The first hour or so was through the most dry, hot desert I can imagine. It was about 100 degrees and there was a dozen shades of light brown. It was beautiful in its own way, but it was like Mars.
Finally, we hit some elevation, and the terrain began to pick up a bit. It was actually very nice here. It was a bit cooler and there were patches of life all around. Our first photo stop was about 90 minutes outside of PHX...or at least where we got the bikes.
As we kept moving up the mountain, the temperature kept dropping. The lowest temp was about 1-hr from Sedona when the temperature got to around 55. It was amazing to see the change from 105 to 55 in one afternoon of riding. By the time we reached Sedona, the sun was setting. It was absolutely amazing. The red rock cliffs around the city were absolutely alive with the colors of sunset.
We enjoyed the sights of Sedona so much that we stopped three times to take photos. I'll put more up later, but it's 1am now and I need to get some sleep.
When we finally reached our hotel in Flagstaff, it was COLD (45 or so) and dark. That last 45 minutes was rough riding in the dark on winding, unfamiliar rodes, with the cold. To make matters worse, the road was so bumpy that my GPS kept falling off the bike. Fortunately, I caught it both times.
After a long and beautiful day, we had an amazing plate of sushi at a place called Monsoon's in downtown Flagstaff. This place was our first stop on Rt 66.
Absolutely delightful. I hope every day is as perfect as this one...
