Backdrop landscape: Cathedral Rock, Sedona, AZ. Before visiting Sedona, my idea of spending time in Arizona was very narrow: flat vast desert. But once in the wilderness of Sedona, not too far up north from the Sonoran Desert, surrounded by the towering rocky formations that glow with iridescent hues of red throughout the day, I felt nothing but awe. I was pleased to be there, I wanted to be there. Away from the hustling and bustling of the city, I realized I was craving this ecstatic sense of solitude.