04/15/2015
Our friends, Barb & Steve, had done this while they were visiting and said it was a beautiful hike so trusting their judgement we headed up to Sedona.
Getting there meant we had to go down good old FR 152. That's the road that leads to Vultee Arch and the conditions are getting worse and worse. If it deteriorates further I think only jeeps will make it to the parking area.
As it is there is an "overflow" parking area at the beginning of FR152. If you park there you have to walk the 1.4 miles down the dusty, rough, rock-strewn, 4-wheel drive only road to the trailhead.
Naturally, we drove and our Yukon did just fine.
Devil's Bridge Sign
Lots of nice shrubbery along the way
And great rocks of course. It is Sedona after all
That area below that looks like a big bush is really the opening in the arch.
Lots of people
I'm walking out onto the bridge
Looking across the chasm to the other side
George in full photographer mode
We loved that old tree
A view from near the bridge. It is a pretty steep ascent
Standing at the end of the bridge
Looking out to the valley from the bridge
Going back down one of the few flat stretches of the trail
There is a way to get beneath the bridge
That little spec is a man looking down
Just another great, artsy tree on the route back dwon
This is one of the most photographed areas around Sedona.
The Oak Creek runs alongside it so you can get your feet wet if you want. Dogs are especially happy here.
You can visit an old waterwheel, or walk the path along Oak Creek towards Buddah Beach.
Along the way you cross one of the Vortexes - maybe you can feel the vibes because we never do.
Then continue to the beach. As you go along you will notice cairns. Tons and tons of cairns. Building them is a must here. The more creative the better.
Cairns in a tree fork. Cairns on logs. Cairns on cairns. Cairn Fields. What you build and where you build it is only limited by your imagination.
This formation graces so many Arizona calenders, post-cards, you name it
They are called Cathedral Rock
Looking down Oak Creek toward the formations
As you can see the dog is having a great time
We probably could have just done dogs and the creek - so many
There was once a farm and mill here. This is the remaining waterwheel
This is one of the Vortex formations.
A small hillock of cairns. Kids, and adults, love to remake them, squeeze in any vacant spot
I particularly liked this 2 legged cairn
I call this the Anvil Cairn
If there is an open spot..
Then someone will build a cairn in it. There are even cairns up in tree forks
Quite artsy
A field of cairns
Al these cairns were surrounding the fallen log
And the fallen log was hosting multiple cairns
No stump is left un-cairned
The "beach" and yes, more cairns