Orienting ourselves on our hike in Sedona. (C) Sara Dyer

In New Hampshire, we now talk about a polar vortex.
In Sedona—in fact, in most of Arizona—apparently there are spiritual vortexes. Once you enter Sedona, there are signs for rocks and crystals everywhere. We walked into a little shop and read all about the different qualities this or that crystal or stone had.
In the shop, it seemed perfectly reasonable to spend $51 dollars on a heart-shaped rose quartz crystal the size of a tablespoon.
From home, it seems less reasonable, but far more reasonable than before we ever went to Sedona.
I still think about that crystal and wonder what I’m missing out on.
Anyway, I’ve defined the vortex in my mind as a place where the mystical layers of the world are closer to where we can see them and feel them. Where the world we don’t see comes closer to the world we do see. And things do feel more special and more mystical there—the color of the earth, the rock formations, the sky.
Dan and I went on a hike around Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. We started at the Bell Rock trailhead, looping around Bell Rock via the Bell Rock Loop and then skirting the edge of Courthouse Butte on the Courthouse Butte Loop. At certain points, even though we weren’t too far from the road, the sound of traffic and people just disappeared. All that’s left to do is slip around the earth and admire the huge rocks—all their divots and striations.
I never feel small when I’m in big big nature or at least, I’ve never felt that way so far in my life. I just feel good.

View of Bell Rock near its trailhead. (C) Sara Dyer