How the West Won Them

By: Annabel V Sclippa

The Verde Valley is a surreal landscape that begs a picture-perfect sunset on its dramatic red rocks, and one can readily imagine cowboys and Indians suddenly appearing. Just like you’re in an Old Western, and thus many have been filmed right here. Heart of the Land of Enchantment, and home to two of the three most visited sites in Arizona: sultry Jerome and stunning Sedona. Perhaps this is why Sedona was known as “Little Hollywood” from 1923-1973, and was the home of over 100 movies in the heyday of Hollywood westerns and cult classics.

Perhaps, also why handfuls of famous people have come from Hollywood to find peace, to be healed, and to forge new frontiers. So many, it seems, that it’s easy to get carried away, attaching any name who passes through to the list of ‘have lived here,’ making it a challenge to define fact from fiction.

Landscape Love of Artistic Visionaries

Perhaps one of the most historically famous creative inhabitants of the Verde Valley, Max Ernst, had painted the landscapes of Sedona before laying eyes upon it. Ernst was both flushed out of Germany for being Anti-Nazi, and out of France for being a Nazi, then was packed up and shipped, with the majority of his paintings, to the USA, by the grace and finance of Peggy Guggenheim. On his cross-country journey from Guggenheim’s patronage in New York, to his bright new future in California, he came upon Sedona. Without hesitation, he and his wife, Dorothea Tanning, began their plan to return, to build a home, and to settle here. This wonderful article delves deeper on Ernst’s life and his Sedona connection:
https://thewanderlife.com/sedona-arizona-imagined-landscapes

Once stating in an interview with Fox 10 News “I didn’t even know anything about it. I saw it in a dream, several times,” may presently be the most public figure who lives here: Maynard J Keenan. Keenan is lead singer of three bands, still creating new music, and touring the globe with mostly Tool, then Puscifer, and at times A Perfect Circle. Multi-dimensional in his life experience, he moves gracefully between being this Rock Star, to Earth Worker, Wine Maker, Restaurateur, Wine Cooperative Visionary, Author, Filmmaker, holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, is a fine Family Man, and what one would call a Homesteader. He believes in The Art of Work and walks the talk, as exemplified in this series by Revolver:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrcJz63En94

If you’d like to take a tasting tour of Keenan’s creations, in Old Town Cottonwood he owns Four 8 Wineworks, Four 8 Fried Chicken, Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria, and Velvet Slippers AKA Caduceus Ventura Room: an omakase-style dining experience. He also owns, with his wife, Queen B Vinyl Cafe. Queen B features a bar & restaurant, plus vinyl store, in-house seamstress In The Design Studio, and top barbering services by Barbifer. Need a fun take-home gift? The Design Studio offers DTG printing = Direct To Garment Printing = buy a coffee, take a pic with your friends, leave with your fav new pic printed on tote bags = be instant cool cats!
https://queenbvinylcafe.com

I’ve been to each and every location, plus all of the ones they previously had in Jerome and Clarkdale, and can solidly vouch for the consistently fantastic food and drink. The intentional wines, meads, hard cider and sparkling wines are well-balanced and delicious. The location menus are creatively crafted, and headed up by Chef Chris Smith, Chef Brian Laughlin, Chef Ray Ortiz, and Chef Brett Vibber. My favorite ATM is Chef Chris’s Four 8 Fried Chicken with the sides of Fennel Slaw and Hush Puppies. My favorite Tasting Room ‘hostess with the mostest’ is Lindy at Four 8 Wineworks. For those not catching it yet – Arizona is the 48th State – thus, the Four 8. We will save descriptives of the other chosen names, for another article.
https://merkintrattoria.com

When I write Keenan is homesteading, I mean for real. A couple ‘for examples’: the duck eggs used to make the pasta come from animals on their property, and the apples in the scratch apple pie (my other favorite, it’s as big as my face, is an MJK original, and only available at Queen B Cafe) are from their orchards. As well, the coffee and gelatos they serve are their own. Maynard’s wife, Jen, keeps me straight on details, “We don’t grow the coffee beans, but we do roast them in-house, personally by MJK when he is not out on tour.” I mean, what doesn’t the man do? The wine comes from their vineyards, and the grapes they grow. Also, many of the vegetables and herbs are sourced from their very own greenhouses and grounds.
https://four8friedchicken.com
https://four8wineworks.com

