Monday, February 13, 2017

The Oak Creek Canyon Trail


The Oak Creek Canyon Trail is one of the most popular hikes near Sedona, Arizona. As you zig-zag into the canyon, the Mongollon rim of white kabab limestone and red sand stone form an undulating fortress on both sides of the creek. It was simply beautiful. The only negative for me, was all of the stream crossings. Hopping rocks is not my favorite thing. Towards the end, I just gave up and trudged right through with soggy shoes. The ten million year old cliffs were never far away...



The towering rocks kissed the sky. They hovered between 800-2000 feet.


The trees were pretty darn tall too. 


Mayhew Lodge



The ruins of Mayhew lodge. 1925-1968. Celebrities like Clark Gable, Walt Disney and Jimmy Stewart stayed here. 







This robin has soggy shoes too.



This slug doesn't need shoes. 





Oak Creek Canyon is often called a cousin of the Grand Canyon. Even though it was gorgeous, I'd only call it a 3rd cousin once removed. 

"In the empire of the desert, water is the king and shadow is the queen."
Mehmet Murat lldan

Now, for a walk on the wild side of the street, head over to The Chorus of the Crows  I'm ranting (my first rant) about a certain un-natural and vexing phenomenon...

Image result for images of busy sidewalks

The Awesome Links:


23 comments:

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Looks pretty impressive to me and I love the trees, not so much the slug!

Linda Hensley said...

Sometimes wet feet are a necessary evil to see the most beautiful sites :)

Vid Digger said...

The Oak Creek Canyon Trail is now on my list of places to visit. Just hope I don't forget my rubber boots!

DUTA said...

"The towering rocks kissed the sky" - what a beautiful sentence! I do like towering rocks - they are mighty impressive. What I do not like is ... slugs.

Sue (this n that) said...

Magnificent country - those tall timbers are massive.
Beautiful photography Sharon!
Yes, best get some wet feet - those rocks can be darn slippery.
Thanks for a great post, always fabulous to see your land :D)

DJan said...

Gorgeous and well worth the wet feet, Sharon. Thanks so much for sharing these magnificent photos. :-)

Pat Tillett said...

What a gorgeous place this is (as are your photos of it). This hike was on my list last time, but we never got to it.

Stewart M said...

What a great looking place. That must be one of the most scenic slugs I have ever seen!

Cheers - Stewart M - New Delhi, India (!)

Photo Cache said...

Great place.

Worth a Thousand Words

Findlay Wilde said...

What absolutely stunning scenery. Great pictures.

Les Fous du Cap said...

On aimerait y vivre ;-)
CĂ©line & Philippe

Anu said...

What a wonderful place. Great series of photos.

Jill said...

I've been to that area only once on a very short, day long visit so we didn't attempt the trail. But it looks wonderful - gonna have to give it a go next time!

Ruth said...

I visited Sedona during late fall and it was too cold to hike this trail (and do all those river crossings). We went to the canyon viewpoint but I am sure it is better to see it from the bottom. another reason to go back to Sedona! #TPThursday

Sharon said...

How beautiful! I didn't realize Sedona had tall trees like this. I thought it was only desert landscape. I would love to visit someday!

Lady Fi said...

What a scenic hike!

Cathy Kennedy said...

Sharon, the sky is gorgeous blue. It seems anytime shares photos of sky views over the dessert then the rich blues and fluffy white clouds seem to pop right at ya or the heavy gray clouds send shivers of impending gloom or doom. Your walk through nature gave offered plenty of photo ops. The towering rocks is an amazing shot. I loved how my eyes followed the trees straight up the face of the mountains toward a mass of blue heaven. The use of a fisheye lens or effect (or did you use a wide-angle lens?) makes for interesting shots. I truly enjoyed peeking at your scenic nature walk on SWF!

Lotis said...

What a beautiful place!

carol l mckenna said...

What a beautiful place and gorgeous photography ~ the stone and colors are awesome ~ thanks ~

Wishing you a Happy Day ~ ^_^ ~ thanks for coming by ~

Lady Fi said...

What a gorgeous hike!

Jeanna said...

I know I couldn't do all the rock hopping but you sure got some great shots, landscape, creative and close-ups. I love the fisheyes at the bottom and great red rock color and striations. Fun about the old celebs staying at the lodge.

Andrea said...

Those very old geologic structures are always an enigma, most specially the plants that persistently make its way to live in whatever nutrient they get from the rocks. And i smiled at your experiences, comparing it with the slug and bird, hahaha!

betty-NZ said...

What fantastic scenery! I would love to see more :)