December 15, 2023 to December 16, 2023
Globe
Friday
Friday was just a driving day and a pretty unpleasant one at that, so I don’t want to give it more attention than it merits. It’s a six hour long drive, which we broke in half with a stop for lunch at Spurs Cafe in Wickenburg, a town that I will always associate with Greg Garceau now because of the gruesome accident he had there that I’ve never been able to put out of my mind once he shared it with us.
The parts of the drive that were good were often spectacular - especially the miles along the rim above the Colorado south of Hoover Dam, which we’ve seen before; and the drive between Mesa and Globe which is really jaw-dropping but too stressful to be able to fully appreciate if you’re the driver.
For some reason we didn’t take any photos from the drive though, maybe because when it was bad it was horrid - particularly on the long miles approaching Wickenburg where US 93 is torn up as part of a major renovation project and traffic was threaded through one narrow bottleneck after another, slowing down to five or ten mph while trucks eased their way through the curves.
Breakfast at the Spur Cafe was good though.
The one thing definitely worth sharing about the day though is our lodging, the Chrysocolla Inn. This is our second time in Globe and the second stay in this inn, the last one four years ago right before the pandemic.
The Chrysocolla Inn definitely rates as an Inn of Character. The innkeeper, Libby, gives us the same tour of the place and its history that she did before, refreshing our memories. It was originally a boarding house serving workers at the nearby copper mines, and amazingly at the time included fifty bedrooms, all very small. Each room was just large enough for a bed and sink, and was shared by two lodgers that alternated occupancy depending on whether they were on the day or night shift. The mattress was flipped over after each shift, which might be one origin of the term flophouse.
The renovation and conversion of the badly rundown boarding house is an interesting story in its own right. The property was bought early in the century by one of Libby’s relatives (a cousin, I think) and her husband. They spent the next decade overhauling it, ripping out walls, building staircases, enclosing porches, all with the vision of turning it into the elegant and character-filled B&B that it is today. When they finished the project and opened for business though, they quickly found that they didn’t really like being innkeepers. Fortunately Libby was available, interested, and suitable after her years of experience running a B&B in Israel.
Libby’s been running the place for maybe a decade now, and is ready to retire. By chance, her replacement walked in the door about two months ago in need of refuge - her daughter, who was born and raised in Tel Aviv, was in the country with her partner and child on a visit when the war broke out. They decided to emigrate here rather than return to the war zone, and are in the process of learning the ropes. Nearly all of their possessions are still back in Tel Aviv, but at least some friends shipped their two cats over to join them in their new life.
A very interesting place, worth your business if you come to Globe. And the breakfasts are worth coming for as well.
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Saturday
It’s windy today and not particularly warm - the high will be in the mid-sixties though once the day warms up, which is about the best we can expect given that we’re at elevation 3,500’ in mid-December. We have no complaints, but that doesn’t mean Rachael is going biking with me. After picking our host Libby’s brain on hiking ideas and then letting the day warm up while we digest the massive spread that’s presented for us, she’s off to nearby Round Mountain Park for a walk in the foothills.
The park’s map shows a maze of trails to explore, but for some reason none of them are known to RideWithGPS so she can’t plan ahead. Instead she just walks the mile and a half to the park entrance and picks a route when she gets there, aiming for the hilltop viewpoint with a huge flag blown straight out and flapping so loudly she can hear it from far below.
An excellent hike, she reports as she shares her photos with me while we wait for our pizzas to arrive at Bravo. And it does look excellent. But she didn’t see a double-crested saguaro. That would be me that claimed that rare trophy for the day.
Globe is surrounded by hills, mountains, and the ravaged landscape left by its mining history. Globe is one of the oldest mining towns in the southwest, with nearby open pit copper mines still producing and still forming an important element of the town’s economy. There aren’t many close-in paved roads if you don’t include the highways, so I’m in the Raven driving a short way north toward Roosevelt Lake for my ride today. This is the direction Rachael and I came the last time we were here - we parked the car by the impressive bridge across end of the lake and biked north on 188 until it was time to turn back.
