Slice of Life Sedona: Light Mode
Introduction
Despite the drawbacks that I shared on other posts (and I may eventually post a Dark Mode version of this), there are so many pros to Sedona, I found all the challenges worth it and moved here permanently! I have lived in Sedona for nearly seven years and have nothing to regret for it. These have been the best years of my life and I truly feel nurtured by the Sedona vortex. Before I elaborate on all the cool things I love about Sedona, I want to note that all these things are the particulars that I find appealing. Everyone comes to Sedona for different reasons, so my positives may be someone else’s negatives.
Keep my personality and preferences in mind while reading the following: I am someone who makes introverts look like extroverts. I am e-social because I love to write and share information, and I am active in the in-person realm(s) of academia because I love academics and research. However, socializing for the sake of socializing is meaningless for me. Although I must reach out to others many times per week to remain functional in my pursuits, I could never see another human soul again and I would not feel as if I were truly missing anything. Part of that is having an extremely watery aura, but another part of it is probably being autistic and just being me. The word ‘asocial’ feels like it was coined for me! I adore the things that humans make and hold many people dear to my heart, but I can say with pride and peace that I truly delight in solitude.
Since I have many sweet people in my life who deeply care for me and have (previously) worried if perhaps I am isolating myself because of trauma, fear not (and thank you for caring, truly!). I did have a very traumatic upbringing, but I have spent the past decade healing and pursuing what really nurtures my heart and inner being. I have deep love for the people of earth, and I am not intentionally isolating myself due to pain or fear of being hurt. I genuinely feel at my best when I am alone or in a one-on-one social situation. I have found the balance by speaking on my platforms and writing books, and it warms my heart so much to see how both catalysts for me are loved by others. I get the best of both worlds in my own space. I love to be given full rein to engage in my interests and enjoy peace and quiet. If you are like me and that vibration resonates, Sedona may be a great place for you!
Most of my pros are all about the landscape, the energy, and the sweet and beautiful solitude I have found in Sedona… but that does not work for everyone. For those who crave a young, cohesive crowd with progressive ideals… this just isn’t the place… or at least, not right now. For one, Sedona is surprisingly not that progressive, and it is also too expensive for most millennials and zoomers (gen z) to live here without their families. In a nutshell, Sedona is a retirement and vacation rental city. It is gentrified, but even that feels like an oversimplification. It is whitewashed, and even though millions of people visit here per year, and even though Verde Valley is home to and surrounded by many different cultures, Sedona is a place that caters to privilege and wealth. I would consider something more like Eugene, Oregon (still expensive but more inclusive), or one of the communities in California if your heart is desiring a well-rooted community under the age of forty.
Many people come to Sedona and completely fall apart when they find that their social options are limited compared to places like L.A., Oregon, or NYC. As I have referenced before, the spiritual community can be very cliquish and can be aggressive toward those who do not agree with them. This is not to say that amazing friendships in and out of the spiritual community cannot be found- this city is not static. People come and go every day and even though we have the long-term locals, we constantly receive a new influx of people. I have found one of my best friends in the whole world in Sedona and share my life with my best friend of nearly 13 years (my partner!). I am just making a note for my social readers to consider if they are thinking about moving to Sedona permanently or spending copious amounts of time in red-rock country. If you are only coming here for the people… I would recommend backing up your reason for visiting with another ideal! The great news is that you can still meet awesome people, even if they are in the next city over, and there are plenty of other reasons to pursue a life or vacation in the “crystal city.” But might I say a word about the beautiful people I have found here?
The Lovely Beings of Verde Valley
Please do not let my mention of the popular Sedona cliques govern your every thought when it comes to making friends. As I have said many times before, some of the best people are the ones judged to be “mainstream” or the ones who live stunning lives but do not necessarily identify as “spiritual.”
