One of the most beautiful places on earth has to be Sedona, in Northern Arizona. Although I've not been there yet, I've spent hours recently exploring the land and culture there. How? I've found the BEST resource for exploring Sedona, online. Sedona.tv is an extraordinary video portal for Sedona and its gorgeous scenery.  On Sedona.tv, you can explore all aspects of vising and living in Sedona. Also called Red Rock Country, Sedona has incredible natural rock formations and luscious greenery. We were lucky enough to sit down with Megan Aronson, of Sedona.tv. She's also our Sedona Editor, for Wandering Educators! Megan is truly an asset to both Sedona.tv and Wandering Educators - she's a treasure trove of experience, kindness, and enthusiasm. We were lucky enough to sit down with Megan and talk about Sedona.tv, the beauty of Northern Arizona, and more. Here's what she had to say...

WE:  Please tell us about Sedona.tv...

MA: Sedona.tv is the #1 Guide to Sedona & Northern Arizona. We have over 100 online videos on What to See & Do all around the Northern half of the state. The site provides tons of information for both locals and tourists with complete listings of the best places to stay and play. Visitors can plan their trip to Sedona through videos & information on Sedona Lodging, Shops, Restaurants, Galleries, Tours & Activities, Sightseeing, Spirituality, Spas & Healing, and Day Trips - all the things one might want to learn about before traveling to Sedona. Our travel-savvy videos can really guide visitors to help them make the most of their time in the Red Rocks.

WE:  What was the genesis of the site?

MA: We started out with RED ROCK TV CHANNEL 16 about 10 years ago airing a 90-minute Virtual Tour of Sedona that helps visitors find their way around town and discover the best things to see & do. From the comfort of your hotel room, you can tune into Channel 16 day or night to make plans for the rest of your trip - where you want to go, what you want to see, places to eat, etc.

We always knew our videos were meant for more than just TV. Back when we started, online video was getting too much hype and too little bandwidth. For several years we had a very simple website RedRocktv.com that wasn't video-centric. Then in 2005, we were the first to create an "Online Video Portal" to Sedona on the web when we launched the original Sedona.tv site. At that point, we were a little early to the "online video" game-the world just wasn't ready for us yet. So we sat back and watched very carefully and in 2007 our in-house "web guru" & Production Manager, Bruce Fraser, started noticing sites like YouTube, Metacafe and Google Video taking off. He decided to start uploading the dozens of videos we had to these sites and many others. The response was almost instantaneous and quite surprising. In a matter of months, it became very clear to us that internet users were hungry for online videos, especially in the Travel category. In fact, in less than a year we had over 200,000 views of our various videos on these sites, and they were being viewed by our demographic: 35 and up.

So we started working on Sedona.tv 2.0 and we are proud to announce that on February 10th of this year, we launched a completely redesigned and expanded version of the site. We built it from the ground up fully search engine optimized for Web 2.0 and because there's nothing else like it out there (yet!), we expect it to become one of the leading websites for Sedona & Northern Arizona. After 10 years serving the Sedona community, we've learned so much about what exactly visitors and locals from around the world want to know about our magical little city. Now we want to take what we've learned and use it to help Sedona's visitors plan the most unforgettable vacation of their lives.

WE:  Who produces your gorgeous videos?

MA: It's a team effort on the majority of our videos. We are big believers in the power of collaboration! Our Production Manager, Bruce Fraser, Camera Man/Editor/Web Designer Lee Israel, Salesperson Pamela Butters and myself (Dir. of Sales & Marketing) usually collaborate on writing, production and post-production with the help of our Executive Producer Richard Ruehs. Over the last year or so, with much of our time & energy being put into the creation of the new web site, we've brought in a few outside Producers to help us as well and we're glad we did because it's added a lot of variety to our content.

The owners and creators of the Red Rock TV16 Virtual Tour and Sedona.tv are Dawn & Richard Ruehs. Theyíve been here in Sedona for almost 25 years running this business as well as their Production Company, Creative Video. Richard & Dawn also produced one of Sedona's most popular full-length videos "Natural Wonders of Sedona," a best-seller known for its dramatic aerial footage of our scenic Red Rock Country.

WE:  There's something special about Northern Arizona - can you tell us more about why people love to go there (and keep returning)?

MA: Northern Arizona is home to two of the most dramatic landscapes in the Southwest - the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Just a couple hours apart in drive time, it's worth the short trip off the beaten path to visit the Grand Canyon via Sedona. A quick amble off the main interstate leads you down a typical desert highway. Then you come around the last bend and you're met by towering mountains of red staring down at you from all directions. Rock formations like Courthouse Butte, Bell Rock, Thunder Mountain, Snoopy Rock, and Coffee Pot Rock appear as though they were shaped from red clay. Hoodoos, spires, arches and cliffs illustrate a landscape unlike any you've seen before - and there's this energy, this unspeakable yet tangible sense of vibrant peace - the kind that just makes you go "Ahhhh." You might not be able to describe it but trust me, if you're in Sedona for any length of time at all you will feel it.

