I've realized that I have not learned the trick of manipulating the photos so I'm trying to simply get a couple in up-front and then talk about the day. Our schedule does not exactly lend itself to learning software...eat, ride, eat, drink, ride,drink, eat some more and then finally sleep....
Today was actually a pretty short day - only 49 miles from Prescott to Cottonwood...have I mentioned that I am seeing a portion of Arizona that I have never seen before and it is truly a beautiful state. We left Prescott late this morning - at 9:15 which allowed us to sleep in a bit, Much needed extra sleep was a godsend for the climbing we had today. The first 13/14 miles were all pretty flat and mostly open range for cattle and horses. I did pass by one retirement community that I thought was pretty nice and had a couple of for sale signs-was tempted to call Susan but then decided maybe these houses were just a bit too far from the g-kids. So at about the 15 mile point we were at an elevation of something around 4800 ft and staring a line of mountains in the face...We started up on a 12 mile climb that was challenging but also simply breathtakingly beautiful (am I using that word "beautiful" a lot?). The road itself was all switchbacks and curves with speed limits on some turns that went as low as 10 mph-not a concern for us since we were doing anywhere from 5 to 7 mph most of the way. I passed a roadside sign at one point that said Elev 6000 and thought "enough already". Ultimately we hit a little turnout area and the summit of Mingus Mt.-Elev1023 (pic above). And the photo on the second line to the left is me looking down on two of my compadres struggling up to my vantage point-it also gives some small idea of the gorgeous views. At some point we went around a curve and the red rocks of Sedona came into view across a huge valley. The scene is more than I can describe and the photos don't really do it justice-everyone should have a view like that in a lifetime. The other part of the descent is that is was just as long and just as full of hairpin curves as the climb. So for the next 15 miles it was hold on tight and keep a light touch on the brakes. Halfway down was an old mining town, Jerome, that had been abandoned years ago only to be revived as a tourist mecca. Tom and I stopped for a hamburger-what I would have given for a beer to go with it-and then rode through town. Literally perched on the edge of the moutain it was the same hairpin curves all through town and finally out to the valley below...One pleasant little diversion: I went off course a bit to stop at the ruins of a 14th century Native American pueblo-the Sinaguas who had a settlement with hundreds of people and then simply disappeared. Very interesting but also a very puzzling story....
Tomorrow it is on to Sedona and then to Flagstaff-another day of climbing. We are at 3400 hundred tonight and Flagstaff is somewhere between 5000 and 6000-I think I hear my pillow calling now.
Fantastic pictures! Only you would give us a mini-history lesson in the midst of your cycling adventures! Love ya
ReplyDeleteWhen you get to Flagstaff, you should all go to Beaver Street Brewery and have that beer you were pining for earlier. You took a great route through Arizona -- an uncommon one, too. Very pretty. And now you will be rewarded with cool weather and downhill slope for miles. By the way--speaking of Sinagua, there used to be a neat bike shop called "Sinaqua cycle" in Flag, but I'm not quite sure if it's there anymore. As you're finding out right about now, little Flagstaff has changed a bit in the last few years...
ReplyDeleteHey, that's me below you on the road. I saw you above us on the hairpin and figured you were taking a picture. You can use "beautiful" enough to describe the glorious rides we're enjoying, even more so now that we're off Interstate-10!
ReplyDeleteJim