Flagstaff, Star Gazing, Sedona and a Pirate

North of Flagstaff, I circle through Wupatki National Monument and inspect several Sinagua (the name the Spaniards gave to the inhabitants living here 1100-1400, meaning “without water”) pueblo ruins. Red stone housing complexes still stand today along many box canyons. This one even features a ball court for team sports!

Hot and windblown, I roll into the historic center of Flagstaff.

It’s a charmer of a little town, with lively bars and restaurants, shops and music events. Its proximity to the Grand Canyon and other incredible geological wonders attracts a fun mix of progressive and outdoorsy folks. The volcanic buttes, ponderosa pines, painted hills, lava beds and red dirt closely resemble Central Oregon’s High Desert. The historic center features the lovely Weatherford Hotel, Monte Vista Hotel and cocktail lounge, and the Orpheum Theater where Toots and the Maytals and the Reverend Horton Heat are slated to play this week.

The best attraction, in my opinion is the renowned Lowell Observatory, “Home of the Expanding Universe theory.” Percival Lowell did cutting edge Mars research and expanding universe theorizing at what is now called Mars Hill, overlooking Flagstaff. His mausoleum on the grounds is designed like a mini observatory, watching over the town. Just before dusk I drive up the hill and enjoy the polka band jauntily umpah-ing in front of the impressive Rotunda, where Lowell’s personal sketches, reports and instruments are on display. 


The Rotunda's beautiful interior

 

 

Percival Lowell's log

  



The Evolution of Worlds

 

Percival Lowell's Mausoleum

I watch the Clark telescope observatory roof open and rotate to the proper position, and the telescope oriented to view the ringed planet of Saturn. After a quick peek at the planet, all visitors go inside the Rotunda for a spine-tingling presentation about the universe, its formation, and its inevitable demise. 

As I slowly drive down Mars Hill, the full yellow moon lights my way.

Sedona –

Friday morning, June 17, I check the van’s oil, put on a pretty skirt and fix my hair in readiness for my arrival in Sedona. I take the idyllic Highway 89A south along Oak Creek, through rolling hills, red dirt and pines of the Coconino National Forest. Eliane Elias coos “That Would Be So Nice…” on my van stereo.

“Race Across the West” bicycle riders push past in the opposite direction and support crews wait at pullouts. The traffic gets thicker and more aggressive as the hanging rock cliffs get redder, and I pull into Sedona. Instead of the Big Sur/Carmel vibe that I expect, it’s a Western theme park with the occasional New Age crystal shop hold out.



Sam Elliott
watches over Sedona

T-shirt, tacky native jewelry, jeep tour businesses and kitschy restaurants line the main drag, all with the majestic backdrop of red rock and forest lands. Oh America, how predictable you are! I decide to withhold judgment and go in search of the real Sedona.  



I ask a local where the locals go for authentic Mexican food, then proceed past the Walgreens and Starbucks as instructed to a high-end retail development. Not the quaint little local kind of place I had in mind, and the quesadillas are really a pizza, but the Hornitos margarita is fabulous!

Now I relax and begin to look forward to exploring the wild lands. Maybe a moon-lit drive is in order tonight. Or maybe a viewing of the new Pirates of the Caribbean at the Sedona Theater will take me to a more wild place…