Monday... Spirituality and History
We woke up early this morning, primarily because we went to bed so early yesterday. Kef had about 4 hours worth of conference calls in the middle of the day, so we went right to breakfast to make sure we were back in time for all of that. We drove south to a restaurant we saw on the way here... Black Bear Diner. I had a delicious cinnamon roll french toast, plus walked away with a cute coffee mug. Kef had a hearty chicken fried steak with hashbrowns, eggs, and a ginormous buttermilk biscuit.
We had a few minutes to spare before Kef needed to be back, so we made our way up to a scenic lookout point near the airport. The view was spectacular... and apparently many tour groups come here. There was a large group that had come in to the Phoenix airport at the same time we did. But they moved on and cleared some space for us to get a view and some photos from a prime location. The parking lot attendant told us we should come back for sunset... our parking pass would still be good. Awesome!
I'd done a little reconnaissance for things to do while Kef was on her call... things she wouldn't mind missing. That means: churches and historical things. First on my list was a drive past the Methodist Church. I'd seen a picture of it, and it looked like it was probably beautiful... and probably had a nice view. I knew from their website that they were closed on Mondays, so I just planned to go pull into the parking lot and take some pictures of the view. As I turned the corner, what to my wondering eyes did appear... a pumpkin patch! Of course they have a pumpkin patch. There were workers out, so I put on my best "Bev Campisi" and went and introduced myself. I was rewarded for my bravery by Miss Janie leading me inside to have a look at their worship space. There is a beautiful mosaic cross behind their altar made by a local artist who is a church member. They also give a small version of this cross to their visitors... and so she gave me one! Lovely! She showed me another piece of art by the same artist... a relief of Jesus, with a bronze likeness of a little girl offering up to him everything she has (a few coins). It was a great stop... and I ended the visit by showing the lady manning the pumpkin patch (in Janie's place - while she was talking to me) how to determine the price of a pumpkin. You see, I know these things. They obviously get their pumpkins from the same place Grapevine does. :)
Next on my list was just down the road... the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Owned by the Catholic Church, this holy place is an artist's dream come to life. Over 2 million people each year come here to take in the natural beauty of the red rocks and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Just look around you... there are no words.
Moving on to the historical part of my day... I made my way past art galleries, spiritual healing centers, and tourists by the hundreds hovering around buses and shops full of things you don't need but probably want. The historical society has established their museum in the home of an early Sedona family, the Jordans. They had a farm and prosperous apple orchard on this site. The home was built in 1931, which seems like it ought to be not-so-old. But one must remember that this area was not settled as early as other parts of the country. The first settlers really didn't come here until 1876... by then the Civil War was over. When this house was started in the 1930's, most people were still living in tent houses! So this was super fancy... even more so considering that it had electricity and a telephone.
The house was still filled with many of the original furnishings... Morris chairs and column cabinets and a handy chuckwagon-inspired fold-down table. The pantry was filled with period canisters of oatmeal, spices, and an amazing 1930's cardboard egg carton in pristine condition. Room by room, the historical society and local families have gathered significant pieces of Sedona history, including the spinning wheel and sewing notions of the town's namesake, Sedona Miller Schnebly. I made a list of things I wanted to look up later... like the meaning of "Bugscuffle" and whether Indian Gardens is still in existence. I pondered whether our Grapevine Ernsts are any relation to Max Ernst, the father of Dadaism who made his home in Sedona. You weren't supposed to take photos inside the museum, but I just couldn't help myself when I saw this shovelin... a violin made out of a shovel! For pity's sake.
A young family was touring the house at the same time, the children speeding through the rooms hunting the items on their scavenger hunt list. The young man hollered to his sister that she must come quickly to see the huuuuularious bathroom. I thought for sure he was referring to the circa 1948 bathroom with a wood-skirted bathtub. Instead, the object of his hilarity was the toilet, which had been taped shut so people wouldn't use it. I thought his hilarity was huuuuuularious.
Walking on, I noticed how much storage there is in this old house. Almost every space in a wall was used to create a cabinet or closet or drawer or cubby for storing something. I can imagine how fabulous this house seemed to others in the area, who were still living in one room (in most cases). The kitchen would be a dream, even to people today. Ponderosa pine cabinets, handmade by a Baptist preacher turned carpenter... scalloped edges made by tracing Ruth Jordan's pot lids... towel drying rack built into the cabinet to the right of the farmhouse sink... cooling pantry with screened-in holes allowing cool air to flow from under the house up into the attic, leaving a nice cool place to store vegetables and bread for lasting freshness... and to top it off, another chuckwagon table.
