Welcome to Sedona!!

As we arrived in Sedona, all I could say is "WOW".  It was breathtaking!  We had stopped to get a visitors pass so we could park in the various spots and took a few photos at the visitor center.  Brett was getting a bit antsy as it was 3pm and the sun would be going down soon so we needed to get on our way in hopes of seeing everything in time.  Brett corraled us in the car (or should I say herded us...hee hee) and we were off and running again. 

The scenery in Sedona was  beautiful.  I had been looking forward to seeing this region at some point because my good friend Steph grew up here and often talked about how beautiful it was so I was excited to see for myself!

Sedona is known as "Red Rock Country" and it certainly didn't disappoint!  And apparently the town is named after Sedona Miller Schnebly, the wife of the city's first postmaster, who was celebrated for her hospitality and industriousness.

  Many famous people either call Sedona home or have lived there at some point in time. I knew the singer Michelle Branch was from there since my friend Stephanie went to school with her.  Did not know that Ted Danson or Diane Lane currently have homes there.  Previous residents include Lucille Ball, Orsen Welles. 

We continued on our drive and came up to the parking area for Cathedral Rock.  Brett wanted to take us up part way so we could experience the view of the valley.  Melissa and I changed into our tennis shoes and we were on our way.  We stopped to sign the visitor log which of course I had to add TravBuddy to! :D We walked up to this plateau area and took some photos of the surrounding area and of Cathedral Rock and our leader Brett was shooshing us back down and to the car so we could see the rest of Sedona before the sun went down.

Heading out of Sedona and into the main downtown area was interesting as both Brett and Melanie commented how different it looked from their prior visits as they appear to be widening the roads and making it more tourist friendly which I have to agree is a bit disappointing.  And something we missed driving through - apparently Sedona has the only McDonalds in the world with turquoise arches!  They didn't think the yellow would blend in with the surrounding natural elements so McDonalds suggested turquoise which was approved right off.  Oh well!  We did spot a big chicken outside a restaurant or something that I tried to snap a photo of as we sped by but it didn't come out that good - sorry Chicken Group! :D