Biking The Peavine & Iron King Trails

Bike trails are numerous in and around Prescott. Carolyn and I recently rode on the Peavine and Iron King Trails both developed as a part of the Rails To Trails program in which old railroad beds are converted to recreational trails.

The Peavine Trail, 4.15 miles borders Willow and Watson Lakes to the east and runs through the Granite Dells. It was made from a part of the old Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railroad bed. The Iron King Trail branches off the Peavine Trail and runs east to Prescott Valley is longer.





The Peavine Trail, so named because it winds in and out and around like a pea vine, begins about 3 miles east of our home. Here it passes the shoreline of Willow Lake.







It winds through the Granite Dells.












The Dells owe their distinctive look to the weathering of this very hard rock over millions of years. Geologists estimate the rocks are about 1.4 billion years old.








Here the trails goes by Watson Lake. In the distance Granite Mountain can be seen on the right. The granite there is different from that of the Dells. It is even older.








The formations are amazing. They are totally unlike the geology just a few miles away.










Many of the boulders are cube-shaped due to the nature of right angle fissures of granite.

The balancing rocks have withstood earthquakes over the millenia but eventually erosion will bring them down.












The Iron King Trail branches off from the Peavine and turns east toward Prescott Valley. Here it winds through pine forests.








Carolyn saw her first Road Runner. (Wiley Coyote was nowhere to be seen.) The road runner is to the immediate right of the two trees in the distance. (Look close, he's hard to see.)






As the Iron King Trail approaches Prescott Valley the view is a panaoramic of wild flowers.










When it's time to turn around and head home the only bad thing about the whole day is the uphill climb getting back to the Dells.

The Lakes of Prescott

Prescott is situated in the high desert of northern Arizona. It was a surprise to me, therefore, that there are several lakes in the area. Carolyn and I have had a chance to visit five of them so far: Willow Lake, Watson Lake, Goldwater Lake, Lynx Lake, and Granite Basin Lake. Each one is very different from the others.


Watson Lake is one of two lakes a few minutes from our house on the north side of the city. It is uniquely situated in the Granite Dells, an area of giant boulders that have weathered over time and taken on irregular and attractive shapes. Ruins and artifacts indicate Native Americans lived here in the early 1800s. Legends abound of lost gold treasures hidden in the rock outcroppings. Early Hollywood cowboy, Tom Mix filmed many movies here.






Watson Lake is open year round for kayaking, canoeing, and sailing.

It also offers rock climbing for both the casual and the serious climber.

Willow Lake adjoins Watson Lake. It is shallower with marshy areas great for water fowl and aquatic plants.

It shares, in part, the boulder formations found at Watson Lake.

Willow Lake is also bordered by hiking trails and picnic areas.

Goldwater Lake is just a couple of miles south of the downtown area. It too is a small lake. It is nestled in among ponderosa pines and surrounded by hiking trails.

It's a nice place to fish or picnic.

There is a beach area for launching small boats, canoes and kayaks. In the summer there are boat rentals.

Carolyn and I have enjoyed sitting by the lake watching the waters, having a late lunch as the sun sets, and enjoying a good book by the shores.

There are endless amusements at Goldwater Lake. We have seen kids having naval battles on paddle boats in the lake, watched the adventurous practice roll-overs in their kayaks, and chuckled as young dogs tried to catch crayfish in the shallows.

The other day, I found this tiny boat that someone had made with a piece of bark for the deck, a twig for a mast and an aspen leaf for a sail. With a bit of ballast, it caught the wind and sailed steadily.

Lynx Lake is also located south of town. It is a manmade lake of 55 acres surrounded by woods and trails.











During parts of the year sections of the trails are closed to prvide sanctuary for bald eagles which nest nearby.

Granite Basin Lake sits at the foot of Granite Mountain about 8 miles west of our home. It is a small lake that affords fishing and picnicing facilities.

