Sedona, AZ

After a couple of days in Sedona you start to take the awesome views a little for granted. The varying perspectives on those massive red rock formations are still astonishing, but you come to expect that that is what you'll see from any old carpark or coffee shop - and you do!

Sedona is up there with the Grand Canyon as a tourist destination, but it has an edge in that you are right there in amongst the rocks and canyons and, as a town in its own right it has further attractions in a vibrant arts community, excellent restaurants and the distinction of being the New Age capital of the USA. In the 1980s, Sedona's red rocks were 'discovered' to be the source of a series of electromagnetic 'vortexes' which focus spirals of healing energy and spiritual enlightenment for those who spend time within their influence. Everyone knows that I am the most sceptical of unbelievers, but there is definitely something deeply restorative about a gentle. trek through those massive, layered sculptures that represent millions of years of geological time.

And of course there's more to Sedona's New Age status than a vortex or two. Stroll down the main street and you can have your pick of crystal purveyors, shamans, psychics, native spirit guides, tarot readers, aura readers, reiki therapists and a bloke who resembles Gandalf and wants to help you regress to your past lives. We settled for a nice massage.

Great meals at The Barking Frog and Angels Mexican Restaurant, as well as the local whole foods store; two places that made decent coffee*; a buttock-clenching but brilliant jeep tour around the canyon rim at sunset; wonderful walking trails through the rocks and down through Oak Creek Canyon; an overwhelming abundance of  high quality artworks ... The only downside was that there was a big crowd in town for the Easter** weekend and it was a bit difficult to park anywhere uptown. Despite the crowds (they get over 3 million visitors a year) it was very easy to find a quiet place of your own to relax and enjoy the beauty of Sedona.

* How can the world's greatest consumers of coffee tolerate such crap coffee? Everywhere you go, they serve boiling dishwater in gigantic buckets. 'Gourmet coffee' means they put some disgusting flavoured syrup in it. For the record, the Oak Creek Coffee House and a small French patisserie at the downtown end of the main drag got it right.
**We found it weird that Easter was such a low key festival in the US, given the number of holy rollers on the loose and the opportunity it presents for merchandising. Around these parts at least, there were virtually no choccy eggs in shops and Good friday wasn't even a holiday!

Arizona

Hi y'all
We've just arrived home from a huge road trip from north-western Arizona to El Paso in Texas. This was so that Kent could attend a medical assessment required by his lawyers. So that's a round trip of about 2,200 k - two days' driving (and that's Terry's driving) each way -  for a two hour examination. I will never fathom the complexities and irrationalities of health care, insurance or the law in this country and I hope I never have to.

Frustrations of all that aside, it was an opportunity to see a bit of Arizona and New Mexico, which are mostly long expanses of desert punctuated by spectacular geological features - canyons, buttes, mesas, washes and mountains as well as meteor craters. We saw the famous Rio Grande and passed through several checkpoints designed to dissuade would-be illegal immigrants from Mexico. I hadn't realised how different deserts could be from each other, but over the course of the trip we drove through the Arizona desert which is currently green and blooming after a wet winter, the Sonoran Desert in New Mexico, studded with those classic tall cactuses in amusing humanoid forms, then the red desert of  the Navajo nations where huge sandstone rocks have been pitted and moulded over time by the fierce desert winds. One major difference from this sort of landscape in Australia - no flies! 

Our time in El Paso was mostly spent dealing with the medical system, so I can't really comment much, except that nine out of every ten people we encountered were Hispanic. Only saw one guy in a ten gallon hat and cowboy boots. Terry did encounter a lynx crossing the road in front of the hospital, which was pretty interesting in the middle of a big city. Anyway, after four days of Interstate Highways, motel rooms and way over the top servings in diners, we've accomplished the mission and are back at mum's place. Terry and I will hire a vehicle and head off to do a bit of exploring in the coming week.

All the best to everyone - happy holidays to all the school people and take care.

Lost in Vegas

Everything in this city is excessive. Each major hotel-casino takes up a city block or more and reaches for the sky; a 'side of fries' would feed a family of four. Not surprisingly, it has to be the huge arse capital of the world. We took a bus downtown on Wednesday and, apart from a few tiny Asian women perched on the edges of seats or wedged in the gaps between more substantial passengers, everyone had the dimensions of refrigerators (only more rubbery). Las Vegas is The Strip, of course, but its suburbs and service areas sprawl out across the Nevada plains to the mountains on every side. Millions of tourists from the US and everywhere else; millions of dollars gambled daily, tons of food, power, water, stuff by the truckload streaming in every minute. Consumption on a scale you just can't quite believe.

But you have to love it. The dress code ranges from couples in Armani suits and gorgeous designer dresses to Billy-Bob and Bubba in their best bib overalls. Hispanic hotel receptionists switch effortlessly from English to Japanese to French depending on who turns up at the desk. The service is fabulous - endlessly friendly, kind and efficient, people can't do enough to help you, even if your problem is nowhere near part of their job description. Nearly everything is open nearly all the time and those slot machines hum and buzz and ching away as background to it all. The shows are amazing - we only had time for one, but it was The Platters, The Coasters and The Marvelletes (Wait a Minute Mr Postman) for under $50. Better still, it was in a cabaret theatre where you can sit on a lounge with a drink while you enjoy the show - it was just brilliant.

There is so much more than casino culture here - amazing exhibitions, artefacts and experiences are everywhere. We managed to get to the Shark Aquarium at Mandalay Bay and the Moden Masters and gardens at Bellagio, but there were also artefacts from the Titanic and hundreds of other interesting things we'd have loved to see and do.

The financial downturn has taken its toll here, far more than in Australia. Lots of businesses have closed down and the frantic building we saw in 2007 has virtually ground to a halt. It's sad to see some of  the great little restaurants off the Strip really struggling (do go to the India Oven on East Sahara if you're ever here) and to feel an air of desperation in many places. Driving downtown this becomes much more evident, with pawn shops, bail bond providers, loan sharks and low rent lawyers in run-down premises everywhere. Ultra-seedy and ultra glamourous sit side by side.

Being on Australian time, it was easy for us to wake before dawn for a helicopter ride through the Grand Canyon. We found it awesome on our last trip, just viewing from the rim near Flagstaff, but this was THE way to see the canyon. Words and pictures fail me, but I'll post a few anyway. We're off to Arizona this morning to see my mum at last. Love and best wishes to everyone.