Keenan was based in Los Angeles for a spell before he moved to Jerome, “I moved to LA in ‘90, and ran screaming in ‘95,” said Keenan in that same Fox 10 interview. When he made his way to Jerome 30 years ago, he had an instant connection, so strong it was a “no brainer” for him to open his PO Box the very same day. Keenan is a multi-Grammy winner, returning him to LA for stints, as well as his voracious touring schedule, but his albums are mainly recorded in Arizona.
https://www.toolband.com

And the Wine Goes On

Also in the Verde Valley wine industry, is actor, editor, writer and movie producer, Sam Pillsbury of Pillsbury Wine Company, serving 100% Arizona Estate Grown wines in an historic home just outside of Old Town Cottonwood. Pillsbury himself has directed 32 films to date, including Free Willy 3: The Rescue, and Where the Red Fern Grows.

Now he is racking up wine awards. He has brought home to Arizona, no less than 120 medals over the last ten years just from the annual prestigious San Francisco Chronicle’s Wine Competition. These include two “Best of Class,” eleven “Double Gold,” and fourteen “Gold” medals. Also of note: his 2009 Pinot Gris was served in the White House. Pillsbury has grown many single grape hits: Chardonnay, Malvasia, Mouvedre, Syrah, Petite Syrah, Grenache, Viognier and Symphony.

Mr. Pillsbury himself often appears for events at his wine room, imparting many vibrant details of the entire wine-making process. Equally knowledgeable is his curated staff, include Manager Val Fisch, her husband Jason Fisch, and previous TR Manager who has returned home to Pillsbury to roost: Sara Massey. His crew have been hands-on: from understanding the land, to the grape selection, and having partaken in the melangeing of the perfect blend, many sounding like a book title: One Night Stand, Diva, Inappropriate, WildChild, and more covers to come. Check out their two tasting room locations and online wine shop here:
https://www.pillsburywine.com

I Love Lucy and How the Ball Family Arrived in the Verde Valley

After you turn into Cottonwood from SR260 onto the 89A, just past the drive named Camino Real, you may notice on your left a big arrow announcing The View Motel, swooping up a mysterious drive. This motel has an outstanding view and a unique history. It has been owned by the Ball family since 1977, and was originally purchased through the sale of three other of their Cottonwood lodgings.

First, let me give you a little Ball Family history. When Lucy and Desi Arnaz (character name Ricky Ricardo) divorced in the 50s, Lucille Desiree’s (nee Ball) brother, Fred Ball, had recently lost his job in the film industry. Everyone needed a change, so Fred’s next job was to go search out land in the desert. One of the brokers Fred worked with had a stunning cousin named Nazoma Roznos’s (Zo), and the rest is history.

Fred and Zo married, and because of her roots here, they purchased numerous pieces of land in Cottonwood. When they moved to town permanently in 1970, they first bought the Motor Inn Trailer Court. Still a trailer park today, it is located at the corner of Coconino and N 16th Street.

Sometime between 1970 and 1977 they purchased two more lodging properties, starting with the Verde Valley Motel. According to Zo and Fred’s son Geoff Ball, the Motel was, “so cute, hidden by all the growth and mesquite bushes. It had just a little dirt drive, and was a little rock thing.” It had only five rooms, and Lucy’s mom Dee Dee stayed in Room #5 every Thanksgiving to cook dinner for all of them. That little Verde Valley Motel is now Concho’s Mexican Restaurant, and still a sweet little rock building right on Main Street. The current restaurant’s booth seating was the Motel Office back then. The area to the left with a patio in front of the parking, and the cashier and kitchen inside, was the five rooms for lodging, each with their own bathroom.

