Slides of Sedona follow the text

Arizona's Piece of HeavenFlying into the "other" Grand CanyonLong ago an inland sea covered most of the southwestern United States. Where the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport in Flagstaff, Arizona, is now located — at 7,014 feet msl — is the top of the Mogollon (muggy on) Rim, a 200-mile-long escarpment that defines the southern limit of a geological region called the Colorado Plateau.

Over time the tides, storms, and currents of that ancient inland sea eroded the land to create this escarpment. When the sea receded it left behind a 500-square-mile area studded with multicolored pillars of red, blond, and tan sandstone that's now called Red Rock Country. Sedona, Arizona, sits in the middle of Red Rock Country. Oak Creek flows down from the Flagstaff area through Sedona.

In 1867 the first white settlers arrived. Attracted by the year-round water provided by Oak Creek, the settlers planted fruit trees and sold their harvest as far away as Los Angeles. The town name became official on June 26, 1902, when U.S. Postal Service officials approved the naming of the post office. Sedona is named after settler T.C. Schnebly's wife.

Would Sedona still draw four million visitors a year if the first name proposed for the crossroads — Schnebly Station — was accepted by the Postal Service in 1902?

No one knows the answer to that question, but it's well known that the word Sedona stirs the imagination of vacationers throughout the United States and even throughout the world.

Author Zane Grey located his 1924 novel The Call of the Canyon near Sedona in Oak Creek Canyon and described the coming of spring with these words: "As if by magic it seemed the green grass sprang up, the green buds opened into leaves, the bluebells and primroses bloomed, the apple and peach blossoms burst exquisitely white and pink against the blue sky. Oak Creek fell to a transparent, beautiful brook, leisurely eddying in the stone-walled nooks, hurrying with murmur and babble over the little falls. The mornings broke clear and fragrantly cool, the noon hours seemed to lag under the hot sun, the night fell like dark mantles from the melancholy star-sown sky.“

Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona are known far and wide for panoramic vistas layered with brick-red- and soft-tan-colored rock. From the vantage point near the airport, the eye can scan from west to east over a 180-degree arc and take in rock formations with names such as Chimney Rock, Lizard Head, Sugarloaf, and Coffee Pot Rock. Down in the tree-filled flatlands below rests Sedona.

State Highway 89A threads its way through Sedona — first in an east-west orientation from West Sedona, then turning 45 degrees to the northeast at the Y, where state Highway 179 Ts in. East of the Y along 89A is uptown Sedona.

The U.S.S. Sedona — an aircraft carrier airportThe Sedona Airport sits 500 feet above the town on a flat-topped mesa. Because of steep drop-offs on both ends of Runway 3/21, the airport is sometimes called the U.S.S. Sedona because it's as close to an aircraft carrier landing as general aviation pilots are likely to make. Unlike carrier-based U.S. Navy and Marine pilots, however, GA pilots don't have to drop their arresting hook on a cable to stop. The runway, at 5,129-feet long by 100-feet wide, is ample for typical GA airplanes and even most light jets.

But there are some cautions. Field elevation is just 170 feet shy of 5,000 feet msl, so pilots flying normally aspirated airplanes must remember to adjust for the decrease of engine power and lift because of density altitude. Fortunately the air temperatures in Sedona are pleasingly moderate, with high temperatures averaging 85 degrees Fahrenheit in mid-July.

The other variable to consider when flying into Sedona is turbulence, which is created when prevailing winds fetch up against the walls of the airport mesa. As the winds are forced up, they tumble near the ends of the runway. When wind-speed gusts are reported to be 20 knots or greater, it's wise to carry a little extra airspeed and plan to touch down a little long.

Telephoning the Sedona AWOS (928/282-1993) for a few days before arriving to get an idea of morning, afternoon, and evening local weather conditions is a good idea. These conditions are predictable and shouldn't keep any competent pilot from flying into and enjoying a visit to Sedona.

Following are slides of beautiful Sedona(Use Page Up/Page Down to advance slides)

The restaurant at the airport

The airport is on a mesa. It’s like landing on an aircraft carrier