’s not just

4 (33m 29s):
One. Well, how many are there? There was only the one that we saw,

1 (33m 33s):
But there was also rooms that we couldn’t see behind the rock.

4 (33m 36s):
That’s true. That’s true. There were rooms, but there was one main dwelling at the top that was multi-room the other ones. They had dwellings carved into it, but not as grand as the big one that you saw. So I misspoke in a sense in that way, but clearly not as grand as Mesa Verde, but still something very, very unique. And they actually used to give tours and you were able to go into Montezuma castle. However, in 1951, they discontinued the tour. So people haven’t been in, in a long, long time, but it was still really unique and cool to see. And you’ve been harping on Mesa Verde and seen just this one made me say, oh shit, I really want to go to Mesa Verde. Cause I know, cause I know it may severity.

4 (34m 17s):
You can actually go into, so I was a little upset. I don’t want to say upset, but sad that I couldn’t go in

1 (34m 23s):
Montezuma’s castle is a 20 room, five story castle that’s carved into the limestone cliff. So that’s pretty amazing knowing that they were able to create that way back in the day in the middle of the desert. And they use this as their habitat and right next to it is another structure called castle a and it’s an area with 40 to 50 Pueblo ruins that were also carved into the limestone.

4 (34m 47s):
Yeah. And there was a short paved trail and you learn all about the history and surroundings, the area, they have all the signs telling you about it. They even have a interactive screen where they will show you what the inside looks like since you can’t go in. And if you’re going to go to Sedona and using Phoenix as your hub and going through, it’s definitely worth the stop. It does have a $10 fee. Again, if you have your national park pass, you can get in for free. You don’t need to pay works well and fine for that since it is a national monument and their hours are from eight to five. And in times of non COVID, there was an Indian casino there, the buffet that they had, and I saw the advertisements for the good, we didn’t do it.

4 (35m 29s):
So do keep that in mind. If you love yourself a buffet,

2 (35m 32s):
’cause here at the squad. We love buffets specifically breakfast, buffets.

1 (35m 36s):
Any final thoughts on Sedona?

4 (35m 38s):
Well, I’m just curious. Kim’s thoughts on Sedona. I know when she went, her trip was more rushed. It was more yoga oriented. Didn’t get to do a lot of hikes, but what was your takeaway from Sedona Kim?

3 (35m 48s):
I liked it. It was really beautiful. I’d love to go back and spend more time there outside of a yoga festival, for sure. Cena, are you going to be planning a trip now?

2 (35m 56s):
I really want to go, especially just hearing about all the vortexes. Like it sounds really, really cool. And for someone like Jamal to say that he felt the energy super inspiring. Cause I know Jamal’s not into it as I am.

1 (36m 7s):
And if we haven’t said this already Sedona is located in Arizona and it is south of the grand canyon, national park and north of Phoenix, Arizona.

3 (36m 17s):
So if you’re planning a trip to the grand canyon national park, you can just add on Sedona.

4 (36m 21s):
It’s half way between both.

3 (36m 23s):
Nice, cool. Well, I am eager to get into my favorite part of the week. If there’s no final thoughts on Sedona, then here we go.

4 (36m 33s):
Questions of the week.

6 (36m 41s):
Whew.

3 (36m 42s):
We only have one question this week and it’s a loaded one. It is which one? You can only pick one mountain desert, Beecher city.

4 (36m 51s):
What a crazy loaded question. I know my answer, but I’m going to let you three answer first.

2 (36m 56s):
I would say that’s tough. I feel like San Diego, I already live in a city. I don’t necessarily need the

1 (37m 3s):
Beach

2 (37m 5s):
So tough. You can choose one for many, many different reasons. I’m going to go for a mountain just because I really like to hike.

3 (37m 13s):
Nice. I’m going beach all the way

1 (37m 14s):
I could have predicted that. I would have to say mountain. I knew right when you asked the question cam, I knew what my answer was right away. I love to hike. I love to smell the fresh mountain air, smell the pine tree, who

3 (37m 27s):
Doesn’t love to smell

1 (37m 28s):
The fresh mountain air. You can just feel, it just really clears your lungs and just rejuvenate you

4 (37m 34s):
The fresh mountain air for sure. Smells better than the beach. I think that’s

3 (37m 39s):
On your face. If

4 (37m 40s):
That’s not a smell, that’s a breeze. I

3 (37m 42s):
Mean it brings, I

4 (37m 43s):
Smell a lot of seaweed when I go to the beach.

3 (37m 46s):
Well, I dunno what beaches you’re going to. Maybe down in, in Southern San Diego, it’s a little different, but

4 (37m 52s):
I will say this, my answer. I’m going to go with the rest of the squad except for Kim and say mountains. Now. I love all of them. We live in San Diego. Obviously it’s a beach town known for the beach and water activities. I don’t like going to the beach unless I’m on vacation. I’m not going to sit here and say, I don’t enjoy going to the beach. See the sunset, go to the cliffs here in San Diego, but I don’t make a weekend of I’m going to the beach like you do. I only enjoy tropical beaches when I’m on vacation city. And you know, you can get a city anywhere. Some are better than others. I would say the ones that are better have better transportation and food desert, an amazing beauty.

4 (38m 32s):
That is very, very underrated. I will say. But about the mountains are more serene and peaceful than any place I think on earth,

2 (38m 40s):
W you know what beach we all need to go to what beach it is, the Napa beach in Cyprus and The Petra to Romeo beach in Cyprus as

4 (38m 52s):
Well. I could imagine you would say something about Cyprus,

3 (38m 54s):
Cyprus, or buckler. It’s gotta be one of those

2 (38m 58s):
Too.

3 (38m 58s):
Well, we’re going to post on our Instagram today, and I want to hear from all of you guys, what do you prefer? Mountain desert beach or city. So let us know on our latest Instagram post. And thank you guys so much for tuning into this week’s episode. That’s all we have for you this week, but we appreciate you tuning in, keep the adventures going with us. Follow us everywhere. Instagram, YouTube Travel Squad Podcast. Send us in your questions of the week for next week.

2 (39m 22s):
And if you found the information in this episode to be useful, or if you thought we were just playing funny, please make sure to share it with a friend that would enjoy it too.

4 (39m 28s):
As always guys, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcasts and tune in every Travel Tuesday for new episodes.

1 (39m 35s):
Stay tuned for next week’s episode, we have more amazing adventures and tips in store for you. Bye everybody.