Northern Arizona

Taking our time

Flagstaff

Spending 5 of past  the past 6 winters in Arizona for work, we would make a brief stop in Flagstaff. With no reason to rush to Mesa and  record heat, we booked three night at the Flagstaff KOA. Hiking the Fatmans Loop Trail from the campground was a delight with plenty of rock formations and views.

 We had spent so much time away from cities, I was ready for Pita Jungle carry out.

It was quite tasty but Mike is such a good cook and it is nice to sit outside and enjoy our meals at home like in the "olden days"..

Sheri Basey thought this might be Fatman's mask.

As we were finishing our hike, it seemed that everyone in Flagstaff were hitting the trail and the parking area was packed.

Lake Mary

Lake Mary Road is the go to place for Flagstaff cyclists and little traffic. There are three campgrounds on the way to Lake Mary and we chose USFS Pine Grove Campground 17 miles from Flagstaff. We weren't sure what kind of place we would find but the road and sites were paved. There was water available and no hookups. Our hope was for trees to keep us cool. It is Arizona after all.

Next time, we will stay here longer than 3 nights to enjoy the local trails and ride a few more miles.

Lower Lake Mary was a small puddle since the drought is severe and campgrounds very dusty . The next campground was for small tents and trailers. But Pine Grove was just right. Plenty of shade from the towering pines and lots of space. USFS are a great deal on the pocketbook too.

The short time we spent on the Arizona Trail was quite appealing to the eye and feet. It ran by the campground.

We also hiked Sandys Canyon Trail and the Arizona Trail which was not difficult until it was time to climb out of the canyon as it was warming up.

Cottonwood, AZ

Arizona has such nice state park campgrounds. Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood is a treasure. We even scored trees on both sides of us! 

The story of the park's name begins with the Ireys family, who came to Arizona from Minnesota looking for a ranch to buy in the late 1940s. At one of the ranches they discovered a large dead horse lying by the road. After two days of viewing ranches, Dad Ireys asked the kids which ranch they liked the best. The kids said, “the one with the dead horse, dad!” The Ireys family chose the name Dead Horse Ranch and later, in 1973, when Arizona State Parks acquired the park, the Ireys made retaining the name a condition of sale.

After spending so much time in small remote towns where groceries are expensive and limited, we got giddy over the Fred Meyers.

Once the sun went down, we headed outside for the evening. But as it got dark, the skunks would come out. Our neighbors would call out "skunk coming through". One couple was so upset by the skunks that they left after one night.

Old Town Cottonwood is recognized in the USA’s National Register of Historic Places. On Main Street, there are buildings that originate from the era of “Prohibition,” and are put to good use today with plenty of wineries and artists in this area.

I had my eyes peeled for rattlesnakes on this trail but didn't see one. Shew!

We found Sycamore Canyon Road a treat to ride on but had to get out early and home by 10 am before it started heating up. Tuzigoot National Monument has pueblo ruins and petroglyphs we enjoyed exploring.

Jerome, AZ

The historic copper mining town of Jerome, Arizona, once known as the wickedest town in the west, was born a copper mining camp, growing from a settlement of tents into a roaring mining community. 

Holly's House of Joy was even closed. It was morning after all.

Jerome was at one time the fourth largest city in Arizona in the 1920’s and looked like a real ghost town when we arrived. Once a thriving mining camp full of miners, bootleggers, gamblers, and prostitutes, now a bustling tourist destination full of artists, musicians, and gift shop proprietors.

Or so they say. Not one business was open on a Saturday morning.

We had visited the state park of mining in Jerome previously and Clarkdale has a great Copper Mining Museum right in town.

Jerome Taxi One Way with a skeleton driver.

Hoping it is cooling down in the valley.

 

Flagstaff, AZ the locals call it "Flag"

During an evening walk in Hinkley, MN, we ended up outside an Uncle Kracker concert, pulled up a bench and watched the performance on the big screen. In Duluth, we found a country music festival in the park on the harbor. We never know what we will find in our wanderings. Today, I gave Mike wrong directions for lunch and we ended up in the historical part of town and found a Hopi celebration.

 

Now that fall is in the air, I like to take a cemetery crawl or hear stories of haunted places where ever we might be. The Monte Vista  has many stories of "eternal patrons". One  story is of a ghost in the next stall of the restroom, closing the door and disappearing. They say "that happens once a week".

 

It was quite a treat to watch the artists at work.

Court house from the 1800s

 

Trailhead to the Lava River Cave

This is where we are going?

Signing in so they know we are in there when they find the truck.

Once we got to the point that we couldn't see the light anymore, we turned off our flashlights and couldn't see a thing. I was glad we had a couple of backup flashlights in case the batteries ran out. The light at the end of the tunnel.

On my way out. We had to move about with a crab crawl. We were the only people over 30 hiking in there and it was tough.

We wanted to check out the ski slopes of Snowbowl and they did not allow hiking. So we took the ski lift up. It was the slowest lift I have ever been on.

We were told that the Grand Canyon would be seen in the distance. There it is behind the hill that is a volcano.

Elden Pueblo at the base of Mt Elden from 1075-1200 AD. the archeologists were working on the site when we were there.

An alpenhorn concert in the RV park one evening.

A good end to our time in Flag.