As I write this essay it occurs to me that I should let you know that, even though I took this journey over 20 years ago, you can still take a Pink Jeep Tour in Sedona, Arizona. So, don't be jealous. Except for changes in the plant life; nothing drastic but plants grow and die and grow again; the rock formations and mountains are the same to the naked eye. If you have issues with my punctuation please let it go. I do my best but the rules of grammar continue to change. I mean what's up with dropping the extra space after the period?
Just in case you may wonder, I used a Sony Cyber-shot which I still have. Yes, your phone can take photos of the same or better quality but you can't really do telephoto shooting with a smart phone no matter what attachment you use. Next, I enhanced all of the photos with Adobe Photoshop and this is actually where the healing began. So lets get on to the tale of my Pink Jeep Journey. Click on the image above so see my PowerPoint presentation of this journay.
About 20 years ago, well maybe more, I took a vacation to Sedona, Arizona. I was burned out. Work and family had taken its toll on me and, having been to the Southwest before, I knew I would be able to relax and get out of my head. While walking around downtown Sedona I happened upon a shop sporting a bright sign with pink letters. You guessed it, Pink Jeep Tours. I stepped into the office and chatted with the clerk who sold me on a journey. I think it was the Broken Arrow Tour but I don't remember and they may have called it something else that back then. There was limited hiking so I was happy. The next morning I showed up, met my driver who's name I have forgotten and took my place by his side since I was the only single on the tour. Three couples came along. It was cool. He, I'll call him John, like so many others in Sedona was a transplant from some faraway state who had come to visit Sedona and stayed. I met a few people with similar stories and I found it odd that they selected to tell me the story as if it was a message. Join us. Maybe they sensed my aimlessness; my need to just be. I don't know. Maybe they told everyone they met.
I was very impressed with John's handling of the jeep and our bumpy trek up and over rock formations. During the journey he told us how much to deflate our tires if we drove over these surfaces alone. He was so good. It seemed as if he was speaking to just me.
We landed on Submarine Rock. It sort of looks like a submarine. We all got out and looked around taking photos of the surrounding mountains. It was spectacular and the sky was so big. If you have never been to a big sky state, I recommend you visit one. It's like the 8th wonder of the natural world. The 7th wonder, because naming a number one was impossible for me, were the rock formations created by the great rivers and oceans that came before us. The world they created is truly a master piece of sculpting and painting. The brilliant blue of the sky, the red rock and layer upon layer of rock and sediment visible from these formations were striking in their singular beauty.
I didn't take this trip to make friends and aside from general greetings I didn't try to make connections with people; just Nature with a capital N. I've been to Sedona at least twice that I can recall. My journeys to the Southwest all seem to run together in one expansive land voyage. I've always had difficulty with time. In history classes I would associate period clothing and art with the events. That's how I got As and Bs in the subject. That said, I rested there, in Sedona. I dreamed there. I was told stories there. I ate savory and spicy and sweet foods in restaurants made to cater to me, the tourist. I woke when I woke and slept when I slept. It was a vacation I couldn't afford to take or to forego.
But the real healing didn't end there. It continued when I returned to Florida with the stories and visions of my Pink Jeep Journey; of the mountains surrounding Sedona; of the State Parks. I began to work on my photographs. But I knew then as I know now I was and am still in the wrong place but I pray I am finally doing the right thing.
This is the link to "How the Earth Came To Be: a creation myth". I used photos from this journey in the creation of this story.
Creation Myth
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