Ben Update

Ben is in one of those developmental spurts where the changes are noticeable by the day. New teeth are popping out all at once. Although we thought for a while that he might skip crawling and go right to walking, he suddenly is doing an "army crawl" all through the house, keeping mom and dad busy "Ben-proofing" the place. He was discovered very recently sitting up in his bed playing with toys when he was supposed to be napping. Days later he was found standing up in bed. In the last week, Matt and Becky report that he has become very vocal. Reports are that he is working on saying, "Da-da."

He's a very busy boy.






Something has attracted his attention and he's heading toward his room.











"Hey dad, look what I can do! Now if I can just figure out how to get my leg over the rail."











"I love cats, but I can't eat a whole one."











He's got two front (upper) teeth and it isn't even Christmas yet.











Two teeth can be seen emerging on the bottom. These can't be fun times.










Mom and dad took Ben to the park for the first time.


















He loved to swing. Just wait until next summer!




















"Wheeee ..." Ben comes flying down the slide.

(Actually mom said he was sitting still. But it looks good doesn't it?)


















You know, swings and slides are fun but nothing beats playing in the grass with mom.

Seeking Higher Ground

Today Carolyn and I took our first hike into the Granite Basin Recreation Area. This area is about 8 miles from our house. It is at the foot of Granite Mountain which we see from our back deck.

We took Balancing Rock Trail (#349) and West Lake Trail (#351) to make a 4.2 mile circuit contouring around a hillside just south of Granite Basin. The trek provided great views of Granite Mountain, huge boulders strewn across its south face, an open pine forest of evergreen oaks, manzanita, scrub oaks, and a variety of wildflowers. The weather was a perfect 74 degrees with a light breeze and sunny skies.

We also took a side excursion to Granite Basin Lake.




Here are some pictures from our day:



Granite Mountain is seen here from our back deck (about 8 miles away). The peak is over 7600 feet. It is not the highest mountain in our region but it looks so because of its isolation from other peaks.








The Balancing Rock Trail is a relatively easy 4.2 mile trail. It changes elevation only by 220 feet, topping just under 6000 feet.

There are stretches, however, that get your attention. At that altitude, a long uphill section can get your heart pumping.










Carolyn set a brisk pace.

Most of the day we had the trail to ourselves. We met a couple on horseback and later a couple on mountain bikes.















Boulders crop up here and there on the trail.












The trail varies from deep forrest to open areas with long range vistas. (Granite Mountain is on my right.)









You can see on the distant horizon the San Francisco Peaks. They are more than 90 miles away near Flagstaff, AZ.

They are a part of the southern Colorado Plateau. Some geologists believe they are the remains of a large strato-volcano (similar to Mt. St. Helens). They rise over 12,000 feet.



Further along the trail we saw ...


cactus in bloom,










towering pines,


















and gorgeous wildflowers.












Although not on the trail, we took a side excursion to Granite Basin Lake, a small lake at the base of the mountain.










We had a great day. But it gets dark early in Arizona. (We're not on daylight savings time.)

As the sun tipped toward the west, it was time to head home, so we didn't get lost in the woods.

Carolyn Yearns For Open Water

Since our recent trip to Long Beach (with side trips to Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, San Clemente, and San Juan Capistrano), Carolyn has been thinking about kayaks. We visited a couple of shops that sell them. I have been researching them on the Internet.

We decided on Sunday afternoon to go out to Watson Lake here in Prescott. You can rent kayaks there. We tried out a tandem "sit on top" kayak. We got the hang of it fairly quickly and , although it was a windy sunny day, our interest in kayaks was seriously "wetted."

Next week we want to try out single kayaks with cabins to compare to the tandem.

There are five lakes within minutes of our house. Having kayaks would give us a great way to enjoy them. With the mild weather we have here it's possible to boat year 'round.

Here are some pictures of our afternoon on Watson Lake:

The following week we went back to Watson Lake and tried the single kayaks. If was a different experience than the tandem. They moved quicker through the water with less effort. The Swift 9.5 that Carolyn had was stable but didn't track as well as the tandem or a longer single would. Nonetheless, they were alot of fun.