Although there are a couple of ways to get to the White Mountains from the Valley, going east on US 60 through the Salt River Canyon is the most direct. And, as a bonus, it is very scenic!
The two-lane road through the canyon criss-crosses back and forth down the side, crosses the river and then criss-crosses up the other side. The drop-offs are steep, the turns are tight and the views are breath-taking!
We gradually left the desert behind and found ourselves in the forest- Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, to be exact. The air is about 20 degrees cooler, clean and sweet-smelling. And at elevations of more than 6400 feet, it's also thinner.
Although the patches of wildflowers have long been gone in the Valley, many are still blooming in the north country!
We did some exploring/hiking while we were geocaching (a blog post for another day!). From this vantage point, we had great views of the White River and trees for as far as we could see.
The little town of Greer (#100) is nestled in a valley in the White Mountains. It's a popular vacation spot in summer for folks escaping the heat and in winter for snow bunnies since Sunrise Park Resort is about 20 minutes away.
Greer's three main businesses are cabins/hotels, restaurants and antique/gift stores, most of which line Main Street. It's a doable walk from one end of Main Street to the other once you are acclimated to the altitude (8525 feet).
Most people go to Greer to escape big-city pressures. Our cell phones got spotty service and we ended up turning them off. Many of the cabins don't have televisions. So what do people do there? They hike and fish and enjoy nature.
The Little Colorado River runs through town providing residents and tourists with a place to fish and play. Scorched trees on the mountains are remnants of last year's Wallow Fire that evacuated Greer and tanked their summer tourism.
Wildlife abounds in Greer- loved the butterflies, not such a fan of the snake!
Greer Days, a fun-filled weekend of events for the entire family, are held annually in mid-June. Our visit was the following weekend but folks were still pumped up. Greer Days sports several shootouts on Main Street, pancake breakfasts, a Fishing Derby, an arts & crafts fair, an Old-Fashioned Main Street Parade, kids' games, a horseshoe tournament, a Run Through the Pines, ice cream social, lots of food and music.
The Rendezvous Diner (excellent food including their to-die-for cobbler!) sponsors Horse Apple Bingo. You "buy" a square prior to the beginning of the parade (each square has multiple buyers) and whichever square has the most "horse apples" after the parade, wins. The buyers of that square equally divide the money. They know how to party in Greer!
We enjoyed walking around the town, stopping in an antique or gift shop (or two...) and eating in a couple of the many outstanding restaurants. But what I enjoyed perhaps the most was the daily afternoon rain shower. No wonder it's so green there!
RAIN!
And, of course, after the rain comes the...
RAINBOW! Or a double one!
We took a side trip one morning to the little town of Concho, about 60 miles northwest of Greer, to visit the 9th Annual Lavender Festival (#98) at Red Rock Lavender Farm. I was surprised that lavender would grow at all in Arizona- much less so abundantly that there would be a festival!
The Lavender Festival is held annually in late June-early July. The intoxicatingly sweet aroma from the lavender plants permeated the air as we walked around.
Established in 1998, Red Rock Farms is Arizona's first commercial lavender grower as well as one of the largest commercial growers in the western hemisphere. They presently grow 12 different varieties of lavender on 120 acres.
The owners, Mike and Chris Teeple, bought the land outside of Concho to build their retirement home on as well as have an organic vegetable garden and fruit orchard. When they left California to retire here, they missed the pots of lavender so prevalent in California and planted several bushes around their home. The plants did so well that Mike began investigating whether they could grow it commercially. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Festival-goers can pick their own lavender in several of the fields. It doesn't get any fresher than that!
Lavender is grown mainly for the production of essential oil of lavender, a product that is used in fragrances, bath products and herbal cosmetics. The flowers can be candied and used in cake decorations, crushed and used in cooking, especially baked goods or blended with teas. We sampled several foods from chicken to cookies prepared with lavender seasoning or infused with lavender. The floral taste is not unpleasant, but takes a little getting used to.
Lavender flowers produce abundant nectar which bees use to make high-quality honey. Interestingly, although there were a lot of bees, we could walk among the bushes without being bothered. Mike told us that the same calming property that makes lavender desirable in aromatherapy calms- almost to the point of sedating- the bees.
On our way back to the Valley, we found the Arrow Tree (#59) south of Alpine on US 191- also known as the Coronado Trail- near milepost 223. I first read about this unusual tree in a book by Wesley Treat called "Weird Arizona" and was instantly intrigued with the idea of trying to find one particular tree in the middle of a forest...
There are several legends about how the arrows in the dead tree first started including one that has a group of Boy Scouts playing a Native American game. The one that seems the most reasonable to me is that hunters shot an arrow into it for luck as they began their hunt. However it began, the game now is to have your arrow pierce the tree closest to the top- and there are dozens hundreds of arrows in the tree.
You really need an extra pair of eyes besides the driver to spot the tree- then pull off the road and enjoy the silliness of it!
While the wildflowers in the Valley have all shriveled up and blown away, flowers of every color and description are blooming in the high country. We drove along roads lined with flowers and saw patches of wildflowers as we hiked.
"Oh Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions-"
Psalm 104:24 NKJV
We spent a very enjoyable weekend in the White Mountains. What a great place to escape the heat... and the busyness... and the "always on-ness"... and to just R-E-L-A-X!
Thumb Up or Down: Up, up and up!
Miles Round Trip: 742.3 miles
Miles To Date: 7471.6 miles
Percent of List Completed: 66%
Date of This Trip: June 22-24, 2012
Absolutely beautiful pictures. We have been through Greer a number of times, but have never stopped to smell the flowers :-) cannot believe you traveled farther on this trip than the Winslow/Holbrook weekend. Thank you so much for your wonderful posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike! I, too, was surprised at how many miles we drove this trip- but Concho is halfway to Holbrook from Greer AND we took the long way home. I wonder if they have timeshares in Greer??
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