It’s Not The Destination…

Perfect weather  greeted us on Friday for our all day ride.  10 am saw us leaving the park.

Our parade, with us in the lead, Jan and Doug on their Goldwing, Brock and Leola on the Spyder, Smiley on his BMW.

Our favorite ride—AZ 89 took us up Yarnell Hill

through the valley, up the other mountain

to Prescott,

where we stopped for a break on Whiskey Row .  We walked around the corner to the visitors center for a restroom visit, enjoyed a stretch, then got back on the road.

Still on 89 we enjoyed a view of Watson Lake,

and the rocks around Prescott Valley.

89A was our cutoff for yet another mountain to climb.

Up and around Mingus Mountain.

Around the other side we got a view of Cottonwood in the Verde Valley below.

 

Jerome is built on several roads that zig-zag down the mountain.  This is a typical street.  Jerome started as a mining town.  When the mines played out Jerome reinvented itself as an artists’ colony.  There are still various artist in residence but there are also a lot of small tourist driven businesses also.

We had no definite destination today.  We were using Jerome as a sort of turn-around point.  We decided to drive through it to Cottonwood for lunch.

View of Jerome from the bottom of the mountain.

We all love riding the mountains—the swerves, the curves, the ups and downs.  Today’s ride was extra special because it was up and around three mountains.

Tomorrow we will finish our ride.  Join us for the trip home.

Louise and Duane