To my eye, though, the most exciting pieces in the museum were the family history profiles, the map of Sedona with old homesteads mapped out, and the aaaamazing Myrtle Smith Archives. This room of the house was floor-to-ceiling shelves of notebooks full of newspaper clippings, photographs, letters, and transcripts. Each were indexed by family name. The transcripts consist of interviews that have been done with various community characters, as well as transcribed diaries of Sedona's founding families. There were records of fires, territorial school registers, park records, and so much more. I only wish I knew someone - anyone - who traces their ancestry to Sedona and needs look-ups. It would have been fun to look through with a purpose. But the room is open to visitors, so anyone who is in the area is welcome to come research.
After leaving the house proper, I made quick work of the surrounding buildings... including the fruit processing barn, which now houses Sedona's 1942 firetruck, still used for parades and carrying Santa. The farm shed held an old McCormick-Deering tractor (including its original user manual) and the first set of teal McDonald's arches, used to make the Sedona restaurant blend in with the surrounding area. Golden arches simply won't do in such a scenic landscape. (Kef wondered later why Burger King wasn't forced to make their sign more appropriate too.) There was a replica "tent house" (the way most people were living when the Jordans built their farmhouse). Last on the tour was an old telegraph office that was used in a John Wayne movie. It was inside this exhibit that I learned that about 90 old western movies were filmed in and around Sedona. I had no idea. Also, my name would be really, really long and tedious to telegraph with Morse code.
By the time I had absorbed about all I could from this historical park, it was almost time for Kef to be finished with her phone calls. Back at the hotel, we discussed the very important work of scheduling a spa day, and I took a quick nap before we headed out again. We drove the route I had earlier in the day so that Kef could see all the things I thought she might enjoy visiting later.
Our primary objective at this point in the day was finding a good spot to take in the sunset. The airport scenic lookout called us back, and we arrived just in time for the colors to be vibrant. Although we had to dodge tourists (note: we're not tourists), we still got some stunning panoramas.
Earlier in the day, I had noted a nice Italian restaurant called Dahl and Di Luca that looked promising. Although they didn't have any reservations available, we called and found that they had immediate seating for two. They make their own pasta, so I was looking forward to trying that (I don't believe I've ever had made-that-day-from-scratch pasta before). After our calamari appetizer, I enjoyed the Pollo Alla Rustica, and Kef had the special, which included clams, mussels, scallops and shrimp in a champagne bisque. The meal was served slowly enough that we digested each course in turn, and were able to finish off with tiramisu and lavender panna cotta.
A fitting and filling end to a beautiful Sedona day!
We had a few minutes to spare before Kef needed to be back, so we made our way up to a scenic lookout point near the airport. The view was spectacular... and apparently many tour groups come here. There was a large group that had come in to the Phoenix airport at the same time we did. But they moved on and cleared some space for us to get a view and some photos from a prime location. The parking lot attendant told us we should come back for sunset... our parking pass would still be good. Awesome!
I'd done a little reconnaissance for things to do while Kef was on her call... things she wouldn't mind missing. That means: churches and historical things. First on my list was a drive past the Methodist Church. I'd seen a picture of it, and it looked like it was probably beautiful... and probably had a nice view. I knew from their website that they were closed on Mondays, so I just planned to go pull into the parking lot and take some pictures of the view. As I turned the corner, what to my wondering eyes did appear... a pumpkin patch! Of course they have a pumpkin patch. There were workers out, so I put on my best "Bev Campisi" and went and introduced myself. I was rewarded for my bravery by Miss Janie leading me inside to have a look at their worship space. There is a beautiful mosaic cross behind their altar made by a local artist who is a church member. They also give a small version of this cross to their visitors... and so she gave me one! Lovely! She showed me another piece of art by the same artist... a relief of Jesus, with a bronze likeness of a little girl offering up to him everything she has (a few coins). It was a great stop... and I ended the visit by showing the lady manning the pumpkin patch (in Janie's place - while she was talking to me) how to determine the price of a pumpkin. You see, I know these things. They obviously get their pumpkins from the same place Grapevine does. :)
Next on my list was just down the road... the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Owned by the Catholic Church, this holy place is an artist's dream come to life. Over 2 million people each year come here to take in the natural beauty of the red rocks and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Just look around you... there are no words.
Moving on to the historical part of my day... I made my way past art galleries, spiritual healing centers, and tourists by the hundreds hovering around buses and shops full of things you don't need but probably want. The historical society has established their museum in the home of an early Sedona family, the Jordans. They had a farm and prosperous apple orchard on this site. The home was built in 1931, which seems like it ought to be not-so-old. But one must remember that this area was not settled as early as other parts of the country. The first settlers really didn't come here until 1876... by then the Civil War was over. When this house was started in the 1930's, most people were still living in tent houses! So this was super fancy... even more so considering that it had electricity and a telephone.
