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<\/a>Aside from the beauty of the red rocks of Sedona, this town has also become known for its spirituality<\/strong>, which manifests itself in several basic ways: crystals<\/strong>, which, to some, are believed to have spiritually healing properties that can help you balance your body, mind and spirit. Another is the vortex<\/strong>, which are locations from which intense energy spirals from certain positions on the earth, where again, some people believe these vortexes have the power to heal as they are thought to be swirling centers of energy that are conducive to healing, meditation and self-exploration; places where the earth seems especially alive with energy.\u00a0 There were times when I thought I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone.\u00a0 <\/strong>These vortices reportedly (not sure who\u2019s reporting) bring feelings of peace, harmony, balance and tranquility, personal reflection, deep insight and clear mind . . . and in our case a hankering for a martini.<\/p>\nBut if red rocks, crystals or vortexes don\u2019t float your boat, there are also UFO tours<\/strong> (yep, there\u2019s aliens here as well!), psychic readings<\/strong>, aura photography<\/strong> or chakra balancing<\/strong> \u2013 don\u2019t ask!<\/p>\n El Tovar restaurant with a . . . view?<\/p><\/div>\n With a dizzying spiritual headache, it was time to move on to the Grand Canyon, <\/strong>one of the Seven Wonders of the World.\u00a0 To understand the complete history of the Grand Canyon, you\u2019d need to go back about 10,000 years \u2013 no, we\u2019re not doing that!\u00a0 Most of you have been there, so you know it\u2019s spectacular, big . . . grand, even!\u00a0 After checking in at the Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon, which, by the way isn\u2019t so grand, we readied for our dinner at the El Tovar Hotel<\/strong> restaurant, which boasts that it\u2019s right on the rim of the Grand Canyon with spectacular views.\u00a0 They don\u2019t mention that there are only two tables in the entire, dimly lit, restaurant that are by the window with a view and, maybe I should tell them that they really don\u2019t light up the Grand Canyon at night, so if you are fortunate enough to get one of those window-tables, your view is of the lighted sidewalk next to the trash bins.<\/p>\n The next morning it was to the free on-off bus, which was a much better value than the dinner, as we alternated walking and riding between bus stops along the rim \u2013 truly spectacular.\u00a0 My travel tip here is, if you haven\u2019t been to the Grand Canyon, go; if you have been, it really hasn\u2019t changed that much in the last several thousand years, it\u2019s still spectacular!\u00a0 You may have noticed in the group photo of us here, that the Johnsons are missing.\u00a0 No, they did not fall into the Grand Canyon, they had already seen this Seventh Wonder of the Natural World <\/strong>and opted to head south to Tucson for this part of the trip.<\/p>\n Johnsons Jump?<\/p><\/div>\n The next morning we headed home, stopping for breakfast at place I would<\/em> recommend, Anna\u2019s Place<\/strong> in the city of Williams<\/strong>, about an hour south of the Grand Canyon \u2013 great old building (another former house of ill-repute) and a great breakfast.\u00a0 Not wanting to make the trip home too long and boring, we stopped for the night and had a spectacularly funny dinner (the dinner wasn\u2019t funny, some of us were) at Don Vitos<\/strong> Restaurant at South Point<\/strong>, Las Vegas<\/strong>, where we spent the night, paid our dues and drove home in the morning.<\/p>\n A beautiful trip, with beautiful neighbors, beautiful scenery and lots of tourists, but quite honestly it was good to see people out enjoying themselves again \u2013 may normal be with us all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow Aside from the beauty of the red rocks of Sedona, this town has also become known for its spirituality, which manifests itself in several basic ways: crystals, which, to some, are believed to have spiritually healing properties … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/El-Tovar-2.jpg\")
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