Arizona - Red Rock Scenic Byway & AZ State Capitol

Mesa/Apache Junction KOA, Apache Junction

Sunday, 13 February 2022

It was seriously cold during our walks early this morning, feeling much colder than the forecast 22° suggested.  I was glad we were leaving for the warmer climate in southern AZ.

today's route

Today was another 200+ mile drive.  I know that doesn't sound like much, but on these roads it feels worse than it should be.  I took the interstate south, except for the detour on the Red Rocks Byway, and the road surface was really rough, not counting the snow and occasional ice still on the road.

Besides being rough, the road included 18 miles of downgrades - 4% to 6% per their signs - and dropped us 3,000' in elevation between Flagstaff and the beginning of AZ-179.

Red Rock Scenic Byway

This road is officially the Red Rock National Scenic Byway and has been designated an All-American Road.  It's just over 14 miles long and really was worth going back for.  It goes through The Village of Oak Creek, which has an HOA and seems to be incorporated somehow into Sedona, though they're 11 or 12 miles apart.  It looks wealthy, and probably is.  And it looks like its main industry is tourism, though they've kept that within scenic bounds so far.

I stopped to walk the dogs (luckily it was Sunday and I could park at a small mall that would, on a business day, have certainly kicked us out), and took photos of the scenery.  You can see that all these loom above the town/village, but I'm not sure what their names are.  I've labeled them as my best guesses from what I found on the internet, but there weren't any signs to tell me.

I don't know what these are, besides impressive.

I think this is Bell Rock.

I think this is Courthouse Butte.

The rocks along the roadway were mostly this same red color, so I was able to get my red rock fix.  This road was narrow, and lots of people seemed to be out early on Sunday to go hiking - lots of the parking areas along the way were full.

This 14-mile road consisted of 11 traffic circles at varying intervals.  Maybe they think this will slow down traffic, but each one also gives access to side roads.  They mean you have to stay alert on this drive.

I went up to Sedona, learning where I'd missed the turn in town the other day, and headed back down again.  I was interested to note that gasoline was cheaper in this Oak Creek Village than it had been in Flagstaff.

Back on the interstate, the hills were all white rocks.  From there, you'd never imagine all the red beauty that lies just over a hill or two along that road.

Back on the road

I've been noticing a lot of Alaska license plates lately.

The road passed from the Kaibab National Forest to the Prescott National Forest.  For having so much desert, Arizona has a lot of large national forests.

I had time to see a drawing on the back of a tractor-trailer that showed a man with an angry expression pointing at me, saying, "Did You Pray Today?"  I have a hard time understanding a religion that thinks people should be scolded into praying, but that's just my idea.

I noticed we were starting to see saguaro cactus along the road, telling me we were coming out of the mountains (even if all the __% grade next __ miles signs hadn't been a clue).

And I saw several of those yellow highway warning signs showing what looked like a mule or donkey and saying "next 20 miles."  Online I found that there are lots of wild burros in far northwestern AZ, but I couldn't find anything about them showing up in this area.

And then down in Phoenix, where the signs showed we were at 76°, about 20° to 30° warmer than if we'd stayed in Flagstaff.  The bougainvillea was blooming beautifully.

Arizona State Capitol and grounds

I've figured out why AZ politics are so squirrely: they don't have a state capitol.  The building that was originally built and used as the state capitol is now exclusively a museum.

Arizona Capitol Museum

That pretty building in the center is what was built in 1901 to be the state capitol.  As the state grew, the building became inadequate to house all the state functions, so the buildings on either side and behind were built.  This next photo is of the building behind.

I think the letters over the door say:
State Capitol Legislative Tower

As I understand it, the governor's office is also in this tower.  And these buildings - the tower and the 2 flanking the original capitol - have been sold by the state to private investors.  

In other words, Arizona doesn't have a capitol building that's the seat of their state government.  They've talked about building a new capitol, but so far it's just in the talking stage.

And now all the bizarre political behavior we've been seeing from AZ over the last few years seems to make sense.  How can you have a center of gravity as a state if you literally don't have a center?  With all the offices scattered out like this - and apparently these buildings are not aging gracefully (including the plumbing) - I'm not surprised politics are also so scattered around here.

It's really a shame.  Look at this beautiful building.

Wikipedia says the statue on top of the dome is a weathervane that's similar to the Winged Victory of Samothrace.  I have no idea why that would have been chosen.  The original is a 9' statue found on a Greek island north of the Aegean, dating back to the 2nd century BC.  It's supposed to represent Nike, the goddess of victory.  Okay.  The building's still beautiful.

Across the street, and covering 2 or 3 city blocks, is a grassy area that's filled with various memorials.  All kinds.  There's one to firefighters, for instance, and one to police dogs that died in the line of duty (a surprising number of them), and a peace officers memorial.  Then there were these.

The plaque on the side reads:
"In Honor of Those Who Served This Great Nation
in the Silent Service of Military Submarines
in the United States Navy."

This man lived a very long life, considering the
conditions of the time, and it sounds like it was
a very good life.

Father Albert Braun

I've never seen a Vietnam memorial like this.

According to a nearby plaque, this Korean bell is dedicated
to those Arizonans who gave their lives in the Korean War.

And finally, this 9/11 memorial.

The plaque is headed with a quote from then-Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani from 2001: "We met the worst of humanity with the best of humanity."  (What do you suppose happened to him that that person should have become the person he is today?)

You can see from the photos that there was a lot of nice green grass all over this area, so the dogs and I had a pleasant walk from one memorial to another.

From there I drove east past the suburb of Mesa to Apache Junction along Superstition Highway, which I think is named for the nearby Superstition Mountains.  I passed several official highway signs that flat-out lied.  One batch, for instance, said the exit I wanted to take was closed, so when I took an earlier one, it funneled me back onto the highway in time to take the supposedly closed exit.

I started seeing huge RV parks and mobile home parks, reminding me that Arizona is a prime spot for snowbirds and retirees.