Our next stop on our Contiki LA to the Bay tour was Sedona. I genuinely wish we had more time in this charming and eccentric desert town. Imagine Byron Bay but replace the beach with desert and add more aliens. The town has a huge metaphysical community and is truly a Mecca for alien enthusiasts who believe the red rocks have unique properties that attract aliens. To be fair there have been a fair few sightings in the town but the real question is, do you want to believe?
The above formation is one of the town's most famous. It is referred to as the Snoopy Rock.
The first thing we were greeted with stepping off the bus, other than the intense desert heart was the unique towns people on every corner. People with snakes, scorpions and spiders ready to wrap them around you. But these weren't just your everyday tourist traps. These animals were adored by their owners and this was the owners wanting to show off their pets to passers-by and educate them on these creatures of the desert.
I really love snakes so lets be real, tourist trap or not I would have cuddled those snakes any day.
I still can't get over how incredible these views were. Sedona, Yosemite and Savannah were hands down the most beautiful places I visited in the States.
This was a gorgeous traditional Cowboy store, full of beautiful hand crafted hats, stirrups, saddles and clothing. The owner had the walls covered in personal photos and memorabilia that read like an old western. If you go to Sedona I would definitely recommend checking out the Cowboy Corral.
The stores range in alien merchandise, crystals and cowboys. It's a real mix that works so perfectly. You better believe I bought some crystals. We were also taught by a lovely crystal store owner how to feel crystals. Before this I had always loved crystals but I had never really experienced their energy. I just liked to carry them for good luck. Basically what this lady had us do was stand in front of a huge gorgeous quartz geode that was as tall as us. What she had us do was stand in front of the crystal arms length away, close our eyes and slowly move our hands towards the geode. At first I was sceptical but I actually felt it! You can really feel the difference of having your hand outside the crystal versus inside. Its like a warm tingling. I would highly reccomend trying this for yourself if you are ever in the vicinity of a giant geode. This is the same energy that small crystals put off but they are just harder to feel. I won't lie, every time I come across a giant geode now I close my eyes and put my hand inside it. I probably look so silly but it's just really amazing!
One really funny thing that is hard to forget from Sedona are the numerous unprompted alien conversations I became involved in. They REALLY love to talk about aliens
I spent the afternoon wandering around the town by myself while the girls went on a jeep tour. I could have gone too but there was just too much to see in town. For lunch I went to a traditional cowboy themed restaurant, Cowboy Club Grille & Spirit. I had the Appetizer sampler which consisted of cactus fries, buffalo skewers, green chilli rattlesnake sausages and flatbread with homemade dipping sauce. 10/10 would eat all of these elements again. The sausages weren't really all that different. They tasted similar to crocodile which tastes like chicken. The buffalo was cooked beautifully and the cactus fries were pretty good. The fries had a similar texture to Aloe, if it was deep fried.
Sedona was such a beautiful little town. I can't wait to go back to visit. I highly recommend visiting this town if you are looking for something a little bit out of the usual, beautiful views, interesting people and some pretty crystals.
Sedona was sadly just a stop on the way to our final destination for the day, one of the most incredible places I have ever been, The Grand Canyon. Words cannot comprehend how it feels look across this gorgeous landscape. We pulled over before arriving at our accommodation so we could all see the canyon before checking in. Safe to say we were all pretty blown away.
We were staying at Yavapai Lodge which is located right inside the park on the South Rim. Our accomodation were these cute little forest lodges that were only a 10 min walk from this view. The Yavapai Lodge had everything had you needed to enjoy a long or short stay at the Canyon. There was a shopping strip that had all your hiking needs, food stuffs and souvenirs, a bike hire shop and a bottle shop. That night we had spare time were most of us just had some bevvies then went to bed, it had been a big day and the next day was full of activities.
The next morning a group of us headed out for a bike tour. Note to self: next time you plan to do a physical activity on a trip, do a little bit of training before hand. Holy heck I was so unfit. Luckily this ride isn't crazy difficult. Nothing compared to riding around Rottnest Island in Perth. This jacket from Factorie came in handy as it was very hot and very cold at different areas. At one point we hiked down a little into the canyon on the same path the mules walk. We didn't go too far down because coming up is so much harder.
On this day in the afternoon a lot of the tour group went and did helicopter rides over the canyon. This would have been absolutely incredible but I was only halfway through my trip across the states and I needed to save money where possible. It was one of the most expensive add-ons that Contiki were offering on this particular tour. I chose to opt out as I decided that this along with many other amazing experiences in the states that I am yet to have, I would like to share with my future significant other. Maybe that is slightly optimistic of me, and maybe I will never return to this beautiful place. But I like to think that there are certain places you are destined to return to. The Grand Canyon is definitely one of them.
That night we all went to the other side of the Canyon in our matching jumpers to watch the sunset. We bought alcohol and snacks and sat together trying to stay as warm as we could. This was one of those beautiful moments that I am so grateful too Contiki for. This is one of those memories that I will always hold near and dear to my heart.
The sunset was out of this world, topped off by watching the moon rise on the other side. The canyon honestly looks like something out of a Star Wars movie. It is just so beautiful. The next morning was even better!
At 4:30am I woke up and took the bus out to the nearest point on the other side of the canyon where the sun rises over the Canyon. It was -3 degrees and I had about 7 layers on, but I was still freezing. for some unknown reason the bus decided that it wasn't going to go the full way to where the point is. Most people just got off and went to a different site nearby that was ok but not as amazing. I decided then and there that I had already made it this far and I wasn't giving up now. The walk was 20min long but I didn't want to miss this sunrise which was due in 10min. This was one of my absolute worst memories, running to catch this sunrise. Think unfit, sweating profusely but freezing at the same time, snot dripping from every orifice, legs not being able to move, wind blasting me the entire time...
...but I made it, and BOY WAS IT WORTH IT!
Meditating in this spot after watching the sun rise over the canyon was one of those moments of pure bliss that I truly will never forget. This was our last day in the Canyon. Unfortunately I lost a lot of my photos which include a few of the hilariously cute mules I met on the way back. This was our last day in the Canyon. I believe we got back on the road around lunchtime. I do remember that I spent a lot of time at the Canyon with myself. Walking along the rim, through the little parks in between, enjoying the view and my own company. This was a very grounding experience for me and was a perfect pause in the trip to prepare my body and soul for our next stop...
.. VEGAS BABY!
erica