I have found deep and nutritive camaraderie and friendship in Verde Valley. Sedona is not an island, even though it has its signature vibration. It literally flows into Flagstaff through Oak Creek Canyon and into Cottonwood and Cornville and Camp Verde and Stoneman in all the other directions. Fantastic people from Prescott and Phoenix and Tucson (my goth friends!!) come to visit all the time and spend a few nights here. Even in the presence of the anti-science rhetoric in spiritual groups in Sedona, I have found some of the best intellectual and academic friends one could ever ask for. I have worked on projects with professors and colleagues from the Yavapai universities and have been cared for like a much-loved sister by the veterans of Flagstaff erudite elite. Huge conversations and transformational things are happening, and wow… I am so lucky to be here for it. Sedona is a waystation of travel, movement, and connection, and the social scene is mutable from day to day.
I have found feminists, goths, musicians, artists, researchers, fellow scientists, and great thinkers who truly want the best for everyone and are willing to facilitate peaceful communication and engage difference with love. One of my best friends was discovered here, thriving in his home in the nook of the red rocks. It’s amazing that we met, because we’re both very introverted and have solitary hobbies, but we have co-created a sweet relationship that validates and uplifts while being radically honest.
The truth is that for every bitter or cliquish person, there is a kind and inclusive one if you don’t limit yourself to a niche like spirituality or vegan foodies. Friendship and love have many colors, and believe it or not, there is a small LGBTQIA+ community here that we want to nurture and grow! It is small as communities go, but we are here and often travel to Phoenix and other nearby cities to connect with larger groups of like-minded friends.
Sedona Is GORGEOUS!
The most obvious pro of living in Sedona is that it is absolutely beautiful! When I first moved here from Colorado, I was a little hesitant. I knew that Sedona was where I was supposed to be, but I had heard all about “desert life” and was a little concerned that I would be missing parts of nature that mean a lot to me (trees, water etc.). When I arrived in the High Sonoran Desert all my fears were put to rest. We have trees, water, grass, red rocks, and mountains as well as many state parks and stunning trailheads that are well-maintained. Sometimes it’s hard to remember I am even in the desert until I drive further south. Almost anywhere you go in red rock country has a postcard-worthy snapshot within camera lens distance! Shallow or not, the corporeal beauty of Sedona is what first caught my eye online when I was interacting with members of the lucid dreaming community back in 2014, and I am not the least bit ashamed.
The funny thing is that I am mermaiding, swimming, and embracing the water element here more than I ever have anywhere else. It turns out mermaids can totally thrive in the desert (and Sedona is a High desert which is different). The waterfalls, rivers, creeks, lakes, and streams here are like home, not inferior to the ocean at all, and we even have nude “beaches” for adventurous people!
Wildlife and Hiking Opportunities
Any space that does not have wildlife or a lot of hiking potential is a dead zone for me. I have made so many incredible animal friendships here, it has been like a seven-year therapy session in animal medicine. I do not think my life would feel quite as complete without my coyote friends yipping outside my window every night as they serenade me to sleep. We have bears, mountain lions, bobcats, javelinas, mule deer, elk, skunks, fox friends, the occasional Mexican grey wolf, supposed sightings of jaguars (although those are rarely seen even 4 hours south in Tucson), scorpions, our famous tarantulas, and of course, the endemic populations of birds and fish.
Hiking has its pros and cons, but since I GeNerAlLy avoid the popular trailheads, I am in luck where peaceful exploration is concerned. Occasionally I go to the Little Horse, Bell Rock, or Cathedral loop hikes because those are the big red-rock spots most tourists aim for, but the truth is that there are many locations just like these… if you have the hiking experience and equipment to get to them. I have climbing experience and am aware of my own strengths and limitations, so it is fairly easy for me to determine which sites are feasible and which ones are not. Even if more challenging hikes are not your cup of tea, there are beautiful vantage points nearly everywhere! Some of the hikes I recommend are West Fork, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock (if you can find parking), Crescent Moon trailhead (or Red Rock Crossing since it connects via creek crossing), any trailhead down Dry Creek (Boynton Canyon and Fae Canyon), Littlehorse Trailhead, and Shaman’s Cave.