Most people think of Arizona and think of rattlesnakes, saguaro cacti, and desert - lots of desert. Sedona is an amalgamation of all four elements - earth, water, air and fiery red rocks. At an elevation of 4500 feet, we've got an idyllic climate with mild seasons and crisp, clean air. Weíre also surrounded by National Forest in every direction. Oak Creek flows gently through Red Rock Country down Oak Creek Canyon from Flagstaff offering year-round adventures of cliff-diving, tubing, swimming, and fishing. You can take a trip down nature's own "Slip 'N Slide" at Sedona's Slide Rock State Park or get crazy and do some cliff-diving at Grasshopper Point.

From Sedona, a drive up Oak Creek Canyon will have you stopping for photo-ops at every turn. Oak Creek Canyon was named one of the Top 10 Most Scenic Drives in America by Rand McNally. In the Fall when the leaves start changing, the highway's lined with rich hues of crimson, brilliant oranges and creamy yellows creating a scene so picturesque its almost too beautiful to be real. About 30 minutes up a windy road of "switchbacks" you climb in elevation to the mountain town of Flagstaff where you'll find Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort and the infamous Route 66. From there, the Grand Canyon is just an hour or so further.

Sedona has a lot more than just scenery though, rivaling Sante Fe for our rich arts & culture scene centered in the heart of Sedona on Gallery Row. Some of the world's most talented professional and emerging artists call Sedona home, exhibiting their artwork at any of 50+ local galleries.

Those looking to discover great new restaurants on their travels will be pleased to find an epicurean feast for the taste buds in Sedona. Try a little taste of the southwest with some unique delicacies like Rattlesnake Brochette or Cactus Fries paired with a bright fuchsia-colored Prickly Pear Margarita.

Shop 'til you drop in Uptown Sedona's shopping district, along Gallery Row visiting landmark Plazas like Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village and Hillside Sedona. You'll find boutique shops, New Age Centers, Wine Bars, and the kind of "Mom & Pop" shops that make Sedona truly unique.

Of course, we've also got unbelievable accommodations (talk about a room with a view - there's not a bad view in town!), world-class spas, jeep, helicopter, and other adventure tours and a list a mile-long of things to see & do. Visitors often stumble upon Sedona and change their travel plans completely to accommodate more time in this breathtaking city. They come to find healing, transformation, empowerment, enlightenment, rest and relaxation and sometimes they come and never leave! We've heard countless stories over the years of CEO's, Wallstreet Bankers, and people from every walk of life dropping everything and moving to Sedona on a whim. We even have a name for this chronic condition - we call it "Red Rock Fever!"

Sedona's unusual beauty speaks to our souls year-round - when a light snow creates an awe-inspiring contrast between red and white, when the leaves start to change in the Fall and you just want to dive right into a big pile of 'em, when Spring arrives and the flowers start to bloom, when Summer comes and you can dive into the pool or float gently down Oak Creek to cool off. Some say it's the Vortexes, some say it just is...all we have to say is whatever "It" is, Sedona has IT!

WE: What can visitors find on your site?

MA: There are dozens of videos in every category on Sedona.tv from Artist Profiles, Tours & Activites to Spirituality and Spas, Health & Healing. In addition to the usual travel categories, you can read up on current events on our Sedona.tv Blog, plan a visit for the next local art or music festival with our Calendar of Events, learn more about the Native American history of the area, visit our online Store and even download a Free printable Map of Sedona.

You can plan a day trip to other Northern Arizona destinations like our famous "ghost" town Jerome, the Verde Valley, Prescott and Flagstaff or you can visit the Sedona FAQs page to get answers to all your burning questions like "What exactly IS a Vortex?!" I've written a great deal of the content on Sedona.tv because I've been working in the tourism industry here for nearly 10 years. Before coming to Red Rock TV, I was the Senior Concierge at one of the major resorts here in town. Every single day, I was asked the same questions over and over. I've tried to answer as many of those questions as possible on Sedona.tv but if you can't find the answer there, post a comment on our Blog!

WE: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

MA: We are so excited to be featured on Wandering Educators. This site is so  professional, classy, and well-done. The accomplishments you've made with  it in such a short time are simply amazing. Now that I'm the Sedona Editor,  I'm looking forward to sharing more about Sedona with this wonderful  community. Please watch for more articles on the best of Sedona & Northern Arizona coming soon!

WE: Thanks so much, Megan. Your site is a treasure - especially when it is cold out here in Michigan, I head to your site and dream of being warm, and among such beautiful colors! We're planning a trip!

For more information, please see:

sedona.tv/