Oak Creek Terrace in Sedona, AZ

August 2010

On leaving Japan behind, once again
On July 1st at sundown, I took a break from playing Disgaea on my Nintendo DS to walk from my in-laws' house in the mountains of Nagano prefecture that sits along a small highway that runs through the valley of the Japan Alps. I walked up the mountain that lies several blocks behind the house. A light, misting rain fell as I walked up the winding road that's flanked with mirrors to alert drivers of other automobiles on the road as they twist and turn up and down the mountain. There were few cars on the road that evening though, and it was just me walking in the encroaching darkness that was interrupted by an occasional lamp post. I found a small graveyard on the other side of the waterfall that ran beside the road, and in the gloom of the surrounding forest of bamboo and cedar trees, I saw the lonely stone grave markers and the names written upon them. I continued up the road as the misting rain ceased, and I reached a tier of the large mountain where a cluster of houses were. I walked through the neighborhood and could smell from one of the houses the scent of curry being cooked. I found myself on an enormous, flat terrace that had rice fields and homes halfway up the mountain. Finally, my long moment of solitude was broken as a jogging man passed by with his small dog on a leash went by. From up there, I looked out over the lazy valley below as it embraced the twilight. The distant, purple mountains on the far side of the valley, the tops of which were invisible as they were obscured by the clouds, were enshrouded in the mist of the rainy season.

The whole experience seemed surreal. Even if I had my camera, I could not have properly captured the moment of exotic beauty with the digital camera I had bought in Akihabara a few weeks before. Perhaps if I had my old-style Canon 35mm camera with a tripod and some 400 speed film, I could have done the scene justice. I just stood and watched the beautiful blue and purple night descend upon the peaceful mountains, and it was an experience that I just cannot put into simple words. A sadness gripped me as I realized that my vacation in Japan would soon end, and that once again, I'd be leaving a part of me behind. The part of me that considers Japan my home. Such beauty should not be taken for granted, and I wished that I could have let the moment of beauty and sadness last longer. But it was getting very dark, and I wasn't sure how to get back to the house without having to retrace my steps and go back the way I'd come from. I ran down the road while I could still see the road in front of me, knowing that I'd have to be careful if a car were to suddenly appear and not expect a goofy bald foreigner in the headlights. I didn't want anyone to worry about me being gone for longer than I thought I would be.

I knew that we'd have to soon leave the beautiful, cool mountains of Japan and return to the blast furnace of Phoenix in July, the hottest month of the year. I knew there were no mysterious mountains covered in bamboo or rice fields billowing in the breeze waiting for me in Phoenix. Only those godawful saguaro cacti and all sorts of prickly, thorny plants, like those evil fluffy weeds that grow thorn-studded seeds that puncture bicycle tires when you accidentally ride over them. It was depressing to know that we were going to soon return to all of that. So, I had a nice idea to cushion that letdown.

Our stay at Oak Creek Terrace
On July 5th, Mayu, Ulan and I returned to Phoenix. The new job that was awaiting me wouldn't start right away, so I thought that it would be nice to have a vacation after our vacation and stay a few nights in Sedona, Arizona. For many, Sedona means the red rocks in the high desert, art galleries, vortexes, and hippie psychic healers. For us, the main attraction is Oak Creek Canyon just outside of town. The temperature drops as you enter the canyon, and as you drive along the narrow highway through the canyon, beautiful deciduous trees overhang the road, making cool shadows. There are places for picnics, hiking, fishing, and just relaxing and enjoying the forest.

We arrived at Oak Creek Terrace around sundown and checked in. It's located across the road from Dairy Queen inside Oak Creek Canyon. This hotel has jacuzzis and is located next to the creek in the cool canyon. We stayed there a year ago, and at the time we had the room with the mini refrigerator and microwave instead of a fireplace. We were able to save some money on food expenses by packing enough food for two nights and three days. We could care less about using the fireplace in the middle of summer anyway, and this is the cheapest room available. This year, however, the same room was already booked in advance, so we stayed in one of the regular rooms.

We walked across the road to Dairy Queen to get some sandwiches for dinner, and we ate dinner on the patio next to our room. The hotel's front desk had coupons for free ice cream too, so that was nice. Oak Creek Terrace is aptly named because below this deck, it drops down a level to another parking area and some family-sized cabins. From there, there is another terraced level below where there is a park with green grass, reclining chairs, and a gazebo with comfortable chairs. Below this terrace is the level where the creek is located. The hotel is beautifully lit at night and the stairs that lead down the levels are subtly lit. There are reclining chairs along the creek, as well as cots and a swinging bench. Last year, the swinging bench was in the water, and our little daughter (a year old at the time) loved to sit between us on this swinging bench and drag her feet through the water. We were disappointed to find that this swing was removed from the water in anticipation of any summer floods from the upcoming rainy season. We laid on the cots and looked up at the stars. Because the hotel has very minimal lighting and it was a clear night, the stars shone brilliantly.

That night, we enjoyed the jacuzzi inside our room, which was more than big enough for me, my wife, and our 2 year old daughter.

