A view of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River.
Arizona Getaways From the Old West to the lap of luxury
By Fred J. Eckert
H
58 I N S I G H T July 29–Aug. 4, 2022
Grand Canyon National Park
Monument Valley
Sedona Phoenix
ARIZONA
From the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, Sedona is two hours away, and Monument Valley, four hours.
FROM TOP L: PIRIYA PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES, THE EPOCH TIMES, FRED J. ECKERT, SHUTTERSTOCK
opi point is widely considered to be one of the best spots from which to view the Grand Canyon. Even those who have different favorite overlook sites generally agree that there’s no other place along the far-reaching rim of the Grand Canyon that they would rather be during sunset. Our up-front panoramic view of the setting sun’s glow splashing upon the layers of rocks of the canyon was more than merely spectacular. Looking down and across the gigantic chasm at any point along the rim of the Grand Canyon is the sort of experience that’s truly breathtaking and nearly impossible to suitably describe. What you see before you is, in the view of many, the planet’s most dazzling landscape—a geological masterpiece many millennia in the making, a mind-bogglingly wondrous demonstration of the power of erosion. You stand at an elevation of about 7,000 feet, unless you’re over along the much less visited
North Rim, in which case you would be anywhere from 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet higher up. You look out over a chasm that averages about 10 miles across, about four miles at its narrowest gap, and 18 miles at its widest. Seeing the Grand Canyon is, in and of itself, more than sufficient reason to visit “The Grand Canyon State,” but we decided to take in a wider view of Arizona while we were in the neighborhood. We flew into the state capital city of Phoenix. From there, it isn’t much more than a two-hour drive north to Sedona (with a population of 12,000 people) situated at an elevation of 4,500 feet in a transition area between the mountains to the north and the desert to the south. What gives Sedona its very special look is the remarkable assortment of red sandstone formations in and around it, strikingly beautiful backdrop scenes of magnificent rocks that often seem to emit an orange or red glow at sunset and sunrise. Like the Grand Canyon, it’s a place to visit to be awed by nature’s beauty. But it also offers