Paleontology and Archaeology
Sedona and all of Arizona really is a paleontologist’s and archaeologist’s dream. There are rules to follow and you can’t just dig anywhere—procuring fossils and artifacts on Indigenous lands and academically-designated quarries requires permission first, but even if you are not a professional, there are many sites that are permissive to visitors digging around and investigating. I have found some of my favorite fossils here, including a Smilodon fatalis!
Arizona is a state with much of its geography suiting the definition of badlands. Badlands are basically dry, arid places (like deserts) where you wouldn’t want to get stuck without water or transportation! These climates are fabulous for preserving fossils, and since most of Arizona was once underwater, we can find all kinds of ancient beings resting right beneath our feet! For a paleo-nerd like me, it’s heaven. It is not unusual to find me or Chris covered in dust and sorting the Bryozoans from the “modern-ish” corals.
And if you are into archaeology, Arizona is a prime place to study ancient cultures. There are a lot of tours where you can visit old ruins and signs of life long before our time. We can appreciate Indigenous cultures and feature their ancestors in our museums and galleries (with their consent and explicit permission) so that others can come to know that they are not the only ones who are great or have lasting legacies.
Explorers and Adventurers Are in Luck
So much of Sedona, Oak Creek, and the surrounding canyons remains a mystery. Verde Valley is a unique space that can never fully be tamed, and I have found caves, forgotten trails, and entire worlds here that have never been mapped. If you have the experience to go out and explore uncharted territory, Sedona can give you the exposure and opportunity to do so. Hikers, unfortunately, often underestimate how large and intricate this space is, and we have rescue teams constantly looking for people who have gone missing. The point is to come prepared and to know what you are getting into, but there is no shortage of adventure or discovery opportunities for those who want to Indiana Jones or Laura Croft their way into the wilderness.
Niche Parties and Raves and “Weird” Acceptance
This part about social parties doesn’t appeal to me, personally, quite as much given my need for low stimulation, but I think it is one of the coolest things about the Sedona crowd! It isn’t hard to find people wandering the red rocks or trails late at night who are willing (and excited!) to help you search the skies for UFOs and “signs” of potential extraterrestrial life. It isn’t hard to get a group together to go out into the middle of “nowhere” whether it is down south in the desert-desert or somewhere in the middle, deep in the mesas that haven’t been settled recently to look for cryptids! No one is going to look at you like you have grown a second head if you start chatting about your lucid dreams with an extraterrestrial race or if you want to want to rest on your back on the red rocks to see if you can feel something.
There are a lot of fun desert raves if you are into that kind of gathering! If you want to taste-test the experience without committing to a full-out Burning-man escapade, I have heard that this is a great place to start. There are also snobby parties like the ones for “influencers” that get pretty exclusive, but there are a lot of fun ones too… those centered around outdoor interests like caving, mountaineering, and foraging (Make sure the party you’re going to has people who respect Indigenous lands and cultures and does not steal plants that do not belong to them.) for mushrooms and tasty herbs. There are fun foodie events and cookoffs, women’s art groups that paint together on the rocks, and pagan parties and holidays to honor old traditions. When I expressed an interest in true Norse paganism and uncovering some of the traditions of my ancestors (Norway and Sweden), a bunch of people created a gathering with me in mind so that we could all share resources, books, and information (it was so sweet!). Every Yule (or Christmas) we do a small book exchange in honor of the Swedish tradition, and it is one of my favorite things in the world.
Healthy Food Options Abound
If you are a healthy foodie, Sedona is the place for you! When I have polled friends, acquaintances, and random locals to ask them how they felt the most supported in Sedona, the overwhelming response was geared toward the eating options. We have vegan, vegetarian, and organic restaurants and shops everywhere, and most of them are within walking distance. Privilege and class are intertwined with diet and lifestyle for sure, so that needs to be integrated when reading this information.
