Desert patrol

(Conclusion)

SEDONA, Arizona — It defies the capacity of the senses. It has no shape, scent, sound or distinctive markings, yet that it does not stop people from searching for a vortex. What exactly is a vortex?

Unfortunately, the dictionary meaning – "a mass of fluid with a whirling or circular motion that tends to form a cavity or vacuum in the center of the circle and to draw toward this cavity or vacuum bodies subject to its action" – fails to encompass what a vortex is to many of its believers. To them a vortex is a place of healing, insight, and empowerment. It is a place of extraordinary concentrations of electromagnetic activity coming from inside the earth. And Sedona has this, something that very few places on earth can claim.

Sedona Vortex Connection, a website, explains the vortex phenomenon in the Red Rock region: "The vortex energy in Sedona is similar to the energy found in Stonehenge in England, in the Great Pyramid in Egypt, at Machu Pichu in Peru and at other power spots on the earth. Those places have been recognized for years as being very special, containing an energy that is hard to describe, but is felt by many. Sedona is considered unique in the world, in that the concentration, the variety and level of energy spots is unequalled."

This perceived spirituality of the Sedona area by some has encouraged less traditional practitioners of religion. As early as ‘58, alternative personal development and self-help religions have set up shop here. In ‘63, the New Age Movement began when a group called Ruby Focus visited the town, seeking energy. After they and many others felt the energy in the Sedona vortices, the area became known as the center for "New Age" consciousness.

Nowadays, healing centers, spas, and retreat houses thrive in this intriguing town, offering patrons several packages for relaxation, enlightenment and self-awareness. For people who are serious about locating a vortex, specialized maps and guidebooks are available, complete with instructions and directions to the general area. Other establishments even offer guided vortex tours, though the exact spots are not easy to pin down. Some power-point seekers have reported the inability to feel the activity. Instead of energy, they experience a profound serenity at the vortex sites. Best-known vortices are: Bell Rock for active masculine power; Mesa Airport for gentle masculine energy; Boynton Canyon for both masculine and feminine energy; Chapel of the holy Cross for a gentle, comforting feminine touch; and Cathedral Rock for nurturing feminine energy.

Before the New Age movement recognized the presence of these power points, however, Native Americans have already considered the areas around Red Rock Country to be sacred ground. They traveled from afar to perform ceremonies among the magnificent formations. Only the bravest chiefs and medicine men enjoyed the license to explore what they considered home of the gods. Cathedral Rock held a distinction of being the birthplace of the first man and woman.

A native legend tells the story of how the first man and woman argued all day and all night. She said he never helped out around the cave and that he never listened to her; while he complained that she always nagged him and never shut up. When they appealed to the gods for a solution, they were placed back to back. That way, the gods reasoned, they would retain their own vision and direction, but stop seeing each other so they wouldn’t fight anymore. To this day, the legend asserts, we can see the first man and woman standing back to back in the formation.

It’s not unusual to make out shapes out of the red rocks. With a little imagination, the bleeding megaliths come to life. Suddenly, there’s Snoopy, lying down by the clouds and Lucy, Charlie Brown’s friend, is seen chatting with King Kong. From one angle, you’ll see an elephant with its long trunk. From another, it’s the tail of a rodent.

A cluster of giant mushrooms standing on a space ship, beside a giant fish is the most popular formation that attracts people to the Coconino National Forest, the second largest forest in the state of Arizona. Sedona makes up almost 19 square miles. A little over half of that area is privately owned. The rest belongs to the Coconino. The name was authored by Spanish explorers who first discovered the land. It was inhabited then by natives who were "very short and very dark," thus the name coco (chocolate, brown) nino (young boy).

Coconino is home to a diverse ecosystem. Seventy to eighty percent of the living ground is covered with crypto biotic soil, also called living soil crusts. It looks like gray cement that acts like a crust, protecting and providing support in arid conditions. One inch in depth represents 200 years of growth. Mike, the jeep tour driver and guide put it simply: "Crypto biotic soil does three things – 1)it holds on to the soil to help prevent erosion; 2)it keeps the dirt from being sterilized from under the sun’s UV rays; and 3)it retains water under its crust."

The area is now battling a six-year drought. The rains have been a no-show during the monsoon season. The rich, red hue of the rock formations are somewhat dulled by the dust. Conditions are so dry that fire restrictions were implemented for Memorial Day Weekend, one of the busiest holidays in Sedona. Campfires and smoking were not allowed except in designated areas, recreation areas, buildings and closed vehicles. (One of the great fires that destroyed a sizable area in California last year was traced to a cigarette butt thrown out of a vehicle passing along the freeway.)

The danger of forest fires continues to threaten this national treasure, although folks are assured that the chances of catching a fire from lightning that hit the forest during the monsoon are slim. Dead trees in the forest, according to Mike, act as lightning rods. "They attract lightning to their upper boughs which will catch fire, super-heat the water that’s in them to cause it to steam, draw it up and put the fire out."

Native Americans refer to them as "keepers of the forest." It is said that because of these trees, there has never been a forest fire in the area. And this is proven by the presence of 2,000-year-old trees that grow a foot every 200 years. There are also desert plants like the shaggy bark juniper that’s used in the production of gin. The nuts of the pinon pines are used for making pesto. The soap tree yuccas have four uses: its flowers are tasty; its stalk can be used as a vegetable, like asparagus; its roots are used like a potato; and if you grind it up real dry, the powder may be used as a detergent for washing clothes. That’s why it’s called a soap tree.

There are century plants, also called the "one-time" plant. To scientists, it is called such because the plant only blooms once in their life. The blooming spike is so large and grows fast that it saps the resources of the plant, killing it, which then only leaves a tall wooden seed stalk. To cowboys, it’s the "one-time" plant ‘cause they can only fall out of their horses into this plant only once. It’s sharp and stiff and can cut like a knife. Adios, amigo!

Animals that co-exist with tourists in jeep tours are mule deer, coyotes, red and gray foxes, bobcats, two resident mountain lions (male and female), and a javelina – a mammal that "looks like a pig, acts like a pig, but not quite a pig," described Mike.

Needless to say, the Sedona is very interesting. Others say the unique brand of energy from the vortex can stimulate mental or creative activity. Not coincidentally, Sedona has long served as a lure to the artistic community. But vortex or no vortex, the experience is exhilarating. Anyone who ponders the natural formations poised against the horizon will be moved to grab his/her camera and click away, aiming to capture the otherworldliness of it all. It’s like you’re thrust in the middle of a movie set about aliens. You close and open your eyes so many times to convince yourself that you are still on earth.

The stunning colors of red rocks against the azure sky; puffs of white cumulus; and endless green of trembling cottonwood leaves make the region appear surreal. It’s a wonderful world!