Lastly they bought The Little Daisy Motel, with the same name and location as today. As a side note: some consider the spot in front of The Little Daisy the geographical center of the State of Arizona. When I look at a map of our State I concur, but back to the Ball Family. In 1977, they sold the Motor Inn, the Verde Valley Motel, and The Little Daisy to purchase The View Motel. “A good draw for folks rambling into Cottonwood who are up for stumbling upon a place without a plan,” Geoff told me, reminiscing the words of his father Fred. Today, The View Motel is still owned by the Ball Family, by Geoff and his sister June Jackson, who remain in the area. For bookings and rates, visit:
https://www.theviewmotel.com

And Along Came A Lucy-Lover, Worthy of Her Setting

Terrie Frankel, the surviving Doublemint Twin of the 1965/66 pair, owns and lives in the Seven Arches House AKA the ‘Lucille Ball’ house, which overlooks Tlaquepaque in Sedona. Lucy and Dezi never lived there, but Ball at one point owned the hillside, and her brothers, including Fred Ball, as in the Fred portrayed in I Love Lucy, and the father of aforementioned Geoff, built two houses, one of which Frankel now occupies.

The Frankel twins had a career thick with activity, and not just chewing bubblegum. They wrote the New York Times’ Best Seller You’ll Never Make Love in this Town Again, and co-penned the movies Lunch Wagon, and High Heels, and with others, wrote the books Tales from the Casting Couch, Unfinished Lives, and on their own wrote the musical Heaven on Broadway.

They came to Sedona to escape the hectic world of Hollywood, and reflect on their lives, from their simple start of volunteer performances in Chi-Town, through their rise to star status. When you pass the Ball-Frankel house, you can see life-sized figurines of The Twins, Lucy, and, at Christmas, Santa Claus, waving to you from the balcony. Inside, Frankel has greatly honored Lucy with images and relics of her (mingled with Frankel’s own) Hollywood histories. Proudly displayed is even the old small upright piano Lucy herself used to play, a gift from Geoff Ball, and a rare piece of Lucy’s musical story. Frankel remains active in the Sedona community. Visit her website here:
https://sedonasevenarcheslive.com/meet-terrie-frankel

More Musical Melodies

Local legends who started here, then bloomed into Hollywood fame, include James Roy Horner. Horner attended Verde Valley School in Sedona. He went on to become an American composer, conductor and orchestrator of film scores, writing over 100 of them. This was all before his tragically early death at only 61 years old; the result of an accident in his turboprop airplane, of which he was the sole occupant.

Horner’s first major score was in 1979 for The Lady in Red, but he established himself as an eminent film composer with his work on the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. His score for James Cameron’s Titanic is the best-selling orchestral film soundtrack of all time, for which he won two Academy Awards. He also wrote the score for the highest-grossing film of all time, Cameron’s Avatar.

His list of movie scores continues to read as a list of Best Movies Ever: Aliens (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Apollo 13 (1995), Braveheart (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Legends of the Fall (1994), Jumanji (1995), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Deep Impact (1998), The Perfect Storm (2000), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Troy (2004), The Legend of Zorro (2005), The Karate Kid (2010), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), and the list continues.

Singer/Songwriter Michelle Branch is from Flagstaff. Born prematurely, at only 3lbs 11oz. Branch says, “I was eager to get into the world.” And to start singing. She recorded her first Beatles’ cover, reworded, “She’s Got a Chicken to Ride,” and mailed it off to her grandmother, at three years old. At eight, the family moved to Sedona. By 15, she had left school and was being homeschooled. It was later that year she signed with music manager Jeff Rabhan, who is still her manager today.

Michelle eventually signed with Madonna’s label, and worked with Lifehouse, Jude, The Calling, Sheryl Crow, The Dixie Chicks, and Carlos Santana, gaining Michelle worldwide recognition. That final duet ‘made her,’ afterwards being nominated for “Best New Artist” and winning “Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals” at the Grammy Awards in February 2003. She has gone on to perform at the Superbowl, Latin VMAs, headlining the Pepsi Smash, Humanitarian of the Year, MMVAs, and was the first person to perform on top of the Madison Square Garden marquee. Her fifth and latest record, The Trouble with Fever, was released in 2022. Voila, my favorite review of the album:
https://thatmusicmag.com/album-review-michelle-branch-the-trouble-with-fever

A new shining star whom I have been hearing right and left about in Sedona, is Tyler Carson – AKA – the Fiddler on the Rock. Tyler moved here after a life-changing trauma, to find inspiration, hope and healing. Carson started playing the fiddle at five. Eventually his younger sister joined him and their music ignited. They started busking on the corners of Victoria, Canada, and released an album. Carson wanted to make a bigger impact. So, he moved to Nashville in his 20s, hoping to find like-minded performers, and dreamed of inspiring with his singing.

