I checked out of the hotel at 5:45 AM and was on the road by exactly 6 AM. Highway 89A, which was the road I planned to take out of Flagstaff was just a hop-skip from our hotel. Since it was so early that Saturday, the roads were nearly empty. And this time it was damn cold! Yesterday I was baking, and now��aaahhh! I gave up! It was so cold that 10 minutes into the ride I pulled over to put on my jacket liner AND vest AND my winter gloves. 2 days ago I was questioning my decision to bring my winter gloves and my vest which were taking up precious room in my bags. I realized then what a wise decision that was!
I had no idea what Highway 89A was like except what the map showed me. Unfortunately, it was far from a detailed map so all I could see was a semi-straight line going south and passing through Sedona, Prescott, and various other small Arizona towns. What was to come next caught me by surprise. I was beginning to think that Arizona was a state filled with straight desert and mountain roads made for Cruiser type bikes. Well, I was VERY wrong! I was just bitching about how cold it was when Highway 89A suddenly began to drop into a deep valley called Oak Creek Canyon. And as it dropped the road twisted and turned into a series of descending S-turns marked 15 mph. All the turns where hairpin turns that I could see through, which made it quite fun. Incredibly fun I should say! And the scenery was nothing short of breathtaking. It was totally different from the Grand Canyon from yesterday but just as awe-inspiring. I thought I had died and gone to motorcycling heaven as I ooowed and aaaahd at every turn and every scene that opened up all around me. The road reached the bottom of the canyon and the turns eased up to faster 30 mph turns as it followed Oak Creek. My maps never showed this Creek nor gave me any indication how beautiful it was. The creek had lots of water flowing through it with large smooth rocks lining it. I could see clear pools and I thought what a great place to go fishing. I was surrounded with lush green Pine trees that sprouted from a bed of yellow grass and orange shrubs. On both sides where giant cliffs of red rock formations going up about a thousand feet and lined at their rims with more green Pine trees and other vegetation. I stopped several times to take the best pics I could. Once I very nearly got run over by a car as I crossed the road to take a better shot at the awesome scenery. I couldn�t get over the beauty of it all. If I imagined the most lovely and peaceful mountain hide away, it wouldn�t be as beautiful as that place on that day as I rode down Highway 89A. The twisting and turning of the road never stopped until I reached the city of Sedona. Sedona is located right smack dab in the middle of a beautiful wilderness and the main road, which I was on, was lined with touristy shops and restaurants. Sedona was just as modern as Flagstaff except it was very nice and peaceful all around. Main street was empty and still asleep. I rode through it with only one stop to get cash from an ATM machine. |
