Prescott, AZ - Peavine/Iron King Trails (10/14 - 10/30/24)

On our continued tour of Arizona, we moved from Flagstaff and stayed in Prescott at the Point of Rocks Campground. This place has a very unique landscape with many areas made up of granite outcrops. We also were able to knock-off two more Hall of Fame Rail Trails located very near our campsite.

Although these trails are not long or paved, they provided incredible scenery and the trail had a very firm, packed surface.

The beginning of the Peavine trail starts near Lake Watson and heads north. The official trail is short (~6 miles), but it does continue further north, although the trail condition starts to deteriorate further north.

The trail is wide and smooth, but it does get your bike a little dusty.

In Prescott you can visit the Sharlott Hall Museum where the history of the town is on display.

Because of our previous employer, we always like to see these stagecoaches on display wherever we visit. Especially out west, these are quite common.

The Iron King Trail connects to the Peavine in the north and is also a short 4 mile ride each way. You can easily ride both trails in one day if you wanted a quick visit.

Along the trail, you'll see some relics of the past. This was some kind of self-propelled rail car that probably served the purpose of carrying miners to locations they were needed.

While we were here, we also ventured out to visit an unknown (to me) gem known as the "Wickedest Town in the West". Jerome is a mining town built on the side of a mountain to support developing mines in the area over 100 years ago. This town reminded me of Harpers Ferry, WV where the restaurants and shops are strewn along the hill overlooking the streets of the town below. We had dinner at the Clinkscale and recommend it to anyone in the area. There is so much history here. We went to the state park museum and toured the town.

Staying near Watson lake, we took advantage of the kayak rentals to paddle around this lake in the rocks.

There was quite a bit of wildlife here enjoying the water oasis. I think these may be cormorants.

The lake has many coves between the granite boulders to explore.

Great blue herons were also abundant.

Herer is another one of those geologic formations that makes you wonder, "how does this happen?".

We also took a day to go visit the Verde Canyon Railroad. This is a popular train ride complete with lunch and bar service for several hours. Each car had its own guide that explained the history and geology of the area.

I was surprised how many people take this train ride on a daily basis. Each car has both inside and outside viewing areas. We spent most of our time watching the views outside.

This very scenic ride spent much of the time passing canyon walls with interesting rock formations. Look towards the top and what do you see? A Maryland Terrapin!!!

This one also stood out. Can you see Abe Lincoln's profile? There were several more interesting formations that the guides would point out.

The canyon ride also followed the Verde River much of the way.

More canyon views...

At the end, you stop at an old ranch and rail-stop where the engine moves to the other side of the train for the ride back.

Another unique thing we saw on this 75 degree day were sundogs. where ice crystals would refract light to make these appear. We would see these occasionally in Iowa in the winter, but this day was warm and I was surprised to see them. Next stop we head west to Lake Havasu City, AZ.