Tuesday April 9, 2019
Road video and map – Sedona to Scottsdale, AZ
I had never stayed in Sedona before but have discovered a place I would like to return to. Yesterday evening I was able to walk to a local bar for dinner and, this morning, to a wonderful breakfast served outside. The crowds I had experienced yesterday afternoon seemed to have disappeared and the temperature, walkability, vibe and beauty of the place was extremely relaxing.
I would have happily mooched around Sedona all day but this is a road trip and so I hit the road for Phoenix mid morning. I chose to follow a route that included two scenic byways and most of the 180 miles were interesting and easy driving. I didn’t take any photos en-route but the video represents the journey well.
My only tourist stop was at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. This is a vast museum with global coverage of music making devices. The ground floor has a rotating exhibit (currently the invention of the electric guitar), a gallery of artists that have used instruments creatively, one where visitors can play instruments and an instrument restoration workshop. The second floor has large rooms for each continent displaying the instruments and music of pretty much every country on earth.
Every display has a flat screen TV looping up to four videos of artists playing the instruments in that display. When you enter the museum you are given a headset that automatically plays the appropriate TV audio as you approach each display. I spent almost three hours there viewing topics that particularly interested me, listening to some great music and skimming the other displays but it would probably take three days to see everything.
The international approach of the Musical Instrument Museum is obvious in many ways and this world map embedded in the floor of the circular stairway leading to the second floor was a particularly attractive example.
Every country had its own display of instruments and at least one TV playing its music. This is about one third of the Indonesian area.
There were many historically significant instruments on display including this guitar which Elvis Presley played at each of his concerts from his comeback TV special in 1968 until his last concert in 1977.