Flagstaff: Scottsdale’s rogue little emo sibling to the north. Not a steakhouse or plastic surgeon’s office in sight, but there is plenty of tie-die, ‘cold’ weather (and snow!), and when the timing is just right, yellow aspen trees.
Not wanting to miss the turning of the leaves this year, we headed up to Flag in September, and while it was way too early for leaf peeping, there was something else in store for us – wildflowers. A huge meadow of them. (This was right off of 180 and Schultz Pass Road.) They don’t last long but if you can catch them at their peak, they’re incredible:
Afterwards, we headed into the thick of the San Francisco Peaks just to be sure that there weren’t any signs of color on the trees (not even a hint), and after a very short jaunt through the woods (we were trying Keto at the time… Jake battling an uphill climb on no carbs got ugly, fast), we turned around and drove straight to our favorite creekside winery to finish out our day.
We’d be back a few weeks later, this time clad in coats and ready to take on Humphrey’s Peak trail at the top of the Arizona Snowbowl.
We never made it much past the trailhead. After five months of putting up with the stifling heat in Phoenix, it felt surreal to be breathing in 55-degree air, surrounded by pines and colorful leaves. We were content to spend all our time taking in the views from the meadow and sitting under that clump of yellowing aspens. (Or maybe we were just too lazy to hike.)
Voila. Our first true fall experience in years, and we loved every minute of it. It now feels appropriate to burn my Fall Harvest candles, wear boots, carve pumpkins, bake pies, sip cider… you get the idea. (I will not buy into pumpkin spice lattes though.)
We got a tip from a friendly fellow hiker to check out Lockett Meadow as the aspens there were at their peak. Even though the meadow is within the same mountain range as Humphrey’s, you have to drive all the way out and around to access it. There’s also a 4-mile steep climb on a narrow dirt road at the tail-end of the drive. If you like feeling like you’re dangling off a cliff, this drive is for you. The guy was right though – the scenery was gorgeous.
Next year – camping under those trees. 😉