Copyright
© 2013 by Ralph F. Couey
Arizona
Mountains and Canyons
Route
89/89AStart: Congress, AZ
End: Flagstaff, AZ
Miles: 130
People
who think of Arizona as being the exclusive home to sandy desert are woefully
uninformed. This route, first ridden by
me on a 5000-mile sojourn through the Southwest, starts in the desert northwest
of Phoenix. The first challenge is a
collection of twisties known locally as the Yarnell Hill. Unfortunately, riders aren’t the only ones
who know about this. Law enforcement,
undoubtedly drawn by the high number of motorcycle accidents, patrol this
stretch heavily. It’s still twisty
enough, however, to have fun at the legal limit. The road flattens and straightens until just
past Wilhoit. You begin to ascend,
bending and twisting as you go. Things
get interesting as you cross Copper Creek.
The turns get tighter as you get into the mountains. Then things ease off as you coast into
Prescott (pronounced “Prescutt”).
Continuing north, you take Route 89A as it splits off towards the
east. After a few miles of flat desert,
you begin to ascend again towards Jerome.
The road, following the mountains, begins to twist and coil again. This gets a bit hairy, since there are places
where guardrails should be, but aren’t. Shoulders are narrow, if they exist at
all, and prone to patches of gravel and chunks of rock.
You
enter the historic mining town of Jerome on Clark Street, which narrows down
considerably. The street descends into
the downtown area via a number of tight hairpins. This area is reminiscent of San Francisco’s
Lombard Street. The town is interesting
and worth a short visit. Leaving Jerome,
the road gives you one more good switchback before straightening out as you
descend into Cottonwood. After some more
time in the desert, you glide into Sedona, the jewel of Arizona. Dramatic buttes jut into the skyline going
into town. This is a tourist area, so
watch for traffic not watching you.
Sedona is filled with art galleries and energy vortices (no, I don’t
know what they are) and is an interesting and entertaining place to spend some
time.
North
of Sedona, you enter a mountain and valley area, which eases you into probably
the most beautiful areas of Arizona, Oak Creek Canyon. The road is initially pretty straight, but
then begins to twist, including this intriguing stretch…
Once
you leave the canyon, you knife through an area of pine forests, the aroma
freshly invigorating. Your journey ends
in the mountain town of Flagstaff. One
additional treat, though. As you run out
of Route 89A, you bisect a signed segment of historic Route 66, which goes
through town above I-40.
This is going to be a good three-hour ride, but when it's all said and done, you'll feel like Lightning McQeen.
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