As I write this, it’s Saturday morning, June 7th. My final day in Sedona. I arrived Monday to a wonderfully moody town amongst the canyons as clouds spilled over the mountaintops and the aurora hidden behind the haze, and am leaving on a bright and warm day after dozens of miles hiked and sharing the Moon through my telescope with hundreds of people.
I first visited Sedona on a family road trip in 2008, passing through for only a day (I don’t quite remember much else, only that we visited and ate at the Canyon Breeze Restaurant). Last year, on June 15, 2024, I visited alone during my own 20-day road trip after a conference and traveling Arizona for two weeks, and I had hosted sidewalk astronomy for the first time here. But again, that was for less than a single day, and I didn’t do any hiking.
So this visit was special. In the mornings, I hiked and saw so much more of the surrounding region than ever before, and its left me knowing just how much I didn’t do while I’ve stayed these past six days, which of course means I need to visit again…and I plan to again at the end of August following a conference in Phoenix.
But for today, I have one last sidewalk astronomy session to host this evening. After writing this blog, I’m going out to do some drone flights and capture more footage of uptown for a video I’m creating. I’ll sneak in one last short hike, then prepare for astronomy.
In the morning, I drive to northern Utah and on Monday, up into Idaho for my first of six STEM education conferences. I’ll be spending 18 days in Idaho, my first time ever visiting the state, and plan to make the most of it camping, hiking, traveling…and I may even sneak over to Glacier National Park in Montana during my week-long break between two conferences.
I want to thank everyone who has visited my telescopes this week and helped to support my journey as I continue bringing free sidewalk astronomy to towns across the country on this section of my road trip. I hope the stars in Sedona’s dark sky have wowed you, and that you continue looking up in wonder at the cosmos above.
This world is beautiful.
Alex
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