When he was diagnosed with Spasmodic Dysphonia, and started losing his voice, he had a complete breakdown. For years he struggled, until he re-discovered the power of his violin. “It became my voice,” Carson describes on CBS Mornings. He creates and performs regularly now, “inspired by Sedona’s surroundings.” More here:
https://www.fiddlerontherock.com (Tyler Has Been Selected For Our Next Cover Story)

Christy Fisher, a Jerome resident, has mostly been known for her fashion design, and Midas Touch of hanging with famous folks. She moved here in 1990 after she, “took a left instead of a right, and fell in love with the town immediately.” She saw a For Rent sign, handed a man the first and last month’s rent, then went home to Florida to pack up. Her next words ring a repeat of what I have heard from many here: that her move to the area happened “just like that.”

Now Fisher is dedicated to her music, more than fashion. She used her first Social Security check to buy a PA for her ‘Rock & Roll Band,’ which didn’t exist yet. She then used her second check to cut a CD. No stranger to LA, she lived there for a few years, and at a young age was carrying around fabrics to shows, where she would brazenly sneak backstage and offer to transform them into outfits, which she did for the likes of Prince, Cher, and Jimi Hendrix.

Magical music influences seem to follow her: In Gainesville, Tom Petty was her neighbor; in Boulder, Eric Clapton, and on Sunset Boulevard, it was David Lee Roth. Visit her in Jerome, or on her website to see her perform at one of her many local shows, and ask her more about her wild stories:
https://christyfishermusic.com

A Star is Born

Tim McClellan, founder and former owner of Western Heritage Furniture in Jerome’s High School Gym, has spread his starlet wings. This inventive furniture designer, who exemplifies his work through storytelling, “inspired by the rich history and dramatic landscapes of the American West,” is now host of DIY Network’s Boomtown Builder. He has also appeared on Ellen Degeneres’s HGTV Show Ellen’s Design Challenge, ABC’s The Fab Life, and the Ellen Degeneres Show, as well as in numerous books, magazines, Arizona Highways TV, Furniture Today, and on Arizona’s Channel 3.

Tim McClellan Designs, his current company, was featured on Yellowstone,
and is a furniture supplier for Green Gables, the licensed furniture producer of the show. From a combo of this, and also making a small appearance on Season 2, McClellan found himself in attendance at the Premiere of the 5th Season in Houston, rubbing elbows with the best of them. He and Kevin Costner will be seeing each other soon, at the Western Spirit Smithsonian Museum in Scottsdale for the Museum’s 10-year Anniversary Soiree https://westernspirit.org During the evening, McClellan’s one-of-a-kind Yellowstone Saddlebags will be up for auction.

Mr. McClellan is currently pitching his new passion: Garage Bars. What do you get when you have an old garage and you really want a super cool bar? See his concept here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r14fE1lh-g
For this and other chances to work on projects with Tim, I’d recommend hopping onto his site soon:
https://www.timmcclellandesigns.com

Hollywood to Old Town Cottonwood

Tom Gilson and his sister Camille have been beloved Old Town Cottonwood residents, and the children of legendary Hollywood parents: Saundra Edwards and Tom Gilson (Senior), who met on the Burbank Lot. New York-born Tom was discovered in 1953 by director Henry Hathaway, who gave him a small role in Prince Valiant. Saundra Lee Edwards was LA-born, and was first discovered by a photographer at the sweater counter of a department store. By 1955 she was featured in Photo, named Miss Anatomy, was on the cover of Gala, and in May 1957 was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month.

By 1958, Saundra and Tom were both in the movies. The tall, powerfully built Gilson played roles in TV western series such as Maverick, Lawman, Tales of Wells Fargo, and Cheyenne, and the movies The Crowded Sky (1960), Young and Wild (1958) and 77 Sunset Strip (1958), but perhaps his best-remembered part was in an episode of the classic sitcom The Phil Silvers Show, in which he played a variation on Elvis Presley named “Elvin Pelvin.”

