A Sea of Red

By: Gabrielle Marshall and Michelle Marshall

Being from Wisconsin, you would think 68° is a great temperature. Not too hot. Not too cold. But if you were at Devil’s Bridge in Sedona, Arizona March of 2022, you would think differently. I had never been somewhere and considered 68° too hot until then. Dry as a tongue on its second day without water. There was no humidity in the air and no rain to come. The blazing sun’s rays beat down on my back as my mother and I trailed up to the beginning of this hike. 

Everywhere I glanced I saw auburn, rust, and squash-colored dirt. The mountains: rust, the hills: rust, and the ground beneath me = rust. And it was beautiful. We stroll through many twists and turns and as we trek along, I spot a beautiful purple to my left. To my surprise, lavender is growing in bunches along the side of the trail and sprouting leaves and grass pillows. I stop to admire the beauty amongst the rust before gulping down my water and continuing along the hike. 

Eventually, we reach the dreaded climb. A tower of stairs created by the red land itself just waiting to be ventured. We climb in misery, but with excitement for the view that’s awaiting us at the top of the staircase. As I take my last few steps to the top, I can see that the view is just within reach. Stepping onto the plateau of red, I look ahead and see the whole trail we just climbed. It was surreal. Before me is a sea of red-orange with little specks of green mixed in. And just as I’m taking it all in, I hear my name. “Gab! Turn around and smile! I need a picture!”