Day 58-May 17, 2018-A Wrong Turn to Prescott Valley, AZ, Whiskey Row
Drove 138 miles in 3 hours
Got up to 79 and sunny
The scenery from Cameron to Flagstaff is pretty much the same, round houses nestled back toward the mountains, then the Coconino National Forest with low pinon pines and then taller pines as we got closer to Flagstaff where we stopped to gas up. We were here 7 weeks ago and Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Mountain Range had a lot more snow on it then than it does now. This is where we made a wrong turn. We wanted to stay on route 89, the scenic route through Sedona and Jerome, but the GPS had other ideas and routed us on I-17. We weren’t really paying attention and by the time we realized what happened it was too late to turn around. We tried getting off the interstate and taking a small road to 89 but it was a dirt road with a big sign warning against using this road unless you were an ATV. So we learned our lesson to always make sure we know what road we want, not the GPS. I mentioned before that the GPS has had enough and wants to go home now so it’ll probably always take the interstates. So we missed the red rocks and formations in Sedona and Jerome, but we’ve been there before and we certainly have had our share of red rock formations this trip. The route we took was OK, went through some pretty mountains, now with cacti on them. The temperature fluctuated with the elevation, going from 68 at 4000’ to 87 at 7000’. As we got closer to Prescott Valley the landscape turned to tawny grasses, some scorched by past fires. The campground is at 5300’, oh boy. It’s on the Prescott Valley Fairgrounds (no fair now, though) and very nice. Bigger than we thought. Nice privacy/sun/wind screen patios at every site. Settled in, had lunch and headed 15 miles away to Prescott (pronounced Preskitt, they’re quick to tell you). Came across Prescott Dells, huge granite boulders that have eroded into tall lumpy formations. We found a development of unique new homes nestled in the boulders where the lots went for $295,000 for a ¼ lot….Yes, just the lot!!!! Quite a few homes already built and some new ones going up. I’m sure they have to redo the dells to put homes in here. Hmmm, maybe that’s what all the “Save the Dells” posters we saw in town area about. Pretty manmade lake, Watson Lake, at the foot of the boulders that’s a bird sanctuary. We decided we didn’t want to move here so we continued to Historical Prescott and Whiskey Row, a block (or 2 or 3) named because at one point there was over 40 saloons on this block. A few still remain including the Palace, the oldest saloon in Arizona, built in 1877 and Matt’s where the cow skull above the door has red eyes that light up and blink. A big art area too, lots of local artists selling their creations, some nice, some really, really weird. Almost every other store had native American jewelry, mostly turquoise, blankets and crafts. A western wear and accessories shop that makes you want to go and join the rodeo just so you can wear the boots and shirts and hats and use the lariats. And some touristy shops too but nothing too cheesy. In the middle is a beautiful county courthouse with sculptures in the big open area around it. We stopped in a few places and then went to Granite Mountain Brewery to taste their Espresso Porter. Back to the RV for dinner and later to watch the zillions of stars.