How Does Sedona Differ from the Mayweather/Pacquiao Fight?

Other than the obvious answer - One is a geographic location and the other was a professional boxing match (astute observation for those who came up with it) - the answer to the question from the article title is: Sedona actually lives up to the hype! Oh sure, some boxing purists will argue Mayweather-Pacquiao was an excellent technical fight. But that's the same as a geography "purist" arguing Orrin, North Dakota is technically as nice as Sedona. I've seen great fights, Mayweather-Pacquiao was not one. I've been to both cities Orrin doesn't come close.

Since I moved to Arizona in the summer of 2007, I've heard the phrase "Sedona is gorgeous. You have to go!" at least 100 times. With all this hype, I was worried I was in for disappointment due to overly high expectations. Was I in for the Star Wars Episode I of scenic destinations? Thankfully, that was not anywhere near the situation...

Jenn and I rolled into Sedona from Cottonwood around 9:30 AM on Sunday morning. We headed straight to Old Towne Sedona to grab Sunday brunch. I have to say for a city that would seem to attract a brunch crowd, there really weren't many options in the Old Towne area. We settled at HP Cafe, one of the few cafes we could find. Breakfast was alright, nothing to spectacular. The ambiance was very nice, which made me feel a little awkward in my dusty hiking shoes and NDSU sweatshirt. I'm glad I didn't have any other clean clothes at the time because the couple seated next to us was from North Dakota.

I kind of take offense when I tell people I grew up in North Dakota and they follow with, "Oh! Do you know (insert name)?" Would you say that to someone from New York? The only problem is that usually within one or two degrees of separation I know someone who does know that person. In the case of the couple at brunch, their niece was my next door neighbor and her husband coached me in high school football. It really is a small world, especially when you're from a small state!

As for the actual hiking, we set out for Coffee Pot Rock via Teacup Trail. I knew Jenn wouldn't be able to resist a geologic feature with coffee in the name. The hike was nice and not too strenuous. The view is the one featured in the picture above. As an added bonus the trail is barely used, so even on a Sunday we had a pretty peaceful hike. It was a great warm-up hike. The mixture of colors in the views is amazing! It was much nicer to look at than the different shades of brown of most of the AZ desert scenery.

Our final stop for the day and for the trip was Devil's Bridge. I think what drew us to this out of all the landmarks in the area was that Devil's Bridge sounds dangerous and exciting. In reality, it's not all that dangerous but it is pretty exciting. We did the "strenuous" version of the hike. The only thing more strenuous was an extra few miles. The difficult portion was the part that was included in the easy hike too.

Devil's Bridge is an interesting landmark. The narrowness of the bridge makes you much more aware that there is nothing below you than Tonto Natural Bridge. While standing on the bridge, I know my palms were sweaty and my heart rate increased a little bit. I'm not sure what it is about suddenly losing your bearings just because you know there is no safety net. Any person standing on a 10 foot sidewalk wouldn't be afraid of falling off (draw your own life metaphor from that). Obviously, if you trip and fall you're going to land on the ground below your feet, not roll off to the side against all laws of physics.

But then again, something about Sedona seems to make things in the area immune to the laws of physics....

How?!