The house was still filled with many of the original furnishings... Morris chairs and column cabinets and a handy chuckwagon-inspired fold-down table. The pantry was filled with period canisters of oatmeal, spices, and an amazing 1930's cardboard egg carton in pristine condition. Room by room, the historical society and local families have gathered significant pieces of Sedona history, including the spinning wheel and sewing notions of the town's namesake, Sedona Miller Schnebly. I made a list of things I wanted to look up later... like the meaning of "Bugscuffle" and whether Indian Gardens is still in existence. I pondered whether our Grapevine Ernsts are any relation to Max Ernst, the father of Dadaism who made his home in Sedona. You weren't supposed to take photos inside the museum, but I just couldn't help myself when I saw this shovelin... a violin made out of a shovel! For pity's sake.A young family was touring the house at the same time, the children speeding through the rooms hunting the items on their scavenger hunt list. The young man hollered to his sister that she must come quickly to see the huuuuularious bathroom. I thought for sure he was referring to the circa 1948 bathroom with a wood-skirted bathtub. Instead, the object of his hilarity was the toilet, which had been taped shut so people wouldn't use it. I thought his hilarity was huuuuuularious.
Walking on, I noticed how much storage there is in this old house. Almost every space in a wall was used to create a cabinet or closet or drawer or cubby for storing something. I can imagine how fabulous this house seemed to others in the area, who were still living in one room (in most cases). The kitchen would be a dream, even to people today. Ponderosa pine cabinets, handmade by a Baptist preacher turned carpenter... scalloped edges made by tracing Ruth Jordan's pot lids... towel drying rack built into the cabinet to the right of the farmhouse sink... cooling pantry with screened-in holes allowing cool air to flow from under the house up into the attic, leaving a nice cool place to store vegetables and bread for lasting freshness... and to top it off, another chuckwagon table.
To my eye, though, the most exciting pieces in the museum were the family history profiles, the map of Sedona with old homesteads mapped out, and the aaaamazing Myrtle Smith Archives. This room of the house was floor-to-ceiling shelves of notebooks full of newspaper clippings, photographs, letters, and transcripts. Each were indexed by family name. The transcripts consist of interviews that have been done with various community characters, as well as transcribed diaries of Sedona's founding families. There were records of fires, territorial school registers, park records, and so much more. I only wish I knew someone - anyone - who traces their ancestry to Sedona and needs look-ups. It would have been fun to look through with a purpose. But the room is open to visitors, so anyone who is in the area is welcome to come research.
After leaving the house proper, I made quick work of the surrounding buildings... including the fruit processing barn, which now houses Sedona's 1942 firetruck, still used for parades and carrying Santa. The farm shed held an old McCormick-Deering tractor (including its original user manual) and the first set of teal McDonald's arches, used to make the Sedona restaurant blend in with the surrounding area. Golden arches simply won't do in such a scenic landscape. (Kef wondered later why Burger King wasn't forced to make their sign more appropriate too.) There was a replica "tent house" (the way most people were living when the Jordans built their farmhouse). Last on the tour was an old telegraph office that was used in a John Wayne movie. It was inside this exhibit that I learned that about 90 old western movies were filmed in and around Sedona. I had no idea. Also, my name would be really, really long and tedious to telegraph with Morse code.
By the time I had absorbed about all I could from this historical park, it was almost time for Kef to be finished with her phone calls. Back at the hotel, we discussed the very important work of scheduling a spa day, and I took a quick nap before we headed out again. We drove the route I had earlier in the day so that Kef could see all the things I thought she might enjoy visiting later.
Our primary objective at this point in the day was finding a good spot to take in the sunset. The airport scenic lookout called us back, and we arrived just in time for the colors to be vibrant. Although we had to dodge tourists (note: we're not tourists), we still got some stunning panoramas.
Earlier in the day, I had noted a nice Italian restaurant called Dahl and Di Luca that looked promising. Although they didn't have any reservations available, we called and found that they had immediate seating for two. They make their own pasta, so I was looking forward to trying that (I don't believe I've ever had made-that-day-from-scratch pasta before). After our calamari appetizer, I enjoyed the Pollo Alla Rustica, and Kef had the special, which included clams, mussels, scallops and shrimp in a champagne bisque. The meal was served slowly enough that we digested each course in turn, and were able to finish off with tiramisu and lavender panna cotta.
A fitting and filling end to a beautiful Sedona day!
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