SEDONA KUDOS

Frommer's-The best trips start here
INTRODUCTION TO SEDONA
56 miles NE of Prescott; 116 miles N of Phoenix; 106 miles S of the Grand Canyon There is not a town anywhere in the Southwest, perhaps anywhere in the country, with a more beautiful setting than Sedona. On the outskirts of town, red-rock buttes, eroded canyon walls, and mesas rise into blue skies. Off in the distance, the Mogollon Rim looms, its forests of juniper and ponderosa pine dark against the rocks. With a wide band of rosy sandstone predominat-ing in this area, Sedona has come to be known as red-rock country, and each evening at sunset, the rocks put on an unforgettable light show that is reason enough for a visit. READ MORE

ARIZONA'S SEDONA IS A PLACE OF BEAUTY, PEACE AND MYSTERY
Steve Hammons March 24, 2006 Much has been written about the mysteries of Sedona, Arizona. But have we learned everything there is to know about this beautiful and interesting place? And how do all the facts, history, stories and claims about Sedona fit together? Sedona is located in central Arizona at an altitude of 4,500 feet in the magnificent "Red Rock Country" of the Colorado Plateau. About 125 miles north of Phoenix (elevation 1,100 feet) and about 30 miles south of Flagstaff (at 8,000 feet),  Sedona is known around the world as place of almost mystical beauty. The dramatic and huge red rock formations seem to emerge out of nowhere as you drive into the Sedona area. The striking formations jutting out from the red soil create a magical feeling in many people. READ MORE

USA TODAY PICKS SEDONA VORTEX
IN TOP 10 PLACES TO BE KISSED!
In the February 10th edition of USA Today in an article about the 10 most romantic places to be kissed, a popular Sedona hiking location was chosen.  The article read: "The place for a kiss" in this red rock country is "a rock spire that locals call Kachina Woman. You can hike up to it in about two hours," the author says, but "be careful," According to Native American legend, "it's a fertility symbol."  The canyon is also known as a vortex, where supposedly "energy comes together for a transporting effect. the light at dawn or sunset is amazing.
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AND THE WINNER IS ... SEDONA!
"It's a nation so blessed with sights that you could ask all 300 million residents for their favorites and expect 300 million different answers," reported USA WEEKEND. And then the respected, extremely popular weekly publication asked: "So how do you go about picking the country's 10 most beautiful spots?"

This nationally distributed tabloid answered its own question by soliciting opinions from travel writers and photographers, polling colleagues and talking to outdoor enthusiasts, historic preservationists "and relatives who, every time you see them, seem to have just returned from another fabulous trip."

All of this was done just to select this country's 10 prettiest places; imagine the consternation associated with picking No. 1 in America!

Explaining why Sedona was the winner - not a surprise to locals! - USA WEEKEND called this city "a place that looks like nowhere else." It stated: "The area's telegenic canyons, wind-shaped buttes and dramatic sandstone towers embody the rugged character of the West - and the central place that character holds in our national identity." This credible publication added: "People come for inspiration and renewal, tawny cliffs rising from the buff desert floor, wind singing through box canyons and sunsets that seem to cause the ancient buttes and spires to glow from within."

Better plan a trip!