Holiday Weekend Travel

It is good to be back in Arizona!

After a slow start on Saturday, Diane and I headed to Phoenix and points north... Prescott, Jerome and Sedona... and home via Strawberry, Pine, Payson and Globe.

Just one of my many reasons NOT to go to Phoenix: While sitting in traffic, the Volvo's thermometer read 49 degrees Celsius. Now, I have to admit that neither Diane or I could do the conversion in our heads - its (C*1.8)+32, for those who missed that day in school - although we chalked it up to the heat, not our utter lack of mathematical skills. All we were certain of was that is was HOT. 49 C is 120.2 F. Don't ever let anyone tell you that 120 F in Phoenix is okay due to some inane "dry heat" caveat. I am from Bisbee - deep in the heart of single digit humidity land - and 120 F was scalding to me.

Headed out on I-17 towards Flagstaff, you climb the Mogollon Rim to the Colorado Plateau. This is some of the steepest interstate highway I have ever seen. Stark. Vast. Beautiful. These words immediately come to mind. They don't suffice. Words nor pictures can do this experience justice. This is a place you have to see to believe.

On the way up, we passed a VW Bug slogging its way to the top. Slow and persistent pays here. This is a make or break trip for any vehicle. The relentless heat and the long grade take their toll. Turning off I-17 at AZ 69, we stopped for a (well deserved) milkshake and hot fudge sundae and headed out for Prescott.

One of my favorite things about Arizona travel (and travel in the Southwest in general) is the odd place names. About half way between the interstate and Prescott is Big Bug Creek. Now THAT is Truth in Labeling! Although it seems pretty straight forward, it does make you wonder what the circumstances were surrounding the naming of that creek.

Prescott was deep in the midst of another installment of what is dubbed as the World's Oldest Rodeo. Charming... but... not really what we consider "entertainment". We had miles to go... if... we could only get out of Prescott! Now Bisbee has signs just about everywhere. So many signs that I can see how tourists get confused as to which way they want to head out of the traffic circle. Prescott avoids any of that type of confusion by not placing ANY road signs. Want to get to Jerome from Prescott? Just start driving and you will (hopefully) end up on the road there - or at least a road that intersects the road that goes there.

We drove deep into the Coconino National Forest - up about 2000 feet from Prescott - and found rain. Rain in the desert takes on a different look and feel. Yes it is still the same water falling out of the sky - just like on the East Coast. Yet somehow, in the western mountains, it is just... different. Colder, cleaner and in widely spaced big drops that let you know that you have been rained upon.

We stopped at the top of the pass for a little bio-break in the rain. Two twenty-something guys in a little car had stopped to get their bearings and asked us for directions to some Buddhist retreat. One American and one (probably) Russian, were dressed in what I would call "relaxed club wear". My guess is that they heard that there were hoards of cute and "friendly" Buddhist girls up here in the mountains... somewhere. I noticed that they had something lodged under their car and the American guy gingerly crawled under and produced a ragged canvas first aid kit. They did not seemed surprised. Odd.

Jerome is Bisbee upside down. Where Bisbee is built from the bottom of the hill upwards, Jerome started at the top of the hill and went down. Although we didn't spend too much time in Jerome on this trip - it was pouring by then - we will be back.

The drive to Sedona is quite nice. Almost immediately after passing a sign that says "Welcome to Red Rock County", there is a "Scenic View" stop. Of course, we are always game for a "Scenic View" so we stopped. Normally these stops have a distinct subject such as a mountain, valley or other natural or manmade beauty to gaze upon. I can't really speculate on what the goal of this particular "Scenic View" was... the hill that blocked the view of "Red Rock Country" or the particularly nice angle on the asphalt... who knows. We looked in all directions and found that this spot was a uniquely bland place in the midst of all of this natural beauty. Perhaps this was the ugliest place in this part of Arizona and the highway department wanted to point it out - but they had no "Ugly View" signs. The world will never know.

Sedona is commerce wrapped in a pretty package. Gatlinburg for the yuppie set. If Dolly Parton could figure a way to get BMW drivers to her park, she would have an installation here. Replace NASCAR memorabilia with high end art and you have Sedona. It is a beautiful setting that most visitors will never see. Gee, there is an outlet mall here.

We spent the night at the Inn of Sedona - nice place. I felt sorry for the guy working the front desk. The patrons were... well... one lady demanded a bellhop to take her luggage to her room and another gentleman asked for directions to a wedding reception and then told the guy he was wrong. The poor guy behind the counter just shrugged and repeated his directions to the reception and the naysayer went off in search of the cash bar.

Our room was nice, if a little cramped. It came complete with push button fireplace and a fantastic, million dollar view. Why a million dollar price tag on the view? That was the asking price of a house around the corner that had the same view. Who buys a million dollar second home? Not defense contractors. Well, not folks who work for defense contractors that is.

The drive up AZ 89A to Flagstaff was an eye-opening experience. The recent fires had burned down to the road and the firemen were still canvassing the area to put out hotspots. This is forest fire devastation at its greatest. It was good to see the numerous signs all over town: "Thanks Firemen!", "Firemen Rock!", "Thanks USFS, BLM, State and Local Fire Crews!" and my personal favorite "Lives Lost - 0, Structures Lost - 0, View Preserved - Priceless". A PBY fire tanker flew low overhead - banking toward the fire that is still raging farther up Oak Creek Canyon. This will all return, I know. Until then, this is a testament to what humans can do - both in a positive and a negative way.

I love Arizona for what it is... what it isn't... what it was... and even some of what it will be. It is good to be home.