I thought Monday would be a great day to miss the crowds at West Fork. Was I ever wrong! I did not get there bright and early, but still, I figured at 10am, there would be a parking spot for me. My first clue was that Sedona itself was hopping with tourists with many out of state cars. I saw someone taking a picture while driving, another with his arm through the sunroof, and cars pulling off to the shoulder to see a view I would consider “okay.” The best views of Sedona are those you get by hiking, getting away from homes and cars. Today, I was forced to park a half mile up the road to get into West Fork, hauling two tripods, a paint box, a camera, lunch, water/vitamin water, and other painting gear. I had a spot in mind where I wanted to paint away from the trail and up against a cliff wall. The air was noticeably cold there and once in a while a breeze would blow warm air my way. I was not prepared for cold weather and quickly completed a palette knife study. Not to mention the 120 photos I took along the way. I noticed many elderly folk on the trail and on the way back, a woman had slipped and fallen at the second creek crossing. Paramedics had here stablilized, I heard that she had a possible broken hip. Sad! West Fork is amazing and many seek it’s treasures. I think I found a few:
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| spirals in nature |
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| almost done |
