230 mile loop to Flagstaff and home

Everything came together today for a gorgeous ride:  sunny skies, warm temperatures, and the pollen count was down. After a colder and snowier winter than usual, we've been waiting for a day like this! We were hungry for long stretches of road with no traffic in sight, winding our way through the mountains, twisting through canyons, and enjoying the sunshine on our faces.

We decided on a familiar and favorite route for our first day-long trip of 2019 to Flagstaff for lunch and then home. We started northeast from Prescott to Camp Verde, then east on AZ 260 through the pine forests.

Even though it was a beautiful Sunday, we had the road basically to ourselves as we climbed up into the cooler mountains.

We were hoping to see elk, but only spied the occasional hawk floating on the updrafts.

We turned onto Lake Mary Road, excited to see the higher water levels in the Upper Lake due to the heavier snowfall this winter. A dam built on Walnut Creek in 1905 led to the development of Upper Lake Mary, used as a water reservoir for Flagstaff.

You can see the snowy peaks of Mt. Humphrey's in the far distance, and as we road north toward Flagstaff the mountains loomed larger.

Lower Lake Mary often has less water than it's larger sister, but today the lake was a beautiful blue color due to the higher water levels.

We stopped at The Tourist Home Cafe in Flagstaff, a favorite lunch spot for the homemade bread and huge dessert display. Skip the chain restaurants and fast food places, and check out the funky south side of the train tracks in Flagstaff for great food.

Our route home led us through the 12 mile long scenic drive on 89A through Oak Creek Canyon, a 2-lane paved road that twists, turns, and snakes around hair-pin turns with steep red rocks on both sides on the way to Sedona.

Oak Creek Canyon is 2000' deep, and the popular Slide Rock State Park. This land was once an apple orchard homesteaded by the Pendley family in the early 1900's and became a state park in 1987. In the summer hundreds of people come here to slide through the water on the slick rocks.

We enjoyed sweeping through the canyon without much traffic until we came to an abrupt stop. For the next mile into Sedona it was stop and go traffic, giving us time to look out over the canyon and search for the elusive wildflowers that bloom in the desert. Sedona is always crowded, and what seems like hundreds of roundabouts and the slow moving traffic make us anxious to get through town as quickly as possible.

We continued south on 89A through Cottonwood into the historic old copper mining town of Jerome, perched high on the mountain ahead of us. We were lucky that there wasn't much traffic on the steep and narrow streets in Jerome, and we quickly left the quirky town behind us.

Coming down 89A from Jerome toward Prescott we got stuck behind a few slow-moving cars, and once they pulled over Mike took advantage of the open space, leaning into the twisties and zooming our way down the mountain.

Our 230 mile ride over 5 1/2 hours today made us hungry for more motorcycle riding and the opportunity to savor familiar routes plus explore new territory on the BMW.

Here's a map of our ride today. Have fun!

Overnight BMW motorcycle ride to Cottonwood

We're planning a cross-country motorcycle trip later this summer, and decided to try out the new Mosko Moto soft-sided bags on an overnight trip.


We often ride to Cottonwood, about 40 miles away, for a quick day trip and lunch at Bocce where we can sit outside and enjoy one of their fantastic thin crust pizzas and interesting salads. Cottonwood has developed into one of the premier wine-tasting areas in Arizona, featuring Arizona-grown grapes and local wines. Since we don't drink alcohol when riding the BMW, we decided to spend the night and take advantage of walking around Old Town Cottonwood, sampling wine, listening to music, and trying out some of the other restaurants.

We left home about 2pm with the temperature hovering around 90℉, knowing it would be warmer in Cottonwood at a lower elevation than our home in Prescott. Luckily, the trip east takes us over Mingus Mountain and through the old copper mining town of Jerome where we enjoyed the cooler breezes as we zoomed up the twisties on 89A.

As we got closer to Jerome, the views opened up to the tall cliffs of the Mogollon Rim in the distant north.

Mike guessed the temperature would be 102℉ in Cottonwood, and he was off by only .5℉; it was 101.5℉.