That was an excellent ride - 188 is a fine riding road with its dramatic scenery, low traffic and a generous shoulder - but today I want to check out 288 too, the dead-end spur that extends 47 miles northwest to Young, a place I’d never heard of but that looks like an interesting destination on a longer tour with younger legs. There’s even lodging there - the Dead Broke Inn. How can we not want to stay at a place with a name like that someday?
The ride starts with about a ten mile drive to the north end of Wheatfields Road, where I park the Raven on the shoulder, unload the bike, give a silent prayer in hopes that the car will still be here when I return, and start climbing. The first seven miles are on 188 until I come to the turnoff for Young, and a pass traverse - four miles up, three down. The climb is manageable but not insignificant, rising at a steady 5-7%. As I climb I’m thinking about my health and giving thanks again to Dr Lin and the staff at Keizer, but I’m also a little apprehensive. I imagine it will be awhile until I fully trust that I won’t have an episode on climbs like this.
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Over the top, it’s a seven mile descent to the Salt River - three on this highway, and four more on 288 after I come to the turnoff. Scenery is fantastic, with mountains on either side and large, blue Theodore Roosevelt Lake growing larger in the valley below as I descend and approach it.
Just as I come to the turnoff, another biker with a loaded bike enters this highway from 288 and starts climbing my way - and he’s on my shoulder riding the wrong side of the road, so of course we stop and chat when we cross paths. A crusty older guy who’s missing his two center top incisors, he’s interesting to chat with. he’s been out here camping, and recommends I check out the unpaved Cherry Creek side road to where he says is an outstanding secluded campsite.
I’m not looking for a campsite today, but I like the looks of this road from the first moment I’m on it. I’m especially encouraged by the sign that warns to watch for wildlife for the next 47 miles.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encelia_farinosa
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The descent levels out and comes to an end at the bridge across the Salt River, where it emerges through a narrow canyon. The setting is striking, the bridge interesting - it’s an old single-lane steel-decked truss bridge, and not in the best repair. There are signs warning you to not loiter on the bridge, and I don’t - I’m just on it long enough to take a shot of the river snaking through the canyon, but by bad luck a pickup comes across while I’m on it. I don’t really like having to squeeze too close to the railing, a spare, partly broken down pipe construction that offers zero protection against falling into the river.
I meant to look for a date on the bridge on the way back but then forgot, but with some research I found this article by the Arizona DOT that describes the bridge and its history. Built in 1920, it was one of the first bridges in the state built after Arizona Statehood.
It’s been an excellent ride up until now, but it gets still better once I’m across the bridge and biking along the river on the other side for a few miles admiring the still-golden riparian foliage. I’m mentally congratulating myself on what an outstanding route I’ve found for myself when I look up ahead and see the icing on the cake - a crested saguaro, standing tall just thirty feet from the road.
This is so strange. Just yesterday morning I opened an email from Kelly Iniguez, sharing a link to a short hike northeast of Phoenix that featured a rare two-headed crested saguaro. Adding an hour detour in the car with a two hour hike didn’t fit into our already long drive plan for the day so we took a pass on that idea. But now here’s another one, that I’ve just stumbled across by chance.
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10 months ago
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Hey, are you going to be coming over to Tucson?
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It’s just past two when I finally turn back. I’d love to continue on, but there’s not enough day left - I’ve got that seven mile climb ahead, and I promised Rachael I’d try to be back by four so we could go out for an early dinner.
The first four miles of the climb aren’t bad - maybe 4-5% most of the way until I come to the junction with 188. The last three are a challenge though, as the grade is more like 7-9% and that strong wind hasn’t reversed direction or abated in the last few hours so I’m pushing into it the whole way up. At the top it must be nearing 20%, and I’m more than ready to layer up and pedal downhill and upwind the last four miles to the car. Fortunately prayers have been answered and the Raven is still there when I arrive, and I’m only respectably late when I arrive home at 4:30. There’s just time to squeeze in a quick warm shower and change before we’re out the door on our way to Bravo.
Today's ride: 28 miles (45 km)
Total: 281 miles (452 km)
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https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fish+Creek+Canyon/@33.5285967,-111.3253192,13.38z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x872bc38a8e30cb95:0x73d899d749f2c804!8m2!3d33.5767142!4d-111.3537405!16s%2Fg%2F1tf58c5z!5m1!1e4?entry=ttu
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