Oak Creek Terrace is actually like a resort of sorts. Not in the sense that there are tennis courts or swimming pools or anything of the sorts, but in the sense that you can check into the hotel and spend all day there, just relaxing and taking it easy. You can read a book in the shade of the gazebo, take a nap on a cot, or just sit in one of the plastic chairs in the creek and soak your feet. The next morning, we walked down to the creek to spend many hours relaxing. My daughter enjoyed splashing around in the water. While my wife and daughter walked around in the cool water, I had minnows nibbling my feet as I relaxed in a chair in the creek. I even stripped down to my shorts and waded out to the deep part, where I could sit down and the water level was up to my chin.

On the top level where the front office is, there is an outside television (interestingly enough), a gas grill, and a koi pond. One unique aspect of the hotel are the interesting sculptures that are found throughout the property, such as the leapfrogging children in the park, or the children riding an alligator.

Here is the terraced area with the grassy lawn with the gazebo and the stairs leading from this level down to the creek.

We only spent one night here, and the rest of our stay was two nights at my parents' timeshare at the Hyatt resort at the top of the hill in downtown Sedona. However, the management at Oak Creek Terrace was kind enough to allow us to return later to spend more time at their location, provided that we weren't taking up space in their parking lot reserved for their guests. Sure, the Hyatt is pretty fancy and top notch. The unit was the size of a one bedroom apartment, and outside our patio was a great view of the famous Sedona red rocks. Plus, we had instant access to the main downtown area. However, despite the class the Hyatt is well-known for, it just doesn't match the serene eloquence, peaceful ambience, and quaint charm of Oak Creek Terrace. Once you check in, your motivation to go anywhere else quickly leaves you. Just enjoy your day there and relax.

My UFO experience
OK, this is going to sound nutty, but I have seen a phenomenon in the night skies of Arizona twice now that does not make sense to me at all. Those who know me will already know that I am a huge fan of science fiction, and I own every season of the X-Files on DVD and have watched each episode at least once. That being said, I am very skeptical of the whole alien thing. I think that if somehow an alien race could figure out a way to circumvent the laws of physics and is somehow capable of interstellar travel such as through hyperspace or space fold, I'd think that they most likely would have spacecraft designed so that they wouldn't just crash land so easily on Earth. Unless maybe the aliens get into an argument along the way.

Alien 1: Well, here we are at Earth. I wanna mutilate some cows!
Alien 2: No way, dude! I wanna make crop circles!
Alien 1: Cow mutilation!
Alien 2: Crop circles!
Alien 1: We did crop circles last time! And besides, I'm driving the flying saucer!
Alien 2: Mom said I can drive the way back. Plus, she says she likes me more than you.
Alien 1: Nuh uh! She said you have a small head!
Alien 2: Shut up, you booger-eater!
Alien 1: I'm gonna kick your ass!

Then later, the UFO crashes. The government rushes in, does an autopsy on the aliens, and keep the whole thing under wraps. Sorry. I just don't think this happens as often as we are led to believe. There is so much disinformation out there.

I will tell you what I have seen. My dad used to work for APS, the Arizona power utility company. Every year the APS Volunteers program would go up to the Grand Canyon and do environmental repair work. Many times we would re-vegetate areas where tourists would cut through the forest to prevent soil erosion, repair fences, and stuff like that. I even have two pine trees I planted on the rim that I can call my own. Every time I go to the Grand Canyon, I get to say hello to these trees.

So anyhow, the whole group of us would all sleep in the gymnasium of the Grand Canyon High School. I'm prone to insomnia, and the sound of snoring from my dad and others would drive me crazy. One night I went out to the school's soccer field to gaze up at the stars. Some deer had wandered onto the field to graze on the grass. I wish I had taken an astronomy class, but as I looked up at the stars, I was able to identify the few constellations I know. There was zero light and it was a cloudless night. I was able to see satellites traversing the sky. However, I noticed what seemed to be one star moving back and forth in relation to the Orion constellation. Imagine holding your pinky finger out at arms length, and the star seemed to be moving back and forth the width of the tip of the pinky finger. There was no way this could have been an airplane or a helicopter. It was as if a plane kept reversing and going forward and reversing again. It went on for a very long time. Eventually I went back to the gym to try to fall back asleep again, but after several hours, I decided to just give up and I went back outside again. The moving star was still there, moving back and forth.

I was in college at the time, and I asked my physics teacher about this. He had no explanation. I didn't know any astronomy teacher, so I didn't ask. I haven't thought much of this experience for quite awhile, until I saw the same phenomenon again that night we stayed at Oak Creek Terrace. I counted about 3 or 4 stars that seemed to be moving back and forth. I am not quick to believe that these are aliens, unless they are very stupid aliens who have nothing better to do than to switch their gears into forward and reverse for no good reason at all. Mayu saw what I was talking about too. Not every star was moving like this, and the stars that were moving were simply moving in one axis. Some were vertical to my orientation, some were horizontal.

I've done some research on the Internet. This is not Epsilon Pegasi, the Pendulum Star. I have seen explanations like autokinesis, atmospheric refraction, and simple tricks of the eye, but what I have seen people asking about on astronomy forms and such do not really match what I've seen. I'll do some more research and find out what the heck it is. I'm sure there is some sort of natural explanation for this.

And now, for more music stuff.

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mail: greg -atsign- stevethefish -dot- net