We stayed at the Iron Horse Inn on Main Street in Old Town Cottonwood. It was originally built in the 1930's as a motor court, and retains the same basic outside look.



After checking in, we walked through wrought iron gates into the shady courtyard, and found our room up a steep flight of cement steps.

Cottonwood was founded in 1874 when soldiers from nearby Camp Verde were stationed here. It took its name from a stand of 16 large cottonwood trees that grew near the Verde River. Historically it was a farming area for the nearby mountain towns, and today it's often used as a stopping off point for people visiting Jerome or Sedona.

Old Town Cottonwood boasts an eclectic mix of boutiques, restaurants, bars, wine-tasting venues and stores selling everything from countertops to locally produced art. We walked down the shady side of Main Street and stopped at The Tavern Grill where we sat outside and enjoyed an appetizer. Then we headed back up the other side of Main Street to the Merkin Vineyards tasting room where we sampled a few of their wines made from grapes grown in the Wilcox area of southern Arizona.

Our next stop was The State Bar, with its all-Arizona beer and wine selection. The Friends of the Verde River were hosting a music fest and fundraiser, and we sat on comfy chairs outside listening to different local bands and DJs. When it came time for a late dinner, we walked 3 blocks to the 3 Kings Kasbar for tapas and dessert.

This morning we ate a delicious breakfast of huevos rancheros for Mike and a breakfast sandwich for me with fresh squeezed orange juice for both of us at the Red Rooster Cafe. We listened to a talented musician who played a variety of different instruments, including bongos, drums, flutes and all kinds of bells and gourds while we enjoyed our breakfast.

We retraced our route from yesterday through Jerome and back home, and since it was fairly early on a Sunday morning, there was almost no traffic to slow us down as Mike swooped through the hairpin turns up and down the mountain.

We rode past one of the closed copper mines that brought thousands of people to this area in the 1920's. Today around 500 people live in Jerome, and hundreds more come here to see the quirky town and shops.

We're lucky to live in this beautiful area of Arizona where people from all over the world come to ride their motorcycles through the Southwest high desert.

BMW motorcycle ride for lunch - and more

What to do on a sunny Sunday morning in October when we don't have anything on our schedule? A motorcycle ride to Cottonwood for lunch!

We ride the winding, twisting hairpin turns on 89A into Jerome several times each year because the narrow 2-lane road through the Black Hills mountain range in the Prescott National Forest is a gorgeous route made for motorcycles. Tall pine trees cover the hills, stone walls tower over the side of the highway, and off in the distance we can see the high cliffs of the Mogollon Plateau.

89A winds into Jerome, an old copper mining town precariously perched on the side of a mountain. On the way into Jerome we followed two slow-moving cars so we had to content ourselves with poking along while we watched the scenery. On the way home, however, Mike took advantage of the clear road in front of us to zoom through the hairpin turns.

Jerome

Cottonwood lies in the Verde Valley along the Verde River, one of the largest perennial streams (meaning that it has water all year; many streams and rivers in Arizona and the Southwest are dry except during the rainy season) in Arizona. Our favorite lunch spot is Bocce where we like to sit outside while we enjoy the Sunday lunch special of 1/2 pizza and house salad. Today we watched numerous Corvettes of various vintages drive up and down the main street, part of the local Verde Valley Vettes poker run.

Because it was such a beautiful day, we took the long way home on the old Black Canyon Highway. Originally built in the 1870's, it was the main stagecoach route from Phoenix to Prescott. Today part of it is incorporated into I-17, and there is about an 8-mile section that runs from the Prescott Country Club subdivision in Dewey-Humboldt to the La Quinta Inn in Prescott. Parts of the road are still dirt, but probably not as bumpy as during the stagecoach days. The BMW is built for off-road riding and it's always fun to get off the pavement and ride on dirt.

Arizona-blue skies, mountains off in the distance, hairpin turns, dirt 'highway' - today's ride reminded us of why we love living in Arizona.

