Arizona Pt. 2

Before I get too far ahead of myself, before I went out and hit the bars and breweries in Arizona, the Hippie and I took a drive to one of the Hippies favorite spots. West Clear Creek in the Coconino National Forest. He told me that the hike down the canyon was a difficult hike but I thought I would be up for the experience. We got up early on a hot Arizona day September 2, 2007, loaded up a cooler with a lunch Desiree packed for us and went to the store to buy some ice and Gatorade. It was approximately a 2 hour drive northeast from where the Hippie lives so on the drive up we had a chance to catch up. When we arrived at the area where West Clear Creek was, The Hippie and I got a little turned around on the directions and it took us a couple hours to find it. No problem, the area was beautiful.

We finally arrived at West Clear Creek, ate our lunch and packed a few Gatorades in a backpack. I took my camera and we set off for the hike down the mountain. Right away I was skeptical. I wasn't in the best shape and my knee was killing me but we started down the mountain anyway. To read more about West Clear Creek, check out this link, http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/west_clear_creek/canyon.html
It is rated a very difficult hike and I made it about half-way down the side of the mountain when I told the Hippie that I could probably make it down there, but it would take a helicopter to bring me out! My knee was screaming! So, I gave the Hippie my camera and he took some really great pictures of the creek when he got to the bottom. I stayed put and sat on a small stool on the edge of a small cliff, waiting for him while a storm loomed heavy overhead. If you have never heard thunder while in a canyon, it is loud and erie! Here are some of the pictures the Hippie took of West Clear Creek.

The Hippie (Bryan Dunn). Thanks for the great shots!

After leaving West Clear Creek, we decided to visit Montezuma Castle in Camp Verde, AZ. It was only 20 miles away and we figured it would be worth it. It was cooler there than in Phoenix so we headed off for Camp Verde. Another historic and awesome site to see when visiting Arizona! I won't elaborate on the castle, everything you would want to know can be found here at http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/montezuma_castle/national_monument.html
Here are some of the pictures I took while we were there.

On our way back to Phoenix, I saw a sign for Cave Creek, AZ and remembered that there was a micro brewery there called Crazy Ed's Satisfied Frog and Black Mountain Brewery. I planned on going there September 6th. This book is designed to tie in both the bars and taverns as well as the area they are in. More on Crazy Ed's and others in the next update.