Something I have discovered is that when I am in a large city or suburban area that is more on the mainstream side of things, I tend to crave pizza, mac and cheese, and items of a sugary constitution. I still occasionally desire those things, but the underlying vibration of deep support for health consciousness makes it much easier when it comes to determining what I am putting into my body. It is so much easier while living in a place like Sedona. There is a dark side to the foodie community with eating disorders and health nonsense that abounds in spiritual spaces, but there is also a light side of enduring support and delicious offerings that make “choosing” a fun and enlightening experience! We have some of the most amazing vegan chocolatiers, herbal tea wizards, and vegan/vegetarian/organic burrito artisans in all of Verde Valley. There are always new things to try, and Sedona has been the launching point for many popular recipes and brands that echo as far as L.A and the Northwestern U.S. I feel so fortunate to privy to so many healthy options—this has truly made a massive difference in my health, and I know how lucky I am to have it.
We have Natural Grocer’s and Whole Foods, but if you want a taste of Sedona culture, I recommend going to the Local Juicery for a healthy smoothie or to the pinnacle of hippie eateries, ChocolaTree. ChocolaTree is, for the most part, middle-of-the-road vegetarian and vegan food if I am being completely honest. However! It will give you a real taste of Sedona hippie life, has yummy desserts, and a beautiful outdoor seating area, complete with hammocks and cozy lounge chairs, though there is indoor seating as well. Only go here if you have some time to kill… this place has a big hippie vibe and no one is really in a hurry. Still, nothing feels more “Sedona” than a late-night spiritual group eating vegan and vegetarian fare under the stars while the scents of ylang-ylang and lavender oil waft through the air.
Wine Country
If you like wine or vineyards, Verde Valley has a thriving industry, with a lot of wineries, wine tours, and even courses for people wanting to learn more. Honestly, I am not a wine or alcohol person, because I have a sensitivity to it that can put me in the hospital with stomach pains, but I have talked to many sommeliers from all over the world (California, France, Austria, and Italy just as a few examples) who come to visit Sedona. All of them recommend giving the Page Springs wineries a taste (Page Springs is in between Sedona and Cottonwood and flows right into Cornville) while you are in town. There are a few wines that you may recognize from mainstream shelves, but most of them are the result of the passions of small-company creators. From what I hear from wine connoisseurs, the unique bottles you can taste are all fostered by a personal touch, and they are worth remembering!
Dark Sky City
Fun fact: the “Four Corners” area of the United States (the corners of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico) has the most International Dark Sky communities in the world! Sedona, and its neighboring city, Flagstaff are just two of these. The Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest national parks are also dark sky-protected areas. Arizona was one of the key influencers when the Dark Sky City Alliance designated Flagstaff as the first Dark Sky Place in 2001, protected to empower stargazing and astronomy-related efforts (and it isn’t surprising since Flagstaff is home to the Lowell Observatory).
Since then, other communities in Arizona have joined in, such as Sedona (Village of Oak Creek included), Cottonwood, and Fountain Hills who were inspired by the idea of remaining connected to our skies and wanted to mitigate the problems most cities have with light pollution. In West Sedona, you will rarely even see Christmas or holiday lights, because the city has steep fines for people who compromise the integrity of the Dark Sky initiative.
I guess you could say it is a certain kind of experience—one many people want to visit but may not want to live in permanently. Night life is different here than in most cities and places… You will have to travel down to Phoenix to experience a more normalized approach to clubbing and socializing. For me it is so worth any minor inconveniences because I can look up at night and see the spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy and feel even more connected to Everything. If you enjoy astronomy or are an astrophotographer, our little city may be well worth your time!
Good Weather with Some Ability to Choose your Climate
Remember how I mentioned that many cities surround Sedona? Well, that isn’t uncommon for most states, but what makes ours unique is that almost all of them experience different weather, temperatures, and climates, all in the same day! Sedona is the High Sonoran Desert, so we have moderate temperatures with four square seasons year-round. We do have occasional freak blizzards, like the one in 2019 where they had to shut down the highway and everyone was snowed in from a couple of feet of snowfall, but most of the time it is pretty mild. Go up to Flagstaff (45 minutes north of Sedona), however, and the story changes! What many people do not know when visiting the area is that Flagstaff is part of the Colorado Plateau, and often, they receive even more snow per year than Denver. It is home to the San Francisco peaks, which obviously, will lend you an even more extreme temperature drop if you want to make the drive up. The cities that are directly connected to Sedona, Cornville and Cottonwood, stay relatively close in temperature, though Sedona always seems to get a little more rainfall. And then, of course, Phoenix and Tucson are always available to heat things up if it’s the middle of fall and you want to wear shorts for a while.
