We left Flagstaff this morning after spending the night with Evergreen B & B member Betsy Hale. We appreciated her hospitality and enjoyed playing with her German Shepard, Sasha.
Our destination for today was to be Holbrook, AZ to the east. Since traveling on interstates is only done in cases of dire necessity, we chose "another, less traveled" route. Maps are funny things - sometimes roads look pretty good on paper but turn out to be much different when you get down to the "nitty-gritty". Today, "nitty-gritty" was the operative word, as in D-I-R-T!
We chose a road that took us through part of the Navajo Reservation and wide open range with cattle guards and free range cattle. We stopped in Winslow for lunch and a much needed haircut. I spotted a food cart with a sign that said, "Navajo Fry Bread, $1.00). I hadn't had Navajo Fry Bread in decades. It is like a puffy deep-fried pancake and tastes like "heaven"! I sat in the shade and felt thoroughly decadent and that fry bread tasted just as good today as it did the first time I had it in 1963 at the Indian Pow-wow in Flagstaff while sitting in the shade of a tall Ponderosa pine tree.
We took what was to be a back road to Heber and then on to Holbrook. Our road was beautiful, and wound through first juniper, then Ponderosa pine forests, aspen and oak in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. There were posted sign for Elk time and again and finally I spotted several off in the woods.
You cannot imagine my excitement! These were pretty close to the road and I was actually able to get out of the car and, keeping the car between us, able to snap off a couple of pictures. The last elk I had spotted in the Redwoods of CA were barely visible as they were in a ditch and in high grass. As we drove along, I spotted another 4 elk.
Our paved road became dirt and rough and was like riding on square wheels - bump, thump, bump, thump. Luckily, it had rained this afternoon and there was no dust. The scent of pine was heavy in the air due to the recent showers and it was apparent from the lush green of the grass and the many wildflowers that the area has seen plenty of rain this season. The trees with white trunks are aspen and in the fall, the leaves turn golden and shimmer or "quake" making them a real spectacle.
What appeared to be an easy, reasonable road on paper became a bit of a trial as our progress was measured in hours as Joe kept the speed down to a slow "stroll" to keep the car from shimmying to pieces. Getting to Holbrook for the night quickly became a dream. If we made it to Heber by dark, we felt we would be lucky. We had to stop at one point when the pavement gave out to be sure we were still on the road to Heber. Tommy and Debbie Martinez from Winslow were camping nearby and confirmed that the road did, in fact, after a couple of turns, end up in Heber. Without their kind assistance, we would still be out in the woods with the bears, the elk and deer and probably a few skunks, wondering where we were.
Our ride along this road was slow, absolutely breathtaking and never would have happened if we'd tried a 'proven" road. You just never know what nice people you will meet or adventures you will find in unexpected ways.
Our dirt road finally came out onto a main highway with a 65 mph speed limit. It being a late Friday afternoon, the main road was absolutely "packed" with drivers coming up from the heat of the desert. Cars were going 65 mph plus. It felt like we were on a raceway and we were the "rabbit" being chased by a pack of wolves on a 2 lane road. When we were able to pull over, twenty plus cars would race by.
We made it to Heber by about 6:30 and were mighty glad to take the first motel that came into view. To heck with going out to dinner. Joe did go for a walk to see if any restaurants were near by. He came back with a box with 2 ice cream sandwiches and 2 other ice cream products - our dinner, and we were quite happy.
Life is an adventure and we had it all today - Indian Fry Bread, elk in abundance, beautiful scenery, helpful people when needed, and ice cream for dinner!
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