We had a fun day today in Flagstaff. On our last trip here in 2008 we toured a bit of the city, explored the Wupatki National Monument nearby, explored the Sunset Crater Volcano and visited the Lowell Observatory at night to view far away planets. For today’s outing we chose to roam the streets of Flagstaff to look a little deeper into the vibes and flavors of the city. Driving in and around the city there is a grand view of the nearby snow capped San Francisco peaks. The peaks rise to 12,633’ above sea level and are recognizable from many miles away. Flagstaff has an altitude of 6910’ and we found our breathing a bit harder than when we are home in Huntersville with an altitude of 751’. The highest altitude we have reached on our trip so far was about 8000’ when we crossed over the Rocky Mountains Raton Pass between Pueblo, NM and Santa Fe, NM. Craig commented that he felt like a guppy out of water gasping for air!
After we arrived in Flagstaff this morning we navigated through the traffic and found a crafty parking area next to the busy train tracks which run through the city. The Firecreek Coffee Company was our first stop and we enjoyed two really good coffees. Our Cheek family granddaughters had suggested we stop by Firecreek as they had been there before and found it to be quite good.
After exploring several shops and interesting street alleys with unique artwork we headed over to Fratelli Pizza for lunch. The thin crust brick oven pizza and fresh salads we got there were delicious and the outside seating area was very enjoyable.
The historic Route 66 highway runs right through Flagstaff and we have driven on portions of it at several points along our way. In its heyday Route 66 ran through 8 states and was 2451 miles long and is still referred to as “The Mother Road” by its affectionados. The Boondockers Welcome location we are camping at, “The highest point on Route 66”, has a portion of the original roadbed running through it. It was fun to walk on the original Route 66 roadbed and reflect on how different the lives of those early highway travelers must have been compared to ours today.
We have enjoyed camping at Paul and Trish’s BW site at Oma’s Acre and appreciate them sharing their beautiful property with us for a couple of nights.
Love these Flagstaff pics. I’m so glad you’re documenting like this - fun to remember, but also helpful for future adventure planning. 😊
ReplyDeleteExactly. Events, places and people begin to blend together if we don't have a record.
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