Red-Rock Country

Annie was right! The sun will come out tomorrow. We opened our window at 7am to a blinding white Williams, and not a cloud in the sky. What a beautiful day for a beautiful drive. On the road by 8 am, we headed back to LA and picked up AZ 89 heading south out Ash Fork, to Prescott. (Those who have lived there tell me it's pronounced Press-kit.) The landscape with its small pines and pinion trees reminded us of Oregon, between Bend and Klamath Falls. 

By the time we got to Prescott, we were hungry, so we headed to the Raven Cafe on Cortez Street in the old historic downtown for breakfast. Here you order at the bar, and pick a table.

I had the chilaquiles omelet and Kathy had a chorizo breakfast burrito with greens. Both were delicious. Be sure to stop when you come. Afterwards we walked off our breakfast by exploring the downtown area. Prescott is no longer the capital of the Arizona Territory, but it is still the county seat. We parked right in front of the courthouse. Parking was free and easy to find (although I understand that's not always the case). 

The area around the courthouse, for several blocks in either direction, is full of "antique" and consignment stores featuring "mid-century vintage clothing". It's odd to think of the clothing you grew up with, now being vintage and antique. In any event, Kathy had a ball exploring.

The downtown is full of beautiful old historic buildings. Most, though, like the bank on the corner, have been repurposed. This is now a candle store.

On the main square is a statue of Bucky O'Neil, a sheriff, newspaper editor, miner, politician, gambler and lawyer, mainly in Arizona. He got his nickname from "bucking the odds" whenever he played cards. He was a captain in Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, and he died in battle. The monument is dedicated to the Rough Riders.

Mingus Mountain & Jerome

After breakfast, we set out on AZ 89A for Sedona and Flagstaff, our Saturday night stop. This road goes up over Mingus Mountain, and it is a beautiful drive. 

We had planned to stop in the old mining town of Jerome. A ghost town in 1953 when Phelps Dodge closed their mines, it was colonized by artists and bohemians in the 1970s. 

We wanted to buy one of the Nellie Bly kaleidoscopes as a gift for our grandchildren. Unfortunately, it was a zoo. Think about driving down Balboa Blvd. on the Fourth of July. No parking anywhere, and the town overrun by tourists (like us!). Apparently it's a popular weekend destination.

Red Rock State Park

Leaving Jerome to the tourist horde, we headed to Sedona, and stopped off at Red Rock State Park. This would turn out to be the highlight of our day. We parked and spent the whole afternoon hiking.

The park is a nature and environmental preserve with miles of marked trails. We started up the Apache Fire trail and then connected to Coyote Ridge. At the top, we could look out over miles of red-rock landscape.

Here's a picture of Kathy on the Eagle's Nest trail. We had wanted to walk around the entire park (including to the top of the rocks you can see behind Kathy), but a recent storm had washed out all of the bridges except one. So, we had to head back through the lower trail to our car.

Kathy, of course, had to walk over dangerously close to the edge to read the sign that read, "If you can read this sign, you are too close to the edge. You're going to fall over."

Walking back through the meadow which you can see behind Kathy, she caught this picture of a small deer feeding. 

Leaving the park around 4 pm, we continued on the Red Rock Loop road planning to pick up AZ 89A back to Sedona. Along the way, we saw this interesting (if ugly) house on the top of the rocks overlooking the park. There is apparently no road to the house. The only way you can get there is to go through the matter-transporter, which you can see at right of the house.

Around almost every curve, there was another vista, and we had to pull off to take more pictures.

We had planned to eat lunch in Sedona. By the time we got there is was dinner time. There was a thirty-minute traffic jam in the center of town where AZ 89A merges with AZ 179 coming up from Phoenix. Like Jerome, the town was mobbed, with no place to park. We decided to push on through.

Oak Creek Canyon on the way to Flagstaff was beautiful. When we planned the trip, I had wanted to stop at Slide Rock State Park, which has a natural rock slide going down into the creek. Because of the time, though, we didn't stop. (Also, swimming in the creek when you can still see snow on the mountains didn't seem that attractive.) 

We got into Flagstaff a little after 6 pm, found our hotel and unpacked. The only recommended restaurant I knew about was closed because of Covid. We asked the girl at the front desk where she would eat and she sent us to Taverna, a Greek restaurant a couple of blocks away. I had souvlaki and Kathy had a gyro. Because we were so tired, I forgot to take pictures. Sorry. 

Tomorrow we're going to Palm Sunday service at Calvary Chapel Flagstaff. Then, on to Winslow, to "stand on the corner" and stay at La Posada. See you then.