Roadtrip in Arizona week of September 16th to the 23rd
Sept 27, 2021 14:16:08 GMT -8
Westy, jazzmom, and 2 more like this
Post by desert dweller on Sept 27, 2021 14:16:08 GMT -8
Every year me and a bunch of friends try to go to the Pickin’ the Pines Bluegrass Festival in Flagstaff, Arizona. Since the 2020 event was cancelled, our tickets and camp pass for 2019 were still good. I arrived at the reserved campsite on the 16th and stayed through the festival till Monday the 20th. It was a great festival with acts like the Steep Canyon Rangers and Yonder Mountain String Band. The headliner was Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. The show ended Sunday but I stayed till Monday because the camp permit was still valid. I had taken the entire week off from work and planned to do some car camping around the area.
After a late breakfast in Flagstaff, with friends, at my favorite northern Arizona restaurant (MartAnne’s) I headed out to find a place to camp in the thick woods south of town. Elevation was about 6800 feet and the night was cool. There was a sign saying that hunters were in the area (probably elk) so I didn’t wander too far. However, looking at Google Earth, I noticed that the Arizona Trail passes through not far from where I was set up. I took a half mile hike in the late afternoon and found where the trail crossed the meadow and remembered being on that part in 2015. It was the night of the Harvest Full Moon, but there were too many trees to really get a good look at it.
I wanted to make my way south and east and so headed out for Alpine, Arizona. I usually stay at either the Upper Blue River Campground or the Blue River Crossing Campground a little further south. But, just a little north of Alpine, a Forest Service campground sign caught my eye that I’d never really seen or been to and I put it in the back of my mind for the future and I continued driving. I was going to eat some dinner in Alpine but the restaurants were closed. (Both of them.) I went to the only gas station in town and got some beer, Fritos and canned bean dip for something to snack on for the night with the intent to come back in the morning and try to have some breakfast if at least one of the two restaurants was open. On a whim, I went back to the campground I saw earlier and checked it out. It’s called the Alpine Crossing campground and has 4 campsites. The cost was $10 but with my lifetime FS pass, it was $5. And I must say it had one of the cleanest bathrooms I’ve seen in a campground. I was the only person there.
I walked around the area in the afternoon and saw a couple of interesting things in the woods. What was neat, though, was the sound of near and distant Elk bugling that lasted all night. The campground is located near the main road so it was a little noisy but quieted later in the evening.
I got up somewhat early the next morning and went into town to get some breakfast but both restaurants were still closed. Gassing up at the gas station I asked the cashier about both restaurants being closed. She said it was because neither owner could find a cook. I guess no one wants to move to Alpine and get paid minimum to cook on a hot grill. She suggested that the small town of Reserve, New Mexico might have a restaurant. I said thanks and headed east. The small village of Luna, NM didn’t even have a restaurant. So, I kept going east and south to Reserve, NM and the only restaurant was closed on Wednesdays. Out of luck again. I kept going south on Hwy 180 till I came to the small village of Alma, NM where the Alma Adobe Grill was open. It’s a small family owned establishment where daughters of the owner and cook also take the orders and run the register. The made me a really fine omelet and the coffee was good.
While I was eating, a young woman walked in carrying a full backpack with her trekking poles attached to the side and she sat down and ordered some food. I didn’t say anything to her till at the cash register. I turned around and asked her how the hike was going. She said it was good. Then I said that I didn’t know of any longtrails in the area. (Western New Mexico) “I’m on the Grand Enchantment Trail”, was her response. I had heard about that trail. It goes for over 700 miles from Albuquerque to Phoenix.
Just to give her some perspective I mentioned that I finished the Arizona Trail in May. So, when I had some knowledge of the GET, she answered my couple of questions without hesitation. I confirmed that the trail is not fully developed and was barely marked at all. I asked about her trail finding skills and she said she was very confident and described a long steep canyon full of down burnt trees that she had just completed. The GET crossed the highway a couple hundred yards south of the restaurant. She said that she was really looking forward to where the GET shares a few miles with the Arizona Trail near Kevlin, AZ. I didn’t ask her name or many more questions because she was solo and the restaurant had a few guys in there eating. So, I wished her luck and left.
