JA Travels

Is This Tire Plump? – Day 1

With brewery coverage arranged, work (day job) travel was coordinated, our AirBNB was booked, and game plan in hand for our three nights, four days in Sedona, we set out from Las Vegas. (Mind you to get to this point, took about a 100 texts, and a two-hour planning call. Yeah we’re obsessive.) What was supposed to be a four and half hour drive turned into a seven hour adventure. Thanks to a massive pothole in the highway, we had to change a tire in the blowing wind. (With a call to the husbands to share an update and get some advice. But who really needs the men when we got this! Tire changed!) But without realizing it, because you know the spare felt plump, it turned out we were driving on a flat spare. Scaling back the women power now.

We made to Sedona in time for our dinner reservation at Hudson. Wind blown, tire grease I couldn’t get off my hands, and dusty. No one seemed to care fortunately. Well worth every penny. The cocktails and food were amazing, so much so that we checked to see if we could get a reservation for another day as well. Pro tip: do make a reservation in advance. This place fills up quickly. After dinner we found our AirBNB, another oh wow moment. For a budget vacation, it felt like we living in luxury.

The Mushroom Tip – Day 2

The next morning started with a early hike up to the Chimney Point to catch the sunrise and really take in the beautiful surroundings. Sedona is magical. Whether you are into the vortexes and energy flows or not, the sheer beauty and expansiveness of the Sedonan desert is awe-inspiring. A quick stop at Laylas Bakery to pick up breakfast and down the road to get new tires, we were ready for our mystic tour with Rahelio.

Ok let me set the stage, booking was interesting: a series of text messages and email with a vague plan to meet at Whole Foods at 2pm. Needless to say we turned on our location tracking and gave instructions to our hubbies to check our location if they did hear from us in four hours.

Rahelio pulled up in Chevy Blazer and instructed us, and the other woman joining the tour, to hop in. Microphone turned on and a tablet mounted to the dash (that he kept swiping through images on even while driving, fortunately Sedona is laid back enough that I never felt uncomfortable), the tour started. While driving through Sedona and making short stops, we were regaled with information about Sedona, the vortex energy, the different rocks formations, and stories of people who had experienced the magic of Sedona. We finally pulled into our first stop, which ended up being my personal highlight of the trip. Laying with our heads to the mountains, Rahelio began to chant and play the drum allowing the vibrations to flow over us. The result was unlike anything I had ever experienced and has changed my concept of sound and the power of connecting sound and vibrations to the physical.

Then shit got weird/goofy/hilarious/out there in the best possible way. Our co participant asked Rahelio how he got started in this work. One long strange trip later (or story), which included too many references to his vibrating root chakra (complete with a visual demonstration), we learned the source of his energy connection. Vibrating root chakras – check. Lots of drugs- check. Background story noted!

We were also taught how to feel the energy vortex. Basically flap your arms to then reach out to the supposed line through the air. Umm, nope didn’t pick up anything. Ok try hugging a vortex tree. Yeah, still nothing. Maybe I need to spend some time first getting reconnected to my inner hippy by doing more drugs. Or inner alien communing through AI. But that’s a different follow up story to the end of our mystic tour experience.

Though it got weird, I am very thankful that I got to experience, and live to tell the tale, the shamanic chant and communing with the desert. I joked about root chakras for the rest of the weekend, but I still would recommend the experience.

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The Devil’s Journey – Day 3

Another early start to hike up to the Devil’s Bridge. The full trip took about three hours, but there were lots of stops for pictures, two trips out to the bridge, including a bit of wait time (one for Joyce and I, and one solo trip out for me). The hike overall is easy to moderate – the moderate part picks up towards the end as the hike up the mountain begins. The first leg of the hike follows the off road track- though we learned afterwards there is a slightly longer pedestrian trail option. Though dusty when the 4X4 come through, this leg was still stunning in the early morning. 

The real magic happens once you reach the turn off for the uphill leg. Still easy at this point until you hit the last leg. Up a wide then narrow path, the hike eventually brings you to a natural arch land bridge, the Devil’s Bridge. Seemingly innocent until you actually walk the path out to the center- I got a little vertigo. And one brave women who was terrified of heights needed help coming back. If you are planning this hike- go early! Parking for non high lift 4×4 vehicles is limited and there are fewer folks waiting to head onto the bridge for the photo opp.

Following quick showers at the AirBNB, we headed to the Juicery for smoothies, açaí bowls, and gluten free vegan waffles. This was another must stop on the Sedona itinerary! My green chocolate mint smoothie went down too fast. My life goal includes recreating this at home!

We spent the afternoon at the Chai Spot in Tlaquepaqe Village. A quaint outdoor shopping and restaurant mall. Working and talking through our goal setting agenda, Joyce and I reflected on 2024 and looked towards probable and pie in the sky goals. Unsurprisingly, this was tough for me. Looking inwards, putting into words and sharing inner dreams, thinking to the future in a positive light: insert some tears and a need to take a break. Good thing there was ice cream in the North Village, though it was just OK.

We had dinner from Elote, another must experience! We were unable to get reservations, so picked up take away. The meal was amazing! Hands down, Sedona did not disappoint on the meal front. I would make a trip just back just to eat. Pro Tip: as soon as you have your trip dates, make a reservation! Elote is booked 1-2 months out!

Death and Buddha – Day 4

For our last morning in Sedona, I woke up early to catch the sunrise and take one final walk through the high desert. A yoga session ended our time at the AirBNB, before we headed to the Buddhist Stuppa right by our AirBNB. We spent a serene hour walking through the area, spinning the wheels, meditating, and a walk around the medicine wheel. This was the perfect place to reflect on the weekend, Joyce and my appreciation for our friendship, the laughter of Rahelio’s vibrating root chakra, and how important it is to simply pause. 

After closing our weekend, we headed back into town for breakfast. We shared a few dishes at the Creekside Restaurant: cornbread, breakfast tacos, and potatoes. While the meal was good, I will explore other breakfast options next time I’m in town. On our way back to Vegas, the drive this time was fortunately uneventful, we stopped at Hoover Dam. I had never been and since my flight was not until 8pm, we thought why not?! Although I have mixed feelings about dams, this was pretty incredible to see and walk around this feat of engineering. And be able to time travel by walking back and forth between Nevada and Arizona.

This ended up being the last stop of our girls’ trip to Sedona. This was a different trip for us, bringing us out of our routine, closer as friends, and into a place I will forever feel connected to.