Famous for red rock, Sedona, Arizona is a gorgeous place to photograph! And the Grand Canyon….well, I’ll let sunrise over the canyon speak for itself. We spent four days touring the two areas with our good friends, taking over 1,000 images. Here are a few to whet your appetite for a trip to see some really amazing landscapes!
We got our first glimpse of the colorful terrain while driving down through Oak Creek Canyon from Flagstaff to Sedona:
Arriving at our hotel, Los Abrigados, was a pleasant surprise. A roomy two bedroom suite, beautiful grounds complete with swimming pools, a miniature golf course and a huge arts center next door, it was a vacation on it’s own! Just a short drive to downtown Sedona , an authentic Mexican dinner at Oaxaca Restaurant, and a stroll through the many shops made day one special!
Touring red rock country the next day turned up one great site after another….
Courthouse Butte:
Bell Rock:
And the famous Chapel of the Holy Cross:
Even more beautiful at night!
While the others shopped at the Tlaquepaque Arts & Craft Village, I found a few images begging to be made along the “village” streets:
Leaving Sedona for the next leg of our trip found us on Route 66. The drive to the South rim of the Grand Canyon on a partly cloudy day had me hanging out the windows to snap shots of the dramatic sky. We drove through rain storms, emerged into the sun and into another shower numerous times across the flat lands leading to the canyon.
You just can not go to the Grand Canyon and not get up to see it at sunrise! When we first arrived I was, to say the least, underwhelmed! They were doing some controlled burns and it was smokey and flat looking at mid-day. But at 5:30 the next morning, watching the light play over the canyon, changing from pink to purple to gold…and again that night as the sun set in a fiery ball of orange…well, it’s a magical and beautiful landscape in that light! As I watched the sun rise on the two mornings we got up to witness the spectacular sight, I had strains of the Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg (my favorite piece of classical music) running through my mind. It is truly awe inspiring – like watching God paint a landscape just for you!
Sunset is just as beautiful!
After sun up and breakfast, a drive along the canyon rim affords many more spectacular views on a trip to the Watchtower…the brick building is charming, the old staircase inside and the Indian art and artifacts interesting.
Outside the old Watchtower this sign on the edge of the canyon was a touching surprise…
One photographic warning: Never, never, leave your camera in the car when visiting a place this beautiful. In a sudden rain shower, I did, and nearly missed a spectacular double rainbow! Captured partially here with – you guessed it – my cell phone! A hard lesson but I won’t do that again!
Leave a Reply