The Magic Trees of Sedona
Something
magical happens in Sedona every December.
Well since it’s Sedona, let’s say something more magical happens in
December. Along Highway 179, between
Bell Rock and the Town of Sedona, Christmas trees appear along the road. They just appear. One day they’re not there and the next
morning they are. Not ordinary Christmas
trees, these are heavy with thick tinsel garlands and bright round balls. Each tree is different but they all seem to
be decorated in the same style, as if there were a plan. This year among the reds and greens, silvers
and golds, and purples and blues, there are many covered with red, white, and
blue garlands and ornaments.
Since the trees appear on Coconino
National Forest land where federal regulations require visitors to stay on the
trails, decorating trees isn’t allowed.
It is rumored that families sneak along the road late at night with
boxes of decorations, but that rumor is harder to believe than magic.
Wherever these magic trees come from,
they disappear as mysteriously as they appear.
On New Year’s Day there are no trees.
If you look carefully you might find a few shards of a red or silver
ornament or a bit of glittery purple tinsel, but the trees are gone. The red rocks and the green trees are still
there and still magnificent, but they seem a little drab for a few days.
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I
wrote this in 2001. The trees no longer appear. The
nature-loving people of Sedona have stopped decorating forest trees for
fear birds will be attracted to the glittering decorations, eat, and
die. So let's keep our trees indoors or with animal friendly
decorations.
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Christmas trees are the best part of Christmas. Here's a repeat post of my trip to Albuquerque in 2014 and the great Christmas tree in Old Town Albuquerque.
What Do 135 Christmas Trees Look Like?
The weekend before Thanksgiving in 2014 I went to Albuquerque for
the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards banquet. As an aside my book Heads in the Clouds did win the Romance category. But even without that thrill spending a weekend
in Old Town Albuquerque at the elegant Hotel Albuquerque was a delight.
Shops, museums, art, lots of jewelry. And chilies – hanging from rafters and mixed into luscious
New Mexico dishes.
While visiting the historic old San Felipe de Neri church on
the Old Plaza, I noticed a tall pole with skeleton-like protrusions in the Plaza
Don Luis. Left over from the Day of the Dead celebration? I didn't think so.
When a bucket truck
arrived and placed a pine tree on the top, I asked the clerk at the gift shop, located
in the Sister Blandina Company that once housed the Sisters of Charity, what
was happening. Then I saw a flatbed truck pull up with a lot more, really
a lot more, trees. And workers began inserting trees into the skeleton from the top
down.
As the day progressed, so did the tree, until one hundred
and thirty-five (135) trees merged into one gigantic tree.
Workers continued to decorate the the tree with lights, white snowflakes, and red bows until the glorious
tree was complete!