Saundra had signed on with Warner Brothers, and celebrated completion of her role in their film A Fever in the Blood, by marrying Tom. Three months later, in December of 1961, their son Thomas S. Gilson was born when his sister Camille was a few years old. Years later he moved to Cottonwood, where he, his sister and his mother lived for some time to escape the fame and enjoy anonymity, before Saundra moved to Palm Springs. The mother and son remained so close, that Saundra preceded her son’s passing in 2017, by only a few months. Camille once had a Cafe in Old Town Cottonwood where the Tavern Hotel stands now, of which many still dreamily recollect her fine breakfasts.
https://thetavernhotel.com

Robert Shields, famous mime and comedian, formerly of the Shields & Yarnell TV Show is now an active artist who lives in the area. After showing his documentary, My Life as a Robot, for the first time at last year’s Sedona International Film Festival, it has won many film festival awards and has now been picked up and is streaming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peykfEKsY24

The last time I met with Robert was at his home on the outskirts of Clarkdale, and he was as creative, entertaining, expressive, kind and generous a person as one might ever imagine.

Area Attractions that have a heartstring to Hollywood include the Blazin’M Ranch of Cottonwood. Just blocks outside of Old Town and on the same road as Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Blazin’ M Ranch is a popular tourist attraction offering a unique blend of entertainment, dining, and a taste of the Old West. Yet few who visit know that the ranch features repurposed buildings that served as sets for the 1992 film Universal Soldier.

Directed by Roland Emmerich, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, the film was shot near Clarkdale near the old Verde Valley Country Club, just a few miles away, showcasing the area’s stunning landscapes. Blazin’ M Ranch offers participation in its Hollywood connection by giving visitors a chance to explore the movie set settings, participate in cowboy-themed activities, and enjoy live performances, including music and comedy shows. You can even dress up in era costumes and take your B&W photos for the memories.

If you’re planning a visit, be sure to check their schedule for special events or activities. My favorite are the Holiday Shows.
https://blazinm.com

The Verde Canyon Railroad (VCRR) in Perkinsville tells a long history of train aficionado Hollywood tales. “Traveling an historic route completed in 1912, Verde Canyon Railroad began scenic operations in 1990, and over the past 35 years we have welcomed over two and a half million passengers deep into the wild heart of Arizona,” Ellen J.D. Roberts of the train staff wrote to me. “We are so fortunate to meet people from all over the country and all over the world… and share the fascinating history of our canyon.”

Featured in the 1962 academy award winning movie How the West Was Won starring Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, John Wayne, Walter Brennan, and many more, Perkinsville was transformed into “Gold City Junction” where Reynolds, acting as old ‘Auntie Lilith Prescott’ deboards. The train route was also featured in a short segment of Midnight Run with Charles Grodin and Robert DeNiro, while other parts of the movie were filmed in Clarkdale and Sedona.
The train remains a retreat for celebrities: Ted Danson, Senator John McCain, anchorman Hugh Downs, and Ernest Borgnine have all come to ride, some more than once. Carol Spinney aka Big Bird also rode, and according to Roberts they cherish, “a photo of him and a Big Bird drawing he did for our train crew.”
https://verdecanyonrr.com

Renowned western author Louis L’Amour in Education of a Wandering Man, his best-selling autobiography, wrote about the VCRR, “Another place I often went, was the wilderness area of Sycamore Canyon in Arizona. In those days, there was a small railroad…(in) a beautiful area, near Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona, but kept even now as a wilderness, as well it should be.” And it has been. L’Amour’s work is riddled with Arizona spots and one could write a piece just on this. Almost 40 of his novels are set in Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico; a pinnacle as these four states join together at the Four Corners.