Because I wanted to do it at least once, my partner and I drove from below Phoenix all the way up to Flagstaff in a day, and since it was one of the more extreme months, we experienced a 60-degree weather change from start to finish! Not every place lends that opportunity, and it is just another fun facet of living in my part of the American Southwest.
Pet-Centered Culture (Pupcakes are Welcome!)
No one can argue that Sedona isn’t a place where people love their animals. Humans everywhere love their pets, but it is fun to be in a city where most stores and shops let you bring your pup inside with you! I have a teacup chihuahua pupcake named Bronte Ophelia Persephone O’hara (Bronte for short. Yes, I know it’s a mouthful lol!), and she is spoiled from all the attention she gets. In the Village, when someone’s pet goes missing neighbors who otherwise fight over every little “this and that” will come together to try to find them and bring them home. We are in the Southwest, where mountain lions can walk through our yards at night and coyotes pick off prey they think is an easy target. (Although we have a “wild” neighborhood cat who dominates the coyote population and plays tag with them!) Obviously, we don’t want to leave domesticated animals all on their own for very long.
Everyone babies their pets, and there are a lot of conservation efforts to protect their distant relatives (Mexican grey wolves and bobcats etc.). We have a couple of thrift stores that take a large portion of their income out of their own pockets to give to different animal rescues and adoption centers around the surrounding cities… and the Sedona shelter is a no-kill shelter, so that is a real relief.
The Benefits of a Spiritual Hotspot
This is probably my favorite pro for living in Sedona… if you are a spiritually minded person and you have come to Sedona, there are endless opportunities to interface with community and nature in ways that may not be as obvious in a big city. The land itself feels so alive (to me) and it has this effect on me where I feel as if I have arrived at a big party after being asleep in my own room for a long time. That probably sounds funny, but I have always described Sedona as an insulated “fairie bubble” that is so clear to distinguish, I can feel it the minute I leave. My husband was driving us back from a trip to the south a few years ago and I slept almost the whole way home, chair laid back, eye pillow on, the works. When we were within five miles of Sedona (without any clues are hints), I suddenly just “felt” it and asked my partner if we could stop at a favorite store in the next ten minutes or so. I didn’t need to be told where we were or open my eyes because Sedona has such a distinct vibration to me, it is unlike any other place I have ever been… and honestly, it is the first place that has 100% felt like home to me on planet earth.
Sedona is thought to be a vortex site with powerful energy frequencies being beamed through the rocks—take that as you will since it is spiritual and not really scientific in nature. I personally think that humans are the vortices they are always searching for with the ability to ground in their own power and become more self-aware, but there is no denying that there is a special feeling about this space that is distinguished even from other spiritual sites like Glastonbury or Mt. Shasta. My interpretation of the land is that it is an amplifier, bringing forth what we have inside and externalizing it so that it can be addressed. This is not meant to gaslight anyone with trauma or pain. I had C-PTSD and anxiety for many years and even though I have been able to find even more peace and tranquility in a space like Sedona, it didn’t take the place of therapy or professional guidance. Energetically, I just mean that by coming into this space, we can take advantage of the supposed energy here and use it as a support system to sustain our inner beings.
Supposedly, Sedona is going to be one of the first places to experience open extraterrestrial contact, or so many channels have said (take that as you will). With the Phoenix lights appearing 2 hours away in the 90s and denial of military activity (by the military) when some UFO sightings have been documented in Sedona, it is not too far-fetched to imagine that we may not be alone in the Universe. Unidentified flying object does not automatically mean that the object has extraterrestrial origins, but in Sedona these interests and possibilities are supported more than they are in most others. There is a big movement to normalize looking for and documenting UFO experiences so that we can weave a more comprehensive tapestry and consider the implications for ourselves. If you’re one of those strange alien hunters, you won’t feel too far-fetched searching the night skies during your time in Sedona since there is a big UFO community stretching from Flagstaff to Tucson in a giant interconnected network.
