Sierra to Sagebrush:
Photo journal of a self contained
bike tour
Flagstaff, AZ to Phoenix, AZ in
March 2000
We woke up early and left with Paul when he headed out for work.
He rode in to Prescott with us. We did a good job of slowing him
down. Gravity was on our side on the downhills, but you just don't
push a 110 lb bike for speed.
Home, home on the range...... (excuse my singing)
These Antelope were roaming behind the Midas Muffler shop. I was
standing in the middle of the parking lot!
Antelope sure are beautiful. I wish I could have gotten better photos,
but this is the best I could get.
I also liked the mountains in the background.
They were so close to the houses!
We said good-bye to Paul when we reached Prescott, then Brian and I headed
over to the Dinner Bell Cafe for a wonderful breakfast.
We
had a good breakfast, then headed up the hill toward Wilhoit.
There
was still a bit of snow by the side of the road. There wasn't a lot,
just enough to make it scenic. We had been told that the top of the
hill was at the 305 milepost, so we were looking.....
The views going up the hill were spectacular. We could see mountains
at every corner. We kept looking for that 305 marker though.
The
green trees are a treat for me. I usually see more cacti than trees!
We kept climbing, and looking for that mile marker!
Finally, we reached the top! At the 305, we stopped for a photo.
We joked that we would say that a leprechaun had taken the photo because
it was St. Patrick's day. I have to admit, my camera has a timer.
We set it and ran into what we hoped would be a photo.
I thought it was the top..... but there was more climbing!
We
had some fun downhill for a bit, then more climbing. If you look
behind Brian, you can see the road we had just descended making a serpentine
path on the mountain. Looks fun huh?
Another in the series of Brian and the roadsign.....We continued on our
way. I think that we passed Scott Heisdorfer on his way into Prescott
because he posted something later in the newsgroups that indicated that
he had been riding the opposite direction that we had been riding.
We waved, but got no response as he rode past on the opposite side of the
road.
We
continued up and down through the mountains until we arrived in Wilhoit.
I love that little store. The picnic table out in front is a wonderful
place to rest, they always have just the right junk food and beverages
to get you going again. The rest room is clean and bright, and the
porch is a great place to lean your bike. We sat there for a while
and stretched, then headed down to Kirkland Junction and on up the other
side of the creek toward Peeples Valley.
There
is a long straight fast descent out of Wilhoit into the valley. It
is really very pretty. I enjoyed the mountains ahead of us and all
the open grasslands around us.
Fortunately, there weren't the terrible winds that we had experienced up
on route 66. We were early too... I'm sure that the wind picked up
later.
The climb out of the valley is pretty steep too. Note the car headed
down the hill behind Brian.
This
is not a very good photo, but I like the hills in the background.
Just ignore the funky light streak.
Here is another one of those amazing disappearing car photos.
We
had finally reached flat land and the town of Peeples Valley. The
whole area is called the Peeples Valley, but the town is at the southern
edge.
The
scenery in Peeples Valley is really different from that through which we
had been traveling. There are Arabian horse farms and Thoroughbred
farms. The pastures are neat and manicured and very green, all things
considered.
Finally,
we reached the mini mart in Peeples Valley. The little quick shop/grocery
in Peeples Valley is a bright blue and white oasis in the desert that sits
just down the hill from Yarnell. I enjoy that place on the way back
from Prescott, but when I am going toward Prescott, I am always traveling
too fast to want to stop. We had a gatorade there, then headed up
the hill 3 miles to Yarnell.
Yarnell
is a tiny mining town that sits just before the crest of the hill.
We stopped at a combination antique shop and coffeehouse, but the food
section was closed. We had to settle for a rummage through the “antiques.”
Brian found a slide rule that he decided to purchase. I didn't find
anything, but I enjoyed the looking.
This is where we would have had some lunch if the restauraunt had been
open. The owner was off doing spring cleaning. Just our luck......
We
drank more gatorade, then headed over the top, and began the 6 miles of
switchbacks and 17 miles of gentle downhill through Congress and on to
Wickenburg.
We stopped near the top to cool our brakes and get a photo of the switchbacks
ahead.
Another
stop to cool the brakes and take a few photos.
You
guessed it...... more photos and cooling off the brakes.
This lends a whole new meaning to the saying "seeing the elephant....."
We stopped in Congress to look around at the flea market. While we
were looking, we saw another tandem team head north on the road.
After a little more looking, they had turned around and passed us on their
way back. We were close enough to our bike that we could hop on and
chase after them till we caught up. They invited us to stop at their
mobile home for a chat and a cold drink. We did. They were
missionaries who winter in the desert and spend most of their retirement
helping to build churches in rural and semi rural communities. They
were really nice people and I am glad that they did not try to talk religion
with us. We stayed as long as we dared, knowing that we didn't yet
have a place to stay, and then we rode on to Wickenberg, and to find a
hotel. We found a nice room at the Best Western. We walked
around a bit before settling on a moderately priced restauraunt with an
all you can eat fish special. The fish was great. We had all
the luxuries that night. We had a tv that worked, showers with really
nice towels, a pool and a jacuzzi that we were too tired to take advantage
of, and really really really good beds.
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