I'm not sure how I found this church, maybe read about it somewhere, but you can see it jutting out from the red rock mountain in Sedona as you drive into town and I told Eldy, we've just got to go see this church! It's a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired design. You drive out Chapel Hill Road, and then drive a winding climb to the top where the 200 ft. tall Catholic church sets between two red rock formations that accentuate the 90 foot tall cross.
There is a massive stain glass window that gives you an incredible view of the red rock formations across the road. There are no mass services at the chapel but there is a short prayer service on Mondays at 5:00 PM. There is no charge to come and view the church and sit inside and reflect, but donations are appreciated.We spent some time inside and out feeling the inspirational setting of the church and its views.
Arizonans voted it one of their Seven Man Made Natural Wonders of their state in 2007. We can see why, it was so beautiful and awe-inspiring to sit inside......
Tomorrow we head for the Grand Canyon with all of the family in a cavalcade of cars...hopefully, we'll all get there. Now, this is my side of the family..and if you've been following our blog for awhile, you know that Sparky is spatially challenged, she can't find her way out of a paper bag, and other members of her family are spatially challenged as well, even with GPS! So we'll see...any time the Baughmans go anywhere en masse, somebody loses somebody and the conversation goes like this..We all start dialing on our cell phones, saying, "Well, we're here! Where are you?" "Well, we're here but you're someplace else. Where the he@@ are you?" "I thought you said we were leaving at 9:00." And so on and so on...the OTHER side of the family, the spouses of the all the Baughmans (and by the way, it's pronounced "Boffman") just roll their eyes and laugh. It's a longstanding family joke! And this should be interesting as cell phone service is slim to not working around here in the canyons. Not sure we'll get back in time to do a blog tomorrow night, so if you don't find one, hang on! It's coming soon after that.....thanks for reading! Sparky and Eldo
That church is one of our favorite places in Sedona...we just love the area...such a spiritual place!
ReplyDeleteYa, so first off, apparently the "Asshole" has a couple bucks, which makes me think of that expression, "more money than brains". Plus, somebody in some bureaucracy somewhere must have issued a building permit. Hm....Looking for some extra property taxes maybe? Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteBut what I first wanted to say was, I've seen some interesting stuff in Yurp (read: Europe, only a la "red neck") and just the same, that Church is pretty cool. That Frank Lloyd Wright had a few good ideas, didn't he??
Sorry you didn't find out who he was and what he does but I have to say that thing is OSTENTATIOUS! Don't blame the locals for thinking he's really showing off his bucks.
ReplyDeleteGood luck finding everyone in time to enjoy the Grand Canyon. With the Boyds it's "what do you want to do today'? "Oh I don't care, what do you want to do". "I don't care either". And the outlaws are all saying Just make a decision will you. LOL
Not every Sedona local feels that way about that mansion. The old woman (and the above "Bob") are your typical example of what really is ugly in beautiful Sedona and that is the "old Sedona snobbery" that is still alive and well here unfortunately. The owner has spent millions to keep his home attractive and it certainly adds to the Chapel's appeal as a major attraction. Imagine being up at the Chapel and having to look down on just another normal roof or two and some unkept yards.
ReplyDeleteThe owner is a medical tools inventor who perfected laser surgical devices which has made laser eye surgery commercially possible. He has also invented other surgical devices. Actually he lives in Scottsdale and has a mansion there that is even bigger and more ornate than the one in Sedona! That is his main home and the one in Sedona he calls his "Sedona cabin getaway." I've also been told that he is a very friendly and generous person. In case you were wondering what the round thing on top is it's an astronomy telescope that cost him about $4 million! Also Frank Lyod Wright DID NOT design this chapel! The lady who had it built designed it but had Wright's son who also was an architect look at her plans. She may have gotten some advice from him but this was not designed by him. She apparently had high connections in New York where she lived at the time.