Oh, and did I forget to mention...?

,,,that today was the day for my Red Baron impression? It was a great day for flying around Sedona, so I did a helicopter tour of the entire perimeter of the huge valley.

I shot thirty clips of video, which I'll edit when I have time at home. Video catches the experience better than stills, but these will do for now.

We flew near some ancient Indian dwellings, several hundred years old, preserved in the shadows of that dark ledge in the center. The Indians chose safe, defensible sites like that one; they could see any threat approaching from their high vantage point.

Then we flew up and down several of the immense canyons on the northwestern side of town. Fay, Boynton and other canyons are favorite venues for the hikers.

Wherever we flew, the scenery was awesome in scale and breathtaking in its rich color.

Oh--and I mustn't forget sunset last evening, when I photographed Cathedral Rocks from a little place where the water catches the reflection. For scale, my guardian angels thoughtfully provided a photographer and his model in the center of the picture--who blessedly stood still in most of my HDR sets. Nice props to show how big the scene really is...

Refuge at last in Sedona...

I heard as I drove over here from Chinle on I-40 between Winslow and Flagstaff that this section of the major superhighway across Arizona was closed yesterday due to the dangerous winds. Good thing I wasn't coming over here--I wouldn't have made it.

Needless to say, it was better this morning. I arrived mid-morning and went up on the overlook by the airport (above) looking over the part of town where I'm staying and the surrounding hills. Nice. After yesterday, comforting.

Then, back to the spectacular Chapel, this time with a tack-sharp lens. Oh, joy!


The chapel reminded me that I heard Glenn Beck say this morning that once God is dead, people with troubles turn to the only remaining god--government, which is only too happy to have them as wards of the state. Funny--that idea doesn't seem to be working out too well in Europe.

Nouriel Roubini said yesterday that if one thing goes wrong, Europe's economy will go down in a heap. I think I'll stop listening to the news and take pictures. These two are from up on the platform on either side of the chapel. The first is toward Bell rock in the distance and the second toward cathedral Rocks.