SEDONA

Some facts about Sedona:
– The Sun shines about 300 days a year, which is more than most places!
– Sedona is centrally located by most of the National Parks in Arizona.
– Sedona has a more Mountainous countryside than Switzerland!
– Sedona is adjacent to the largest stand of Ponderosa Pines in the world.

Sedona is known around the world as a spiritual energy center and as a powerful place for undergoing profound personal transformations and mystical awakenings. Ancient Native Americans have always believed the Sedona area was a sacred land. A high percentage of the visitors, and many of its residents, have come for spiritual reasons. They take leisurely hikes in the natural healing atmosphere of the red rocks, meditate at the energy vortexes, attend classes and workshops, seek personal psychic and spiritual counseling and visit the metaphysical centers, New Age bookstores and shops throughout the area.

In 2003, I was asked to create an independent company to be a Sedona Chamber of Commerce affinity group to help represent the metaphysical community in Sedona and the surrounding area. In 2004 a group of Sedona professionals co-founded the Sedona Metaphysical Spiritual Association [ http://sedonaspiritual.com ]. After serving as President for the first five years, I am now on the Executive Committee as the Marketing Director. The Sedona Metaphysical Spiritual Association and its members strive to provide the highest standards of integrity, ethics, professionalism, confidentiality and non-discriminatory practices. All members have signed our pledge of integrity.

Sedona’s resorts, retreats and training centers are host to some of the biggest names in the human potential and higher consciousness fields. Sedona is also famous for its many professional resident healers, counselors and teachers who offer spiritual and metaphysical techniques and guidance.

Sedona is also famous as an artist’s community, being among the country’s top five art destinations. Dozens of galleries display the paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, jewelry, and other unique artwork of world-renowned artists.
The area has been the setting for over 60 movies since the 1920’s and continues to attract movie and television projects.

Accommodations range from a quaint bread and breakfast, time-shares, and home rentals to world-class hotels and resorts. And there is swimming, fishing, hiking, and mountain biking for outdoor enthusiasts.

Sedona’s altitude contributes to its four mild seasons. It has breathtaking photo opportunities as the sun rises over the Mogollon Rim, a backdrop of crisp blue daytime skies, magnificent sunsets and clear starry nights. Its high desert environment is enhanced by the combination of a large variety of desert plants, the beautiful red rock soil and the many varieties of evergreens. Its lush green appearance is partly due to the ample ground water supply as well as the water running through Oak Creek and West Fork. Sedona receives approximately 14 inches of rain and averages over 300 days of sunshine each year. The average annual snowfall is only 8 inches, and it usually melts the next day or so, yet remains atop the higher red rock formations surrounding the town a little longer creating a picturesque effect. Fall and spring usually have highs in the 70’s. The winter lows are usually in the 40’s and it is not unusual to see people in light shirts or Tee shirts by the afternoon on many winter days. (Link: weather)

Geological Formations:

This area of beauty and majesty was created over 350 million years. Its about 5000 feet above sea level high and 150,000 square miles wide called the “Colorado Plateau.” There are 3 main beautiful formations: Schnebly Hill, Hermit and Supai. The Supai Formation was named after the Havasupai Indians and is the softer, pale-pink to reddish-brown sandstone. Sedona’s unusual and distinctive scarlet color comes for the red iron-oxide stain that formed when flood plain deposits of iron minerals mixed with oxygen. Faulting helped form the Majestic Canyons, via the creek waters breaking through the lava cap.

Although Mountain Lions, Black Bears and Bobcats generally stay in more remote areas or up in the higher elevations. It is not unusual to see an array of animals as you drive the more residential areas of town such as; Javelina, Coyote, Road Runners, Rabbits, Quail, and a wide variety of birds – including humming birds.

Sedona was first populated around the year 8000 BC by a group called the Elephant Hunters. These prehistoric men came from a land bridge that connected at that time North America and Asia. The original Sedona was not the dry desert air of today, but tropical and moist. As the air changed to the drier environment of today as the larger prehistoric mammals started to die off, the Elephant Hunters had to start hunting smaller animals and became early farmers.

