Sedona seems to be a requisite stop for those on a spiritual journey. It's become famous for attracting new age vortex hunters, leftover hippies and retired Hollywood cowboys. Any visitor would be hard pressed to overlook how the red rock formations surrounding Sedona are imbued with a sense of spirituality ­ monoliths that have been stamped by recent sojourners with names like Bell Rock, Courthouse, Church House, Steamboat and Cathedral Rock...

Sedona seems to be a requisite stop for those on a spiritual journey. It's become famous for attracting new age vortex hunters, leftover hippies and retired Hollywood cowboys. Any visitor would be hard pressed to overlook how the red rock formations surrounding Sedona are imbued with a sense of spirituality ­ monoliths that have been stamped by recent sojourners with names like Bell Rock, Courthouse, Church House, Steamboat and Cathedral Rock.

Sedona also meant I could finally camp outside, a nice reprieve from the schizophrenia of too many nights in a no-frills Phoenix motel. Located at the end of Oak Creek Canyon, the Cave Springs Campground is 11 miles north of Sedona and boasts cold spring water with a level of purity high enough to rival store-bought brands. Stopping here gave me the opportunity to fill up the requisite gallons needed for a few days of bushwack hiking and campsite cooking in southern Colorado. Fifty miles from anywhere is a good place to have a gallon of water.

Sedona became a benchmark on my journey. What I had initially mistaken for homesickness was instead a feeling of shameless joy. Perhaps it was because of the dramatic change in landscape, as I moved from the arid plains surrounding Phoenix to the upthrust of the Colorado Plateau that appeared in the windshield just outside Sedona. More likely, however, it was simply the realization that I was finally far enough away from home to feel at home.

Watch your head,
Marlin