SW Adventure

[Lapchik]

I didn't double check speech to text, but here's today:

Saturday, May 23, 2026 (540 miles)

Yesterday I saw the high altitude pine forest Arizona and the valley of Phoenix, and today I saw more sides of the state. I left my aunt's house in Gilbert and rode North to Montezuma's Castle. The line was out to the parking lot, so I skipped that. In Winslow, there was a line around the block to stand on the corner, and I don't really like to eagles, so I just drove by that. There weren't many crowds at Barringer Crater, but $32 admission is a pretty hard pill to swallow. It seems worth it if you take your time and their little museum, and go on the guided tour which is included, but I had researched the area before I got there and I just wanted to see the big hole in the ground. Next was sedona, which would be a wonderful place if it wasn't packed completely full of people. I prefer 89A from the cliff town of Jerome down to Prescott rather than the northern portion. Less people, faster roads. Well not as technical as 191 is in the northeast corner of the state, it is still a very intense road with amazing views. As you continue, the Red cliffs of Sedona turn into the big boulder mountains of Peeples Valley between Wilhoit and Yarnell. This is also where the Granite Mountain Hot shots memorial highway is. I had seen the movie before planning this trip, but I did not remember the location until my aunt mentioned that I would be driving right through it. It was getting late in the day, but I wanted to make it to Kingman. On day three I got to smell the desert after a rain shower, and today I got to watch the sunset over the desert. Both are incredible experiences that everyone should have on their bucket list. Coming into kingman, I was a little disappointed that most of the signs were turned off. I expected more kitschy route 66 stuff, but perhaps it's hiding in another part of town. It certainly isn't where I ended up. The first four hotels I stopped at had no vacancy, but the fifth time was the charm. They must roll the streets up at 8:00 p.m., because hardly anything was open for food. The nearby Mexican restaurant was packed, so I tried Sonic for the first time. It's fine. It's food. I was hoping for a neon lit route 66 town, but got crusty diesel soaked highway interchange instead. Not even that could ruin the wonderful ride I had through the many different biomes of Arizona today.