We’re in the high desert for the next few days here in Sedona, a first for both of us. My whole life I’ve heard about the magic of this place: the energy, the vortexes, the red rocks, the turquoise McDonalds….

So, a few months ago, Jen and I were planning out what summer looks like and we thought a trip here would be a perfect kickoff.

We asked around and got some great recommendations. Everyone we asked clutched their pearls at once and said, “Ohh Sedona! I just love it there.”

So our journey started this morning, 6 hours estimated, but we stopped at some interstate truck stops and took a few back roads and detours along the way.

At one point, I put on a Yacht Rock playlist and after like the third Air Supply song about broken hearts, while I was singing “Hold the liiine, love isn’t always on time”, Jen was like, “What is this music even? It’s bringin my vibe down.” So we agreed Janis Joplin would swoop in to save the remainder of the ride, until we got into town and switched to plucky woo-woo music.

We made a stop at Montezuma castle in Verde Valley…got in free with the national parks pass (worth every penny btw). We learned ignorant-ass settlers thought the Aztecs built this castle in the rock, which is why it’s named after Montezuma, but it was actually the Hopis who were here farming and weaving and living off the land like badasses sometime between 1100 and 1300.

There was an extension of Montezuma castle, super-authentically named “Castle A”, which is now pretty much destroyed, because people came here back in the day and fucked around and ruined it…but “Castle A” used to be like a 5 story, 20 room structure with a lookout tower and everything…there was an artist rendition and helpful diorama at the site .

The energy here was peaceful, and we walked around the grounds imagining what daily life might have been like here living in the rock next to the creek. Something made the folks who built this place leave eventually, but no one really knows for sure…some think it might’ve been unpredictable weather or outside conflict or maybe they just wanted to join a bigger community elsewhere instead of being so isolated.

On the way out we saw a guy making fry bread in 100 degree heat…with the wind blowing like crazy. We had to stop and sample 😎

Sedona was another half hour up the road. Driving in thru the Red Rocks, I had tears in my eyes. It was that beautiful, that powerful, like meeting God. We stopped at every single scenic overlook.

And then we drove thru town to check in to our hotel and holy smokes the view from the balcony…

We hadn’t eaten anything but sun chips and fry bread all day, so we headed to a restaurant on the main drag called the Cowboy Club because it had Rattlesnake sausage on the menu and we’re like “when in Rome, eat rattlesnake and bison and cactus fries”…if anyone probably knows how to cook and eat rattlesnake and cactus, it’s prb folks around these parts.

It cooled off enough after dinner to walk around and visit the shops. We wanted to find some local wine to bring back to our room and found a red blend aged in concrete called Chupacabra from Merkin Vineyards a few towns over, which is owned by the lead singer of Tool. We’re totally gonna bring some home with us, but this bottle we opened on the balcony as we watched the sunset light up the rocks and turn them all kinds of colors.

Jen’s eyeballs are burning and weepy, which she has assured me has nothing to do with emotions or the vortexes, but rather this incredibly dry desert heat on her incredibly dry eyes.

My lips are already chapped and I felt my body immediately use every single ounce of hydration I’ve ever stored for the last decade of my life the moment we parked the car in desert survival mode…my pale, freckled ancestors on the Mayflower from England didn’t provide me with DNA equipped for high desert climate. It’s gonna take a minute to adapt. But we’ve got chapstick, sunscreen, a fully equipped hiking pack and large water vessels to carry around, and we’re ready for more adventure tomorrow: hiking, swimming holes, and a trip to meet a medium.