Unique Artistic Opportunities
Sedona has a unique art scene in that it is more forgiving and less elite than most places… Some people look at this as a bad (lesser than) thing, but I think there are two sides to the story. Sedona’s more laid-back approach to artistic authenticity and indie artists has allowed many artists the opportunity to get their work out into the world, galleries, and local museums where they otherwise might not have been able. Even though Sedona is not a hot spot for evidence-based science, there is no denying that we ARE a hot spot for incredibly talented artists of all mediums! We host the Sedona Film Festival every year, which is always sold out quickly, and there are constant art shows lining shopping centers in the VOC and West Sedona. It is not uncommon to enter a Sedonian’s home to find their walls painted with incredible murals and self-sourced expression… painting your own walls with designs, landscapes, or abstract spiritual color therapy is practically a rite of passage. =)
What Sedona Means to Me
Sedona, as I have said many times before, is the first place that has really felt like home on planet earth for me. I have officially been here for almost 7 years, and that is still so hard to believe. When I was a year in at the age of 24, I remembered wondering if the magic of the space would eventually wear off or if the charm of the High Sonoran Desert would eventually fade. It never did. It took me a while to be able to vocalize why, but it’s actually really simple. Each morning when I wake up and open my eyes, it is like the first time.
I like to joke that one of my favorite pastimes is staring out the window and studying every leaf, raindrop, and branch… I have always loved nature, but I never studied it like this. The truth is that for me, Sedona really does feel different. We can guess that it is related to ley lines or electromagnetic fields, but it feels like so much more than that. Different places have unique sensations and emotions they lend to our development. I have a completely different feeling when I am standing in Scandinavia than I do when I am in France or Canada or Washington state. Each space has distinctive gifts to offer, just like each town or city does whether superimposed or symbiotic with the nature it is founded on.
Sedona gives me the feeling of having just arrived at the party… One where I am not afraid to go to sleep, because I know that I am not missing anything. I have a front-row seat to the unfolding of many beings who are different from each other, and I get to have a voice to inform which meanings and purposes we take on. There may be a lot of progress still to make, but it isn’t hard to find peace here, for a few minutes at a time. Much like the rock faces that used to be underwater and have undergone millenniums of burial, resurgence, and weathering, Sedona says to me: “I am not formless. I am not even art. I am not made or unmade… I simply become a different thing to appreciate in each moment. Each decade. Each century. The fact that I am here is not a matter of worthiness, but the sweet hum of knowing that I Am. Endlessness is for human speech. I do not need to comprehend my beginning. Be here with me. Sit and Be. I Am. I Am.”
In Conclusion
I really have to limit myself on how much to say, because I could gush and talk about Sedona all day long and end up writing a novella. Please do not let my words of caution or even my “Women Are Angry” blog post deter you from visiting or looking for a home in Sedona. The reason I posted those things was to address the problems that are going unnoticed and unchecked, especially by people new to the area, who don’t find out about the issues until it is too late. I can’t count the number of times someone has come to me and said, “I wish I had known a lot more about the spiritual community or housing situation before I committed to a long-term stay here.” The goal isn’t to tear anyone down or to imply that you cannot possibly have a good time. The point is to make everyone aware of the pros and cons so that they can make more informed decisions about how they want to go about their time in Verde Valley. We must be honest about the things that still need work, but the good things, are by no means, difficult to find.
Sedona life is beautiful for the most part, and there is so much room for creativity and growth! Nothing is stagnant, and the feeling of movement throughout the town gives the energy (even more) of a noticeable current. It is the life of the party, but easy to find rest. There are still undiscovered dimensions to this space, and we are each one of the facets.