After seven nights of camping, I decided to treat myself and get a room for the night. I kept driving south to my favorite small town in Arizona called Bisbee. I am very familiar with Bisbee and got a room at the Copper Queen Hotel (built in 1902). It’s historic and is trimmed with the motif of the period. It even has a John Wayne room where John Wayne stayed when he was in Bisbee. It was fine night and the next morning I went to the BBC (Bisbee Breakfast Club) for breakfast. I was going to stay another night camping in the Huachuca Mountains, but it was raining and stayed raining all day. So, I headed home to Tucson.
After a late breakfast in Flagstaff, with friends, at my favorite northern Arizona restaurant (MartAnne’s) I headed out to find a place to camp in the thick woods south of town. Elevation was about 6800 feet and the night was cool. There was a sign saying that hunters were in the area (probably elk) so I didn’t wander too far. However, looking at Google Earth, I noticed that the Arizona Trail passes through not far from where I was set up. I took a half mile hike in the late afternoon and found where the trail crossed the meadow and remembered being on that part in 2015. It was the night of the Harvest Full Moon, but there were too many trees to really get a good look at it.
I wanted to make my way south and east and so headed out for Alpine, Arizona. I usually stay at either the Upper Blue River Campground or the Blue River Crossing Campground a little further south. But, just a little north of Alpine, a Forest Service campground sign caught my eye that I’d never really seen or been to and I put it in the back of my mind for the future and I continued driving. I was going to eat some dinner in Alpine but the restaurants were closed. (Both of them.) I went to the only gas station in town and got some beer, Fritos and canned bean dip for something to snack on for the night with the intent to come back in the morning and try to have some breakfast if at least one of the two restaurants was open. On a whim, I went back to the campground I saw earlier and checked it out. It’s called the Alpine Crossing campground and has 4 campsites. The cost was $10 but with my lifetime FS pass, it was $5. And I must say it had one of the cleanest bathrooms I’ve seen in a campground. I was the only person there.
I walked around the area in the afternoon and saw a couple of interesting things in the woods. What was neat, though, was the sound of near and distant Elk bugling that lasted all night. The campground is located near the main road so it was a little noisy but quieted later in the evening.
While I was eating, a young woman walked in carrying a full backpack with her trekking poles attached to the side and she sat down and ordered some food. I didn’t say anything to her till at the cash register. I turned around and asked her how the hike was going. She said it was good. Then I said that I didn’t know of any longtrails in the area. (Western New Mexico) “I’m on the Grand Enchantment Trail”, was her response. I had heard about that trail. It goes for over 700 miles from Albuquerque to Phoenix.
Just to give her some perspective I mentioned that I finished the Arizona Trail in May. So, when I had some knowledge of the GET, she answered my couple of questions without hesitation. I confirmed that the trail is not fully developed and was barely marked at all. I asked about her trail finding skills and she said she was very confident and described a long steep canyon full of down burnt trees that she had just completed. The GET crossed the highway a couple hundred yards south of the restaurant. She said that she was really looking forward to where the GET shares a few miles with the Arizona Trail near Kevlin, AZ. I didn’t ask her name or many more questions because she was solo and the restaurant had a few guys in there eating. So, I wished her luck and left.
After seven nights of camping, I decided to treat myself and get a room for the night. I kept driving south to my favorite small town in Arizona called Bisbee. I am very familiar with Bisbee and got a room at the Copper Queen Hotel (built in 1902). It’s historic and is trimmed with the motif of the period. It even has a John Wayne room where John Wayne stayed when he was in Bisbee. It was fine night and the next morning I went to the BBC (Bisbee Breakfast Club) for breakfast. I was going to stay another night camping in the Huachuca Mountains, but it was raining and stayed raining all day. So, I headed home to Tucson.
