flagstaff - days 5-7, 05.19-21

it's hard to say what defines flagstaff more, more like a combination of the following :  the fact that it's based on a tourist economy, the jumping off point to get to the grand canyon for most people; the mountains that bring a relief to the flat, windy, desert approach or the railroad.

there's an interesting mix of tourism and alternative outdoorsy, mixed with a touch of art and craftmanship.  it's a small town of around 80,000, same size as asheville, but a msa of 140,000, about one third the size of asheville's.  it has a little of that alternatve vibe with multiple coffee houses and microbreweries.  i saw one of those obnoxious cycling party barges going down the street last night.

and there are half a dozen bicycle shops, mostly catering to the trail riding crowd.

route 66, of course, came through here.  i'm staying at the motel du beau, a 1920's classic one-story motor court.  the oldest continuing operating one, i'm told.  small but comfortable rooms, about 12 x 15.  the window in the bathroom is right on the sidewalk.  nice place.  good, friendly, local ownership.  and they keep a big bowl of jolly ranchers stocked on the counter.

this is a nice little place, small, and the people who stay here are not your average travelers.  i met a young woman yesterday during breakfast, just got her masters in film writing and producing.  vacating before turning to the nasty business of making a living.  met an older woman today, just retired, from hollywood, florida just solo travelling through the sw in her little honda, being tossed around by the wind, appreciating the natural beauty.  she's off to the petrified forest.

hmm... first microbrewery, dark skies.  food and beer are separate orders, separate servers, separate checks.  menus for each are by QR code.  i'm learning.  this place has 4 n.e. ipa's plus one double and one quadruple n.e.   they have an imperial stout @ 14%.  can't drink much of that stuff.  the double is good, though.

downtown flagstaff has at least half a dozen breweries, a dozen coffee shops, numerous pizza places and a bunch of restaurants, including 2 japanese, 2 thai, a korean and an indian.  there are, however, only 2 sw/mexican restaurants that i can find.  go figure.

2nd brewery, mother road.

there's an amtrak station here.  the sw chief should come through 6 times a week, 3 in each direction.  the station is in the heart of the downtown. wonder how many riders get off?  i'm guessing there's some sort of shuttle to get you to the grand canyon.  there's two tracks and freight trains come through regularly day and night.  the crossroads have to close when the trains come, so there's often a backup.  i didn't really appreciate freight trains till i came to the west and saw the long chain of cars heading across the open plains or up the columbia river.

i have to admit that i got excited when i saw humphreys peak the first time. (chris won the limited contest to be the first to identify it from the photo.) riding for days in the flat desert, the mountain was relief calling out.

woke up this morning, friday, to 37 deg weather and rain, mt. humphries had additional snow on it. the wind has been blowing a pretty steady 30 mph.  makes walking an adventure.

toured NAU campus today, northern arizona u., which i hadn't even realized was here.  actually a pretty large campus with an interesting mix of 1970's utilitarian buildings and modern glass and steel panel ones.  some bold statements.

i continue to have some bike issues, nothing serious.  when i went to test ride the bike yesterday i found the front tire flat.  i took that to the shop for them to fix.  when i got it back and popped it on, i noticed the one i had had fixed 2 days ago was flat.  aargh!  so i took the whole bike for them to look at.  waiting for completion.  don't like the inconvenience of flat tires.

my plan is to leave in the morning heading north to the grand canyon.  winds are supposed to be 15 mph, increasing to 22+/- out of the sw in the afternoon.  so my first 50 miles i'll actually have a tail wind.  then i'll turn west to the canyon rim and into the wind.  may not make it far.  i'll need to gorilla camp tomorrow evening, low is anticipated to be 26.  yikes!  sunday will be a more normal 5-10 mph.  i hope to be at the main south rim visitor center campground.  supposedly the have non-reservable campsites for walk in hikers and ride in cyclists.

Well, that's all changed.........