Sunrise at Airport Mesa Mini-Vortex: 6 15

Once again we were up before dawn to watch the sunrise, but this time we wanted to view it from a location which looked straight at the rising sun. We had learned on the jeep vortex tour of the previous day that the location of the airport vortex was a bit in dispute. Some believe that the center of the vortex is actually on a small mound just to the east of the airport mesa .  Other's believe there are two overlapping vortexes, one at the airport, one just to the east.  Both are known as a source of strengthening, masculine, energy which is attributed with helping visitors feel physically recharged, newly self-confident and more in touch with psychic abilities.

We had seen the mini vortex site, and its parking lot on the Tuesday's sunrise photo shoot, but it's small parking lot was already full by the time our large group arrived. Knowing that the road is  too narrow to park on the side of the road, and the parking lot can be packed, Bruce and I had a two plans.  Plan A was to leave the condo early enough to hopefully get into the mini-vortex parking and a secure a good place for photography atop the small formation. (Plan B was to leave fifteen minutes earlier than Plan A, which would give us enough to park at the top of the hill (at the airport where there is plenty of parking), and walk down the hill to the mini-vortex on the Airport Mesa trail. We departed early enough to execute Plan B, but fortune smiled on us this morning, and we secured the last remaining parking spot in the mini-vortex lot.

From the tiny parking lot on the south side of airport road, little could be seen.  A wildfire in Big Bear California had filled the skies with smoke. Sedona;s famous rock formations were barely visible through the haze.

 Undaunted, we started up the trail which spirals clockwise around the mound.  It is really more of a walk than a hike until you get close to the top of the formation.  Then it gets steep and slippe. (There are steel guard rails to hold onto on the steepest portions of the slope.)  

Initially, the eastern views were unimpressive.  Everything was hazy and the outline of many formations were lost in  the smoke from the wildfire

But as we stood there and watch the beginning glow of the rising sun grow, an sense of calm descended upon me.

And as the sky changed from pink to orange, I kept thinking about how 'other worldly' the scene before me was.

I doubt that either of us had any sensations of being " physically recharged, newly self-confident and more in touch with our psychic abilities" (unless Bruce's complaint about being cold counts), but this vortex site did bring me the some tranquility that I could really feel, while the others sites we had visited had been mute to me. 

Perhaps it is just that Vortexes also happen to be spots of immense natural beauty, which may help explain the energy surge people report when visiting the sites. The mini vortex on the Airport Road sits high on a ridge that overlooks Oak Creek Canyon and Schnebly Hills to the East and Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte to the SE.. It’s quite a mystical and magical place to experience a spectacular sunrise.