Around 700 AD, the Hohokam tribe moved into the area and introduced the new form of farming by using irrigation. The tribe was able to produce corn, beans and squash. A little later another group moved in to the Sedona area, and were called the Sinaguan tribe, meaning “without water.” They did not use irrigation in their farming and used rainfall as the sole source of water for their crops. They left the area temporarily in 1064 AD due to a large volcanic eruption that later became known as the “Sunset Crater.” The volcanic ash made the earth extremely rich, bringing back not only the Singuan tribe but the Anasazi as well. In addition, the Anasazis were also known as the “ancient ones.” These Ancient Ones were extremely sophisticated and knew how to construct and build multi-level dwellings and they instructed the Singuans to build them too. These “pueblos” standing today are extremely impressive with the entrances to each living area purposefully constructed with low doorframes, which protected the families dwelling within. They were constructed this way so any one walking in had to bend down and any intruder could be easily clubbed. In addition they helped to maintaining temperature control. Then the strangest thing of all happened around 1300! At of nowhere, with cobs of corn roasting on the fire, the people of this area disappeared. It is still a great mystery today!

The promise of gold and silver brought the white man to the area of Sedona around 1583 and in the 1800’s more pioneers, prospectors and trappers began to arrive and co-exist with the Yavapai and Apache Indians. The years went by and more people arrived in the area the more the tensions grew between the Indians and the White men. Indian attacks accelerated, so the Army began sending troops in to subdue the attacks. In 1872 General George Crook ended the hostilities and the land that was promised to the Indians, was taken and they were driven from the area in the infamous “march of Tears,” to the San Carlos Reservations. Hundreds of Indians died during this journey. After this people started to settle on a more constant basis in the Sedona area.

Art History
Ancient Rock art is the beginning of the long history of Art in Sedona. They can be viewed in the many Indian ruins where petroglyphs and pictographs are etched into the red rock. From this beginning, Sedona is now the home of 47 art galleries, where over 400 world-renowned and local artists live and work side by side. There are also many authors, actors and others of creative spirits living in the area and this red rock area continues to attract artistic talent to the area every day. This area is also the home of the Sedona Gallery Association that enhances and maintains Sedona’s reputation as a prestigious center for the arts and to promote Sedona as an area to enjoy and purchase fine art.

• Albuquerque (1948) Paramount; Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, Lon Chaney, Jr.
• Angel and the Badman (1946) Republic; John Wayne, Gail Russel
• Angel Fire (1992) Coyote Films; Jeff Kober, Caryn Richmond
• Apache (1954) United Artists; Burt Lancaster, Jean Peters, Charles Bronson
• Benefit of the Doubt (1992) Monument; Donald Sutherland, Amy Irving
• Bad Jim (1989) Woul Ware Prod.; John Clark Gable, James Brolin, Richard Roundtree
• Billy the Kid (1941) MGM; Robert Taylor, Brian Dunlevy, Lon Chaney Jr.
• Blood on the Moon (1948) RKO; Robert Mitchum, Robert Preston
• Bravos, The (1971) Universal; George Peppard, L.Q. Jones
• Broken Arrow (1950) 20th Century Fox; James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget
• California (1946) Paramount; Barbara Stanwyck, Ray Milland, Anthony Quinn
• Call of the Canyon (1923) Famous Players/Lasky; Richard Nix, Lois Wilson
• Cheyenne (1947) Warner Bros.; Jane Wyman, Dennis Morgan
• Cimarron Strip (1967) Stuart Witman, Beau Bridges, Darren McGavin
• Cisco Kid and the Lady, The (1940) 20th Century Fox; Cesar Romero, Jean Rogers
• Comanche Territory (1950) Universal; Maureen O’Hara, Macdonald Carey
• Copper Canyon (1950) Paramount; Ray Milland, Hedy Lemarr
• Coroner’s Creek (1948) Columbia; Randolph Scott, Marguerite Chapman
• Dead Man (1994) 12 Guage Productions; Johnny Depp, Robert Mitchum, Gary Farmer
• Desert Fury (1947) Paramount; Burt Lancaster, Mary Astor
• Devils Canyon (1953) RKO; Virginia Mayo, Stephen McNally
• Drum Beat (1954) Warner Bros.; Alan Ladd, Audry Dalton, Charles Bronson
• Dudes (1986) TVO Productions; John Cryer, Daniel Roebuck
• Eagle and the Hawk (1950) Paramount: John Payne, Rhonda Fleming
• Fabulous Texan, The (1947) Republic; William Elliot, John Carroll
• Fire Creek (1968) Warner Bros.; James Stewart, Henry Fonda
• Flaming Feather, The (1951) Paramount; Forrest Tucker, Sterling Hayden
• Gambler II (1983) [for television] Kenny Rogers, Linda Evans
• Gun Fury (1953) Columbia; Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Lee Marvin
• Gunfighters (1947) Columbia; Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton
• Half-Breed, The (1952) RKO; Robert Young, Jack Buetel
• Harry and Tonto (1974) 20th Century Fox; Art Carney, Ellen Burstyn
• Hellfire (1949) Republic; William “Wild Bill” Elliott, Forrest Tucker
• Indian Uprising (1951) Colombia Pictures; George Montgomery, Audrey Long
• Johnny Guitar (1954) Republic; Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Ernest Borgnine
• Karate Kid, The (1985) Columbia; Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita
• King of the Sierras (1938) Grand National; Hobart Bosworth, Harry Harvey Jr.
• Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) Arachnid Prod.;William Shatner, Lieux Dressler
• Last of the Duanes (1930) Fox Films; George Montgomery, Lynne Roberts
• Last Wagon, The (1956) 20th Century Fox; Richard Widmark, Felicia Farr
• Leave Her to Heaven (1945) 20th Century Fox; Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde
• Legend of Lobo (1962) Disney; narration by Rex Allen
• Legend of the Boy and the Eagle (1967) Disney; directed by Norman Tokar
• Midnight Run (1988) Universal; Robert DeNiro, Charles Grodin
• National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) Warner Bros.; Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo
• Nobody’s Fool (1986) Island Production; Rosanna Arquette, Eric Roberts
• Outlaw’s daughter, The (1954) 20th Century Fox; Bill Williams, Kelly Ryan
• Pony Soldier (1952) 20th century Fox; Tyrone Power, Cameron Mitchell
• Quick and the Dead, The (1986) Joseph Cates Co.; Kate Capshaw, Sam Elliot
• Redhead and the Cowboy, The (1950) Paramount; Glenn Ford, Rhonda Fleming
• Relentless (1948) Columbia; Robert Young, Marguerite Chapman
• Revenge of the Ninja (1983) Cannon Films; Sho Kosugi, Keith Vitali
• Renegade (1987 – Italian) Terrance Hill
• Riders of the Storm (1994) Cold Stone Prod.; Brett Baxter Clark, Crystal Owens
• Riders of the Purple Stage (1932) Fox Film’s; George O’Brien, Noah Beery
• Robbers’ Roost (1933) United Artists; George Montgomery, Richard Boone
• Rounders, The (1964) MGM; Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Chill Wills
• Shotgun (1955) Allied Artists; Sterling Hayden, Zachery Scott, Yvonne De Carlo
• Singing Guns (1950) Republic; Vaughn Monroe, Ella Rains, Walter Brennan
• Smoky (1930) Fox Films; Victor Jory, Irene Bentley
• Smoky (1966) 20th Century Fox; Fess Parker, Diana Hyland, Katy Jurado
• Southwest to Sonora (1966) Universal; Marlon Brando, John Saxon
• Station West (1948) RKO; Dick Powel, Jane Greer, Agnes Moorehead, Burl Ives
• Stay Away Joe (1968) MGM; Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith, Joan Blondell
• Strawberry Roan (1954) Columbia; Gene Autrey, Jack Holt, Gloria Henry
• Stormy (1935) Universal; Noah Berry, Jr.
• Stranger on Horseback (1955) United artists; Joel McCrea, John Carradine
• Tall in the Saddle (1949) RKO Pictures; John Wayne, Ella Raines
• Texas Trail, The (1937) Paramount; William “Hopalong Cassidy” Boyd
• 3:10 to Yuma (1957) Columbia; Glenn Ford, Felicia Farr, Van Heflin
• Thunder Warrior (1984 –Italian) Raymond Harmstorf, Bo Svenson, Mark Gregory
• Trouble Bound (1992) Weintraub/Tom Kuhn Prod.; Patricia Arquette, Michael Madsen
• Two in Revolt (1936) Jimmy Lydon, Joan Leslie
• Two Thoroughbreds (1939) RKO; Joan Leslie, Jimmy Lydon
• Universal Soldier (1991) Caroco Universal Studios; Jean Claude Van
• Wild Rovers (1971) MGM; William Holden, Ryan O’Neal, Karl Malden
• Yellowstone Kelly (1959) Warner Bros.; Clint Walker, Ed Byrnes

NOTE: There have also been dozens of television episodes, mini-series location shootings, commercials and music videos filmed in the Sedona area over the years. And it continues on. It is also a favorite spot for still photography for in-print commercials, magazine spreads, and both professional and amateur photographers.