Hotel Love Affairs

The Cottonwood Hotel was part of movie sets in the 1946 Desert Fury starring Burt Lancaster and ‘Lizabeth Scott, 1967 Stay Away, Joe starring Elvis Presley, and 1987 Dudes starring Jon Cryer. John Wayne and Gail Russell romanced at the Hotel during their 1946 filming of Angel & the Badman. Mae West roomed at the Cottonwood Hotel during the Roaring Twenties, and again in the 1930s, and finally on her way to a grand opening premiere in Phoenix. Located in the nationally-registered Cottonwood Commercial Historic District (aka Old Town Cottonwood), it is the City’s longest standing business and hotel with the same name and location, since 1917.
Settings for Screens

There are two buildings still standing that are the remains of the first cinema houses of the Verde Valley, and were owned by the Becchetti family until 1955. One in Old Town Cottonwood is in the building now housing the Tavern Grill, and you can read on their menu about its history as the theater, and the building itself surviving more than one fire. The theater in Clarkdale, although currently inactive, is still identifiable by the newly updated box office facade front. It sits to the left of Smelter Town Brewery when you’re looking at it from Main Street. Stop into Smelter for some local brew while you’re exploring.
https://thetaverngrille.com
https://www.smeltertownbrewery.com

Back in the day, Joe Becchetti would drive to LA to gather the reels, (and go to the beach), then drive back with the new movies and posters in hand. Ticket counts were on an honor system, and determined the rent per movie charged by the studios. “The folks in LA thought they were pretty sneaky sending in a ‘mole’ to buy first and last tickets, but the Verde Valley towns were so small that everyone knew everyone, so he stood out as a stranger,” explained Joe Becchetti’s granddaughter, Donna Kimsey in a phone interview.

Kimsey remembers during 1955/56, laying on the mesa watching horses being chased by white men dressed as Indians, acting for a film. Her father Don, Becchetti’s youngest of six kids, had taken over his dad’s running of the cinema, and became a location scout for movies filmed in the area. She recalls, “At the time, the Grand Theater in Clarkdale cost 10cents, and the Rialto in
Cottonwood only 5cents, for the same movie, so it was a matter of social standing which one you went to.”
In 1955, both locations were purchased by the Allen family. The Grand of Clarkdale was closed, and the Rialto of Cottonwood continued, eventually becoming the longest running indoor theater in the USA from 1923 to 1998, under the Allen and Nordeen families’ ownership.

Today, Sedona is home to the impressive Sedona International Film Festival. This premiere event celebrated its 31st Annual in May 2025. Running in multiple locations including Harkins Theater Sedona, the Sedona Performing Arts Center, and both the Mary D. Fisher and Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatres, plus Old Town Center for the Arts in Old Town Cottonwood. According to their website, “From features to shorts, documentaries to animation, and foreign films to student films, you will be treated to a cinephile’s dream … NINE?DAYS, and more than 150 films!” In my experience, it is nothing short of Heaven. Visit their website to buy your tickets, and for year-round events:
https://sedonafilmfestival.com

Fact or Fiction?

Orson Welles lived in Sedona, and now his daughter continues his family presence here. Or maybe not. From what I could find, Beatrice Welles was active in Sedona for many years, but put her house on the market in 2018, with a desire to return to England. I have no confirmation either way at this time.

There have been sightings of some who may or may not live here, but certainly love to visit or have visited: Jane Russell, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Madonna, Bob Dylan, Mike Tyson, Oprah, Muhammad Ali, Stevie Nicks, Regis Philbin, Lisa Marie Presley, Nick Nolte, Martha Stewart, Sharon Stone, Al Pacino, Ann Miller and Donald O’Connor, and the list goes on. I can vouch for Nicolas Cage having been there and was lucky enough to get a photo with him once upon a time at the film festival.

Walt Disney. I saved this biggie for last. Walt Disney’s presence in Sedona, and the Verde Valley in general, seems to be of great debate. Most Sedona residents I asked say he absolutely lived here, and thus the road ‘Disney Lane.’ Stories include that he almost opened a Disney Land between Cottonwood and Sedona, but for the lack of water. However, after scouring biographies, Wikipedia, and reading numerous online articles about the history of the man, and the multi-national corporation,
I only have found this solid fact: an obscure movie produced by Disney, The Legend of Lobo (1962), was filmed in Sedona.

One fact remains true, the Verde Valley is a surprisingly diverse, beautiful and unexpected region of contrast for you to visit. It has rivers in the deep of the desert, and award-winning wines in a place that until recently would never have been considered wine country. And at the heart of it all, the rich and famous live in a small little town named after Sedona; a girl from the mid-West who married the postmaster, and rode off into a fiery red sunset.