furtech | Sedona pt.2

Friday was breakfast at Blue Moon Cafe , a small-town coffeeshop complete with surly waitress. Across the street was one of the kitsch-mongers . As much as I usually love this kind of shop it wasn't long before I realized that if you've seen one store stuffed with foreign-made kachina dolls, crystals and tourquoise trinkets-- you've seen them all.

Just before we left, JC noticed an odd, red-colored caterpillar . Later that night, I saw a moth with a bright orange abdomen and wondered if this was the adult form.

The drive into downtown Sedona was short and spectacular: through juniper-brush and between huge mesas and red rock formations. One of them I dubbed (silently) " Naughty Rock Mesa ".

Our big thing that day was a wildlife jeep tour. But we had an hour to kill before it left, so we drove a mile down the road to the Brins Mesa Trail.
Brinsmesa

I'm not sure what mesa or rock this is (I think *every* rock in the area is named), but it dominated the landscape. Everything is very close: a few minutes walk and you have a completely different perspective of the same rock . As dramatic as these formations are from a distance, even close up they have elaborate sculpting and texture .

The trail was wide and flat -- perfect for a casual day hike. You could walk one mile or ten. Off to the right was this impressive formation : not sure of the name-- just make up your own.

Some of the formations are more obvious: here's Coffee Pot Rock . I discovered that any majestic formation was improved with the addition of a dog.

Flat dog on trail.

Another flat dog (because I can)

The wildlife jeep tour was entertaining, even if we saw very little in the way of wildlife. Our guide (whose name was "Cody" and whose middle name was Kiota because of his Amerind background). In lieu of critters, we got a non-stop patter about the area-- its history and the animals and people living in and around Sedona. Cody also pointed out places where famous stuff was filmed, like a Dixie Chicks (?) video shot on Carousal Rock . Apparently the big film of recent memory was "Broken Arrow" (the John Woo film) that utilized this formation for the climax .

And then there's Cow Flop Mesa...