After a little more than four years, Lou and I decided to head back to Flagstaff and enjoy a nice break from the heat of both Las Vegas and Phoenix. Last time we were in Flagstaff, we camped at a really nice overlook called "Edge of the World" but the experience was dampened when our dog Winston, who was only a puppy at the time, ate too many pinecones and had doggy diarrhea all night. We decided to go back (without Winston this time) and get redemption enjoying the scenery. You can read about that trip here: Flagstaff October 2020
Day 1 - Friday
Friday was a work day but I left work a little early to make the drive with my trailer Shelly over to Flagstaff where Lou met me at the Circle K in town. After getting gas, we made our way to the Edge of the World trailhead and proceeded on the trail. It is an easy 26 mile trail down graded dirt roads through a forest. The green was a welcome sight for both of us. We came across a few cows on the way as well. Unbeknownst to us at the time, but these would not be the last cows we saw this weekend.
It took us about 90 minutes to get to the end of the trail where the overlook is. Last time we camped at the popular spot as labeled on Google maps but this time, I did some research on Google Earth and picked out 5 tentative spots that wouldn't be so crowded. My scouting paid off and we secured a great spot with an awesome overlook away from all the folks in their Subarus and sprinter vans. We could see them at night and that ridgeline sure did look crowded.
Day 2 - Saturday
We woke the next morning and I captured some awesome shots with the drone. It was a bit tricky because of the trees in the area but I made it happen. Take a look below:
After that, we packed up and headed out the way we arrived. We stopped at this cool bridge for a quick photo op. This photo does show how easy the trail was. We made good time on the way out as well.
Once complete with that trail, we did a 14 mile through trail entering the Cinder Hills through the back entrance. This was a cool little trail since the front entrance is bogged down with ATVs and side by sides.
After Cinders, we checked out another nifty trail called S P Craters trail. One of the entrances was closed due to a forest fire but there was an alternate path way in. This trail was a little slower going initially but it sped up as we went. Even at high elevation in Flagstaff, it was a bit warm, so we stopped under the first tree we found for lunch. It happened to also be the only tree we found. It was here that we noticed Shelly took a little damage from all the vibrations and needed a repair on the pull out drawer. No problem!
We kept rolling and the trail opened up to sweeping landscapes. However, our progress was halted but not by rocks. We encountered a few herds of cows very comfortably grazing and couldn't be bothered. One cow stood up as we approached, made eye contact, and started peeing in the middle of the road, marking his turf. Rude! We didn't want to blaze a new trail so we turned around in search for another path. We had to do that a few times before we eventually got by all the annoying cows.
Once past the cows, we were able to circle around the craters. There was a hiking trail up to the top of one but we elected not to do that. Nonetheless, it was interesting to see the big craters.
After the craters, we started a new trail that Lou knew up a forest road in search for camp. We found a decent spot quickly and set up. It was tucked away in the trees and Lou whipped us up some steaks for dinner. Yum!
Our plan today was to pick up Sophia from campus at Northern Arizona University and take her to lunch. Lou and I figured we could have a slow start to the morning since no one wants to wake a college student up too early on a Sunday morning.
We drove to campus and I illegally parked in the parking lot while we checked out her new home. It was pretty nice! She boasted about having a sink in the room and her and her roommate were even growing bonsai trees outside! Jury is still out if the trees survived the winter though since they get snow there.
As we drove off campus for lunch, I spotted the automatic delivery robots called Starships driving around campus. I knew about them and was excited to see one in person! We also spotted one of apparently two big statues of the campus mascot, Louie the lumberjack. He was in fact chopping wood.
We arrived in downtown Flagstaff to a kind of hipster place called Proper Meats + Provisions. We all had a nice lunch before dropping Soph back off at her dorm. It was great to see her and rumors are she did very well on her first semester!
Lou and I send our goodbyes and I started the 4+30 hour journey home ready to see Nina and fluffy Winston!
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