A twisting mountain ride for lunch

Mid-June to mid-September is the rainy season, known as monsoon season, in Arizona. Almost every day big, dark storm clouds roll in, followed by lightning, thunder, and often torrential rain. Definitely NOT prime motorcycle weather.

Today the sun was shining and the only clouds in the Arizona-blue sky were some small, white, harmless looking puffy ones so we decided to ride northeast to Cottonwood for lunch.

heading out of Prescott

 Bocce is a fantastic restaurant/bar in downtown Old Cottonwood that features true thin-crust, Italian-style pizza and garden-fresh salads with seating outside so we can watch people strolling down the sidewalk. The route to Bocce is even better than the pizza - winding, twisting hairpin turns on route 89A that take us up and over Mingus Mountain, into the old copper mining town of Jerome, and down the other side of the mountain to Cottonwood in the Verde Valley.

89A is one of our favorite motorcycle roads. Mike loves the challenge of the hairpin turns as we glide around the tight corners, and I enjoy the rocky mountain views, cool pine tree forests, and far-off views of the Mogollon Rim.

looking down on 89A

Mogollon Rim in the distance

The Mogollon Rim is an escarpment that forms the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau and runs east-west across Arizona. The sandstone and limestone cliffs sometimes rise 2,000' above the valley floor, and the sheer size along with the vivid colors of the stone make the Rim an amazing view that can be seen from miles away.

Jerome likes to call itself a ghost town, but it's home to about 450 people and a weekend draw for tourists and motorcyclists. 15,000 people lived here in the 1920's when it was a booming copper mining town perched on the edge of the mountains.

Jerome

One of the reasons we love living in Prescott are the fantastic motorcycle roads that allow us to enjoy a mid-day lunch ride. Soon the monsoons will end and the weather will turn cooler, giving us more opportunities to explore Arizona's roads.

A BMW motorcycle is the best way to experience the mountain twisties on the way to Jerome

There are many old mining towns tucked into the mountains throughout Arizona. Once a town of 15,000 people who worked in the largest copper mine in Arizona, Jerome dwindled to less than 100 people in the 1960's, declared itself a ghost town, and eventually reinvented itself into a quirky artist's community that caters to hundreds of tourists who wander up and down the narrow, steep streets.

We've ridden the 35 miles from Prescott to Jerome via Arizona 89A several times in the past 10 months that we've lived in Arizona, and never tire of zooming up and down the twisting, curving road over tall pine covered Mingus Mountain.

Today I decided to take video of the trip to give you the opportunity to experience the hairpin turns and long vistas north to the Mogollon Rim from the back of the BMW.

Enjoy!

curving roads and long views

entering Jerome

leaving Jerome toward Cottonwood

First Arizona ride

The view as we rode west from our house in Prescott, AZ is a lot different from the view we were used to in Vermont.

We're still waiting for our furniture and household goods to be delivered, so with time on our hands and a sunny day, we headed north on the BMW to Jerome, a quirky old mining town dangerously perched on the side of a mountain. Our plan was to take route 89A, which we knew wound through several twisty hairpin turns before reaching Jerome.

We thought we knew how to reach 89A, but spent 20 minutes circling Prescott and ending up back where we started. Not a bad ride since we're new to the area, but we still wanted to get to Jerome. We let the GPS take over and found 89A, the mountains, hairpin turns, steep ascents, and zooming downhill twisties. It's only about 30 miles from Prescott to Jerome, and the landscape changes drastically during that short stretch. We started in the flat valley just north of Prescott and as we entered the mountains tall pine trees covered the slopes and we spotted numerous dry creek beds.

We wandered the narrow, one-way streets in Jerome stopping in art galleries, treating ourselves to ice cream, and reading many of the signs that describe the wild life when Jerome was in its heyday in the late 1800's. Jerome was the fourth largest town in Arizona with 15,000 people, all due to copper mining. According to the historical signs, saloons, brothels and hotels enjoyed a brisk trade. Today about 500 people live in Jerome, catering to tourists.

We just rode 3200 miles from Vermont to Arizona, spending 5-10 hours each day on the bike. It felt good to take a short ride to a nearby destination, exploring the roads and towns around our new home.