Left the Grand Canyon and began my zig-zag thru Arizona.  Not at all what I expected.  The red cliffs and deserts were there but also there were mountains, pine forests and beautiful valleys. Stopped off at the Wupatig National Monument to see some fantastic pueblo remains.  Met a woman from San Francisco who was vacationing in the area and she told me not to miss the energy vortex in Sedona.  From there I ambled down to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.  The ground was covered with black ash, all deposited by the volcanic explosion 900 years ago.  Took a side trip out of Flagstaff to see Walnut Canyon National Monument.  Hiked up to the cliff dwellings.  Am amazed at the commute these early Indians made from their gardens on top to their homes tucked into the side of a cliff.

I contacted 2 friends from Prescott I’d met on the summer Alaskan trip to see if they were available for a visit.  They were not only available; they insisted I stay a few days and planned some outings for us.   Met them at church (after getting directions from a nice Prescott police officer who stopped me for making an illegal U-turn right in front of him.  We settled on a warning to “drive safely”).  You’d think Norma, Bobbie & I hadn’t seen each other in years and were asked to “pipe down” as the service had begun.  They’d gotten tickets for “A Miracle on 34th Street” that afternoon, performed by the local community players in a restored  historic theater.  Prescott is a beautiful little former mining town (and the original capital of AZ) with a town square and large trees (much like many Midwestern towns)  It too was a rough & tumble wide open town with bars and  brothels. Whisky Row had burned to the ground several times (with the exception of an ornate bar which managed to get rescued each time) until the city fathers said – “no more wooden buildings”.  Pictures of Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp and other western legends adorn the walls of the current building.  Couldn’t help but notice 2 guys sitting at the bar with fringed buckskin jackets wearing pistols.  Strangest tho was 2 camo-clad guys wearing guns picking out artificial flowers at Walmart.  

 The following day, Norma & I went hiking in Boynton Canyon in the red rock area near Sedona and found the Kachina woman formation my San Franciscan friend talked about.  Have to admit it was lovely and heady but not sure I felt the surge of energy my friend promised.  We found another canyon to hike that took us along a dry, pine-forested creek bed that ended in a huge rock formation.  We mused about its appearance and then decided it was definitely a face with either a funny hat or a really bad haircut.  Took the Red Rock Scenic Hwy. back to Prescott and stopped to talk to a couple sipping wine and eating carrots at a scenic overview.  He was a chiropractor and she was a massage therapist who had just come from a conference in Sedona.  Gave us their card and invited us to visit them in New Hampshire.

The next day I took a solo day-trip to Jerome.   At one time it was a mining town of 15,000 and unfortunately, they mined under the town so parts of it toppled off the edge.  Saw bad days when the mines were abandoned but has morphed from a ghost town into a lovely art colony.  Named after the uncle of Jenny Jerome – Winston Churchill’s mother (she supplied the cash to keep Lord Randolph’s estate afloat, ala Downton Abby, style).

Also loved seeing how people made their feeling known by adopting a highway sign. Companies can advertise,individuals can do it in memory of someone and others.....

After leaving Payson, cruising along the Theodore Roosevelt Lake, I flipped a coin and decided to go down a washboard called the Apache Trail to Mesa. A couple I met in a motel in Payson (who also lived next door to my high school classmate in Mesa) said it was a beautiful ride but he’d recommend taking someone else’s car. Wondered at one point how the motor club would feel about coming out to change a tire. Patience wasn’t too pleased with me but at 10 MPH you have plenty of time to notice the spectacular scenery.  Some curves were listed at 15 MPH, but that would have been speeding.  The “road” goes thru Fish Creek Canyon with steep climbs along canyon walls, then deep plunges into beautiful valleys. Stayed a couple of days in Mesa and visited the Frank Lloyd Wright House.  Since I’m from southwestern Wisconsin, I’ve seen Taliesin West a number of times but this was so entirely different.  Kept with his theme of building into the landscape and taking advantage of the beautiful scenery.

Will continue the report on my Arizona adventure and beyond soon.