Prescott, AZ

Hey everyone!

We’ve reached “the promised land” for more climbing adventures, and it's such a cool place! Theo had the bright idea to bike to the starting point of "The Crack," but his bike got a flat tire from a cactus. We ended up sharing my bike, which made for a rather romantic ride with me sitting on the steering wheel—if only it wasn’t so rocky! We rode through beautiful red poppy fields before moving on to Prescott.

Prescott National Forest is fantastic for mountain biking. We started our ride at 5:30 AM to beat the heat. We took on the "Willy Nilly Tractor Trek"—such a cute name, my nephew would have loved it! It was thrilling to ride between rocks and pine trees, though we had to watch out for cacti. I noticed many mountain bikers, though it seems the girls here are more into horses! 😂 The terrain is fascinating, with dead and dying trees amidst fragrant pines and junipers, granite rocks, and patches of desert sand and cacti. It’s just like my childhood drawings that adults said were impossible. Now I see that anything is possible!

We also visited Jerome, which is a historic copper mining town. Jerome began its association with the arts when the Verde Valley Art Association was started in the early 1950s and the town today continues to be known for its vibrant and varied art scene. Hippies were attracted to the cheap land and settled there in the late 60's, early 70's. The town is known as a haunted town. It was almost destroyed in 1890's by the big fires.
We went to the State Historic Park and saw the Audrey Headframe shaft, which is 1900 feet deep—double the height of the Eiffel Tower! Quite impressive.

On a different note, I’m starting to miss our delicious European bread with whole wheat, grains, and kernels. Here, it’s all sweet stuff and baguettes. I could make a fortune opening a bakery! Grama's Bakery in Prescott is rated the best in town, but they don’t have any whole wheat bread. Next door was a “barkery” with gourmet dog food. What a world! I even saw a man pushing his dog in a trolley—maybe we’re in the wrong city or should have been born pets. 😅

In the late afternoon, I tackled the Lower Granite Creek Discovery Trail, which circles Watson Lake and connects to the Prescott Peavine National Recreation Trail. It’s open to bikers, runners, equestrians, and mountain bikers.

America really rocks! Can't wait to share more stories with you all.

Cheers!Read more