Senator Highway

Until our furniture and household goods arrive - hopefully this week - we have extra time on our hands to explore our new home in Prescott, AZ. This afternoon we took a quick ride around town, and it continually amazes me how I notice things on the bike that I never see while driving a car. A house perched high on a rocky bluff, a hawk circling above the pavement, a dirt road that snakes along the very edge of a steep hill, horses in a field along a busy road.

Our main objective was to ride on the pavement portion of the Senator Highway into the Bradshaw Mountains to the south of Prescott. I'm finding out that many paved roads turn to dirt as they enter the mountains, and the same thing happens with the Senator Highway. It was originally built in the late 1800's to connect mining towns to Prescott, and with the end of mining the road outlived its use. We plan to ride the entire Senator Highway, dirt road and all, but not today.

The two-lane paved road hairpins its way into the pine forests, and we saw signs for camps, lakes, and private roads along the way. The Senator Highway passes through Groom Creek with numerous hiking trails and national camping areas. When the pavement turned to dirt, we turned around, saving the rest of the road for another day.

Back in Prescott, Senator Highway becomes Mt. Vernon street, part of the national  historic district that surrounds the downtown area, and lined with cute cottages and imposing Victorian homes. This area looks more like the midwest than the southwest, complete with grass lawns and leafy shade trees.

We've been past the Yavapai casino many times, and today we rode up the steep road to the top of the bluff where the casino sits to check out the view.

 

One of the reasons we moved to Arizona is for new roads to ride, different landscapes to explore, and many more days of fun on the BMW. We're making a great start!