Beautiful Sedona (wedding, shop, vacation)

[artyst]

to each his own.....doesn't make my top 10.

[Wingfoot]

Originally Posted by Greatday

Sedona, Arizona, 2 hours drive north from burgeoning Phoenix and 90 miles south of the Grand Canyon, lies amidst an ancient forest of juniper and pine, surrounded by the celebrated sculptured pinnacles and mystical vortexes of Arizona Red Rock Country


Sedona Arizona - Most Beautiful Place in America

How about that!!!

Sedona is quite nice, but there hundreds pf prettier places in the USA.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by Wingfoot

Sedona is quite nice, but there hundreds pf prettier places in the USA.

Please keep in mind that I was only posting the opinion of one particular publication - and I found it interesting.

I must say though that I am biased somewhat in that I grew up in Sedona (a VERY long time ago) and went to Mingus Union High School when it was in Jerome - a Ghost town. And there are several other communities we had to go through to pick up students - Clarkdale, Cottonwood - that we had to catch the bus at 5:15 AM every morning

It was an interesting time.

[Ponderosa]

Sedona is attractive, but no longer beautiful. It's basically become shopping with a view. Houses all over the hillsides, malls, traffic, forest service fees, a polluted creek in a state park where once was a bucolic stream, apple orchard, horses (and free). No thanks. I guess newcomers are impressed, but Sedona is about the worst example of people and development destroying natural beauty in the state.

[poolgirl51]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Sedona is attractive, but no longer beautiful. It's basically become shopping with a view. Houses all over the hillsides, malls, traffic, forest service fees, a polluted creek in a state park where once was a bucolic stream, apple orchard, horses (and free). No thanks. I guess newcomers are impressed, but Sedona is about the worst example of people and development destroying natural beauty in the state.

No, actually, Sedona is a community with homes for people to live in and shops and services for those folks and visitors. I am not quite sure what your description of a mall is but there are no malls here. Are we over developed?....yes to an extent but Sedona is still beautiful. Could they (whoever they are) have done a better job?....absolutely! But lets not write Sedona off all together. It is still a beautiful place in an amazing state. No place remains the same and those who knew it before are never happy with the changes.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by poolgirl51

No, actually, Sedona is a community with homes for people to live in and shops and services for those folks and visitors. I am not quite sure what your description of a mall is but there are no malls here. Are we over developed?....yes to an extent but Sedona is still beautiful. Could they (whoever they are) have done a better job?....absolutely! But lets not write Sedona off all together. It is still a beautiful place in an amazing state. No place remains the same and those who knew it before are never happy with the changes.

The last statements in your post remind me of a situation regarding a very knowledgeable poster on a South Pacific board I used to frequent regularly. Whenever a discussion about Bora Bora came up he never failed to comment on how the place had been "ruined" because it had been overbuilt since the days he first went there (when it was essentially unknown to the world of tourism) and that as a result of the increase in building (and prices) he could no longer stomach going there.

The problem with his observations (however accurate they were - and I'm sure they WERE accurate) was that for anyone who had NOT seen it "back then" they didn't have this "undiscovered paradise" standard to hold it up to (as he did) and so could only judge it against other places they had seen. So, by most peoples' standards, the place was still a paradise - and (compared to places like Hawaii) hardly crowded at all. So, in the end, it's all a matter of comparisons.

In short, your final statements are right on target. Personally, I think Sedona is an amazing place - and, as I have already mentioned, a place I hold up alongside Bora Bora. This is as high a compliment I can give a location, since I consider Bora Bora to be the most spectacularly beautiful location I have ever been (though One Foot Island - a moto (islet) of Aitutaki - is my single most favorite specific little spot on the planet).

Ken

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

The last statements in your post remind me of a situation regarding a very knowledgeable poster on a South Pacific board I used to frequent regularly. Whenever a discussion about Bora Bora came up he never failed to comment on how the place had been "ruined" because it had been overbuilt since the days he first went there (when it was essentially unknown to the world of tourism) and that as a result of the increase in building (and prices) he could no longer stomach going there.

The problem with his observations (however accurate they were - and I'm sure they WERE accurate) was that for anyone who had NOT seen it "back then" they didn't have this "undiscovered paradise" standard to hold it up to (as he did) and so could only judge it against other places they had seen. So, by most peoples' standards, the place was still a paradise - and (compared to places like Hawaii) hardly crowded at all. So, in the end, it's all a matter of comparisons.

In short, your final statements are right on target. Personally, I think Sedona is an amazing place - and, as I have already mentioned, a place I hold up alongside Bora Bora. This is as high a compliment I can give a location, since I consider Bora Bora to be the most spectacularly beautiful location I have ever been (though One Foot Island - a moto (islet) of Aitutaki - is my single most favorite specific little spot on the planet).

Ken

Can't speak for Bora Bora, but I stand by my position that Sedona is the worst case of development over-running natural beauty that I have ever experienced - certainly in Arizona. To say it is still nice in spite of the changes rings rather hollow IMO. Destruction is destruction and those who came later than I did lost vistas and experiences that I had and that is not right no matter how you nuance it. Your logic could be applied to all our "sacred" places I suppose. Why not allow condos and a resort at the foot of Yosemite Falls? It would still be lovely for those who had never seen it before. And it would be great for those whose idea of experiencing nature is looking at it through the window of an upscale restaurant.

[poolgirl51]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Can't speak for Bora Bora, but I stand by my position that Sedona is the worst case of development over-running natural beauty that I have ever experienced - certainly in Arizona. To say it is still nice in spite of the changes rings rather hollow IMO. Destruction is destruction and those who came later than I did lost vistas and experiences that I had and that is not right no matter how you nuance it. Your logic could be applied to all our "sacred" places I suppose. Why not allow condos and a resort at the foot of Yosemite Falls? It would still be lovely for those who had never seen it before. And it would be great for those whose idea of experiencing nature is looking at it through the window of an upscale restaurant.

You know Ponderosa we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. Of course no one wants to see condos at the base of Yosemite Falls. We are all so lucky that Yosemite and many other wonderful places have been made into National Parks. And we all would have benefited had the Sedona area had been made in to a National Park as well....but it wasn't and we can't change that now. What residents of Sedona can do is elect a City Council who will treat this area with the respect and care it deserves from this point forward. At this time we have two that do and the rest that don't. It is a problem that can only be fixed by the voters and qualified individuals that stand up to run.

[musicforme]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Sedona is attractive, but no longer beautiful. It's basically become shopping with a view. Houses all over the hillsides, malls, traffic, forest service fees, a polluted creek in a state park where once was a bucolic stream, apple orchard, horses (and free). No thanks. I guess newcomers are impressed, but Sedona is about the worst example of people and development destroying natural beauty in the state.

Big dittos.

My then girlfriend and I visited Sedona back in the summer of 2002. I remembered it being a very pretty place and the shopping being the second thing to do/see.

We visited with my wife's Grandmother and Aunt three weeks ago. Other than the pretty rocks, Sedona didn't seem like the same small town that I first visited in 2002. The major road construction on the way in from I-17 was a major turn-off and the endless number of shopping centers that are open now.

I visited Jerome about two weeks later and plan on suggesting to family that we visit Jerome over Sedona. It is a lot less crowded and has pretty views and able to see the same red rocks off in the distant.

[kdog]

As an avid outdoors person, I don't get the "ruined" comments. Yeah, there's a big town there now. So what ? There are endless hiking trails to get you into the back country, completely away from civilization and where the real beauty is. Of course that does require actually getting out of your car to appreciate.