Sedona, Arizona.
Where Ancient People Stood
In Sedona, the hiking options are plentiful and extremely high quality. And to make them even more special, many lead to, or pass by, ancient dwellings left behind by native tribes that inhabited the land many hundreds of years ago. Some of these dwellings are visible from the main trail and therefore easily accessible to tourists like me. But there are countless others that only an adventurous and daring local would ever know about.
I had the exceedingly good fortune of meeting people that knew the area like the back of their hand and trusted me enough to show me some of the hidden dwellings—the ones I would have never found on my own. They didn’t say it, nor did they need to—the location of these dwellings is not to be shared. And it was easy to see why.
The dwellings that are regularly visited by tourists looked nothing like the ones that didn’t—they were often partially, or completely, toppled over. Unsurprisingly, I heard stories of people climbing on them or doing yoga poses on top of them—even removing some of the ancient artifacts found at these sites. Sometimes these toppled dwellings were rebuilt in order to mimic how it looked initially, but they didn’t even come close. The originals were constructed with such care and skill, using rocks that fit together like puzzle pieces, each stone selected to correspond with its surrounding stones, barely a gap throughout the entire structure. Sadly, a dwelling strong enough to withstand hundreds of years of weather, wind and wildlife, doesn’t stand a chance against the intensity of tourism.
There’s something special about these sites—it almost feels as if there’s wisdom in the air—like simply being there makes one a better, or wiser person. It was an incredible honor to be standing where ancient people stood, walking the same paths, crossing the same streams, passing the same trees, stepping upon the same stones and admiring the same views. I only wish more people could be trusted to experience this for themselves, while simultaneously protecting it for others.
"We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." -Native American proverb
