Sedona and Flagstaff 7-15-06 (18 images)

Headed up north this weekend for some wheeling and biking. Met up with Aaron, Brian, and Mark Saturday morning for a caravan up to Sedona. We went in a "back way" through Cornville, stopped at the Safeway for some Red Rock passes, then hit up Broken Arrow. After Broken Arrow Mark and I stopped at Maria's Cantina in Oak Creek Village for some lunch. While we were eating, a nasty storm blew in and dumped a bunch of rain (and gave my truck a much needed bath). It didn't last long. The rain had stopped by the time we were done eating. Mark shoved off to fight his way back down I-17, while I headed over to Buddha Beach (Oak Creek) for a little swim. There were a couple washes along Verde Valley School Road that were flowing pretty good from the rain. Unfortunately, the storm did a number on Oak Creek as well. The water was the consistency of mud with a bunch of debris floating around. I decided to skip the swim and head up to Schnebly Hill to set up camp for the night. I woke up Sunday morning, ate some cereal, then went up to Flagstaff for a little MTB action. The trail of choice was Schultz Creek (part of the Dry Lake Hills trail system). I rode up the 4 mile, 750 ft. incline, then ran a loop that comes back to the top of Schultz Creek (don't know the name), topping it off with the sweet 4 miles of downhill back to the bottom of Schultz Creek. Instead of coming back down I-17 to Phoenix, I decided to take Lake Mary Road (Coconino 3) instead, which spits you out about 30 miles northeast of Payson (Clints Well). It takes a little bit longer than I-17, but it's a very pretty drive through pines at 7000 ft. Plus, you don't run the risk of sitting in the gnarly traffic jams that I-17 can produce.

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