Alluring scenery from inside a purpose built vehicle
Early on a spring morning, after a night full of kids yelling and playing and laughs with some good friends, we woke up, shook off the night, and assessed the situations. We were 2000 miles from home, after a time warp of a plane trip, and we were ready for the day! I threw on some clothes, walked downstairs, and out the front door. I started the new day as I often do waking up by the early morning sun. I strolled through a quiet and modern neighborhood while drinking my morning water. I heard and saw many birds that I wasn’t familiar with and pondered on the plans ahead. We were headed from Phoenix, Arizona to a type of scenery we could’ve never imagined.
I went back inside and helped my wife gather all the things we had packed for the three-day trip ahead. Not only did we need clothes and snacks but lots of water for the hot and dry air of Arizona. My long time friend had heard us rustling around and woke up. He knew we were ready to go and helped me load out all the items to the VW parked outside. A 2009 VW Jetta TDI.
If you’ve never driven a TDI (Turbo Diesel Induction) vehicle, they are torque filled beasts. It’s likely that what your car feels like at the top of the power band, this car feels like when you first hit the throttle. It was a very ‘functional’ driving experience. And this particular model has one hell of a history. It’s one of the cleanest diesels in the world. It’s now banned from the US; But that’s a story for another time. This was our ride and we were honored to moving to adventure in this.
After we piled everything into the vehicle we underwent a lesson from my good friend. He knew the vehicle was in good hands but knowing we both have similar passions, when it comes to vehicles, he shared some of the quirks of this particular one. As I closed the door I asked my wife if she was ready, we both smiled, and we headed off.
Originally from VA, we had never been west of Kentucky before. We had traveled all over the east coast but something about going west brings out the “USA” or “America” in your soul. As we traveled down the road we noticed some unique things about the area. People moved about with lots of different forms of travel. Those forms included including more frequent appearances from electric and self powered scooters, bicycles and skateboards. Even a gaggle of kids who we’d typically see riding bicycles or walking around our parts of the US were riding their own electric scooters. It made sense as there was quite the distance between houses and communities. It makes sense to see such a layout in the desert. It was clear that space was no limited with obviously planned and constructed regions. The vehicles in Phoenix showed off how much money is made in the area. Teslas, “Sunday trucks” as I call them, and an occasional supercar all advertised how what the region has to offer. Phoenix is a major hub for the tech industry, with numerous large tech companies, such as Intel, Honeywell, an enormous Amazon hub, Paypal, Nikola and WebPT.
In Phoenix the speed limit was clearly thought of as a suggestion. We had previously experienced similar in cities such as Atlanta Georgia and NYC. Drivers are typically driving 20 mph over the speed limit. But the scenery was really something new. Cacti including the infamous Saguaros scattered the landscape. We learned later in a convo with our friends that the Saguaro is protected and is often illegal to even cut down and there is even a park named “Saguaro National Park“. A fun fact, discovered in a quick Google Bard search, 44% of Arizona is protected land. This includes federal, state and local parks, forests and wilderness areas. .
As we drove past, I kept day dreaming about what it would be like to run through the fields of cacti. Just hopping out of the car, into the dry arid desert, and sprinting. Imaging running by rattle-snakes, wild boar, coyotes, gila monsters, black widow spiders, and scorpions! Move through that adventure in your head.
The night prior my friend had taken my wife, his child and myself outside with a black light. We were on a mission to find scorpions. He casually said they were often easy to find on the brick wall of the house next to his. So we were very curious and skeptical.
It wasn’t long until we found one. The black light lit up the creature like something out of the 90s Nickelodeon show “Are you Afraid of the Dark?”. And it wasn’t just one. As we calmed down from our own shrieks, he pointed out another little stinger of an insect a few feet from that. These horrific little creatures were everywhere it seemed and only a couple hundred feet from his home with two little kids living in it. The Phoenix city was enough of a danger zone. What would it be like to run through the desert?
We kept driving through this boundless and seductive region towards our destination. Quickly we found ourself transitioning from desert to the black mountains touting thousands of feet of elevation change in less than a half hour. I could picture myself flying through them in a hang glider or paramotor with vultures traveling the same wind currents.
Sedona appeared to us in what felt like an instant. We had transitioned from desert to the black rocky mountains and now to something new and spontaneous feeling. If you’ve ever experienced Gatlinburg, TN, this felt like a more refined midwestern version and instead of the Great Smokey Mountains this was the red rocks. As if God himself had gotten creative and squeezed the juice out strawberries over these giant rocks he had stained forever! The “main drag” was full of travelers and tourists on various styles of transport – motorcycles, three wheeled vehicles, mountain bikes, e-bikes, ATVs jeeps and even supercars. The “red rocks” guarded this main drag as the Great Smoke Mountains hover over Gatlinburg. Tourists flooded the main drag, even during the heat of the day, poking their heads in and out of the many bars, diners, sugar and sweet shops, and adventure planning spots.
Not wanting to stop exploring, we kept driving. That’s where it got interesting. Sedona is a beautiful place. We were not prepared for such beauty. Along the highway just passed the main drag is a scattering of rocks. Most of which are named after movies filmed in Sedona – Copper Canyon, Pony Soldier, Last Wagon and last but not least Broken Arrow. These were the jewels of Sedona. We drove the 7.5 miles of State Route 179 out, made a couple stops to experience this otherworldly location and drove back to Sedona. We had to get closer!
Off roading is nothing new to my wife or me. But off roading with a professional driver in an area they drive daily was something new. That person knows the environment better than you and thy are in control of a vehicle you’ve likely never driven and the combination of those two things makes an adventure out of an adventure. We were riding in a purpose built off road machine capable of carrying around eight of our new friends surrounded by a pink roll cage. Begun in the 1960s this company is impressive. Although expensive there may be no other way for a tourist to better experience this environment. In the picture on the right column is a hill that was so vertical no one would have thought a vehicle could go down. But we did and I’m still not quite sure how the Jeep didn’t front roll down this path. We took the Broken Arrow tour and spent three hours navigating these beautiful places. In the pictures you’ll see uniquely named rock formations: Chicken point, Chimney rock, Coffee Pot Rock, and Thunder mountain.
The pictures start to give you a perspective but the atmosphere and enormity can only been felt and seen in person. I encourage you to find things that bring you that feeling of wonder and mystery I feel when reflecting on this trip. How does this place, with such an otherworldly and transcendent feeling continue to exist?
And that’s why I share this adventure with you today .
