USA adventures

We missed the "Hemelvaart" Thursday and Friday off. In stead we have "Memorial Day" (which is on Monday May 29th). The spirit of the day is best decribed as [ "To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, all Americans are requested "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence." ]. Actually Memorial Day is always the 30th of May. This year that falls on a Tuesday. To make it fit better and to have a long weekend off the Americans take a pragmatic approach and planned it for this year on Monday 29th of May. More information can be found on: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

On Sunday 28th of May we went to visit Sedona and ended up in Flagstaff . See for reference the map of Arizona on the left hand side.

SEDONA IS FANTASTIC!!!
This was our first trip out of Phoenix since we arrived. We left at 07.30 hrs in the morning and two hours later we drove into Sedona. Awesome!This is one of the most beautiful places that we have seen so far, and to add a bit of objectivity to our judgment, we are not the only ones: Sedona was chosen the most beautiful place in the USA by a magazine that I personally do not know, but is supposed to be widely recognized. Link: http://www.usaweekend.com/03_issues/030518/030518springtravel.html
In Sedona we drove around with a map we got from the Tourist Information. We visited Bell Rock, Chapel Road, the Red Rock National Park, the view from the Airport (the USA's most scenic airport), the Red Rock Loop, the City Center. Then we drove up along the Oak Creek towards Oak Creek Canyon; a mini-Grand Canyon, and almost got as far as Flagstaff. Flagstaff is a bit over 100 miles north of Phoenix, but lays on 7,000 feet (2.100 meter), whereas Phoenix is situated in a valey a bit above sea level. The temperature differences can be enormous. In the winter you can ski in Flagstaff!

Note that I took this picture with my loosy 3.1 Megapixel Sony cybershot camera; how beautiful would it have been if it would have been shot with a real camera.....

For more pictures of this beautiful place: