4 Wheel Drive Trip On Schnebly Hill Road - Sedona Arizona

(Sedona, AZ)  62 degrees, perfect

Schnebly Hill Road is one of the premier drives in Arizona.  It's a steep, twisty, unpaved and wonderfully scenic route that rises more than 2,000 feet from Sedona into a lovely wooded mesa.  Currently the road is open up to  Schnebly Road Vista due to snow and ice. Otherwise, it goes all the way up to I-17 outside of Flagstaff.  Our jeep handled it nicely and John said it was very happy today.

On the way up

We stopped often to take pictures and to take in the beautiful mountains.  There are some nice trails along the way.  A Red Rock Pass ($5) is necessary if you plan to park. Senior/Access passes can also be used and we were told by the Forest Service to leave the car on the dashboard with the signature side up. 

We saw some cars traveling on the road, but a four wheel drive is probably a very good idea.   You have to take your time as you weave around the rocks but it's worth the effort.

The vista parking lots is right at the base of the mountain below.  We parked and climbed up to the mesa at the left.  The views were eye popping.  

 

John climbed up much farther than I did and got this great photo. 



This road was a former cow trail and became the main route from Sedona to Flagstaff before being replaced by the Oak Creek Canyon Road (US-89A) in 1914. The road is named after pioneer, Carl Schnebly, who settled near Oak Creek in 1900, building a home and general store. He became the area's first postmaster naming the postal station, Sedona, after his wife. This name was of course then used for the town.

Jimmy had a great time too.  He'd follow John anywhere. 

 

This is also a popular route for the Pink Jeep Tours.  There are also lots of companies that will rent you a jeep for a day. 

We have a few more days here to explore. So much to see...so little time.  We've had several questions about the Elks Lodge and how to join.  I'll show more pictures of our site in tomorrow's post. 

Backroad Jeep Trip - Weston Pass

(Leadville, Colorado) 72 degrees, blue skies with a few clouds

Flowers in Leadville

On our way home from Leadville we took a backroad trip to Fairplay  For Father's Day I got John a guide called Colorado Backroads and 4-Wheel Drive Trails by Charles Wells.  It is a great guide with lots of maps and each trail is rated (easy, moderate, or difficult).  The one we chose was rated as "easy".  In our most humble opinion it was not at all easy.  We had to travel very slowly and John had to maneuver very carefully to avoid bottoming out.  A high clearance jeep or similar is a must especially for the first 10 miles due to the huge boulders and ruts.

We did enjoy the trip and the views were spectacular . We ascended up to 11,921 feet high above tree level.  We saw a few wildflowers and a pretty waterfall. 

Above tree line

There were a few abandoned cabins and mines.  Some nice primitive campgrounds along the South Platte River were seen. 

It was certainly challenging and we both decided that we were not ready for anything more challenging than an easy trail...at least for awhile.  :)

Happy Trails!

Off Road Travels Down Red Rock Shelf Road & a Visit to a Prison Museum & a Gold Mine

(Cripple Creek, Colorado) 29 degrees and snowing

Yesterday we woke up to freezing temperatures and snow.  Good Grief!  Certainly not a good start to our precious day off.  We checked the weather and found out that in Canon City (about an 1 1/2 hours from here) the weather was over 20 degrees warmer  That was all the encouragement we needed. 

We have been to Canon City  before and someone had recommended the Museum of Colorado Prisons.  The museum is housed in the former women's prison (1871). The are 14 prisons in Canon City.  "We love 'em" was a comment given by a recent mayor. 

The cost was $7 per person and it was a very interesting and rather macabre museum.  You can see the gas chamber, confiscated weapons, prison uniforms,  and a hangman's noose from the last hanging.  The exhibits are displayed in actual cells of the prison.  We received a audio tour to listen to as we walked around the prison and grounds.  There is also a gift shop that sells merchandise made by inmates at a nearby prison. 

After doing some grocery shopping at Walmart we drove back to Cripple Creek by the Red Rock Shelf Road.  It starts off as a paved road but quickly changes to dirt.  This is our third Jeep worthy trip and it was by far the most breathtaking.  Literally! There were sheer cliffs with no guard rails on a very narrow one lane road.  Check out this step drop off. 

 

John did a great job driving but this road is not for the faint of heart.  I found it to be very unnerving.  After we crossed the river it was easier and more enjoyable at least for me.  John was in heaven throughout. 

 

 

Traffic Jam

The weather today was much better.  We decided to take a tour of the first gold mine owned by a woman.  It is located in Cripple Creek and the claim was staked by Mollie Kathleen in 1891.  The cost of the tour is  $18 per person. 

We put on hard hats and descended with 8 other folks over 1000 feet below the surface in a sort of elevator called a man-skip shift ride.  It descended quickly and smoothly.  There was a small light in the cage but otherwise it was completely dark.  At the bottom we were met by our guide. 

Demonstrating the different types of lights used to illuminate the mine

He demonstrated  how the drilling has evolved over the years.   It was very interesting.  We walked along the actual tracks  that were used to haul the ore out of the mine. 

Vertical shaft following the gold vein

We rode the modern cars that transport the ore out of the mine

Gold vein in natural state

It was a very informative tour and we would highly recommend it.  We enjoyed our two days off. 

Original mining shaft

Off Road Travels Down Phantom Canyon Road

(Cripple Creek, Colorado) 68 degrees, blue skies with a few clouds

There are some excellent off road trips to take in this  area called the Gold Belt Scenic Backcountry Byway's. One of the routes called the Phantom Canyon Road starts in Cripple Creek and ends in Florence. Originally this was built by the railroad in 1894 to run gold ore day and night to nine processing plants.  It was an engineering marvel at the time and ran until 1912.  A huge flood with a 30 foot wall of water cascaded down this canyon and wiped out most of the tracks and bridges. 

Our jeep was "born" for a trip like this one.  Much of the road is gravel and at times very narrow.  It goes up and down the canyon with some spectacular views.  We bought a driving tour CD in Florrisant for $5 and it was timed perfectly along this route.  It told us a lot about the railroads, gold mining, and floods that swept through this area.

This road is restricted to vehicles no longer  than 25 feet.  The scenery changed constantly and we really enjoyed this trip.  It was definitely a "Wow" experience.

Only remaining railroad bridge (others swept away by 30 foot wall of water during a flood)

There were two tunnels along the route

The road ended in the small town of Florence and is known for its antique malls.  We traveled to Canon City for lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant and went home by a "normal" road.

We plan on taking the Shelf Road next time.  Our jeep is looking forward to that adventure too.