I know this is really stretching it, but I couldn’t resist doing a piece on my vacation destination of Prescott, Arizona.
Over the week following Memorial Day, my daughter and I ventured north from Phoenix to one of my favorite little towns, Prescott, about an hour and a half from Phoenix, depending on what part of town you start from and how fast you drive!
You start up Interstate 17 towards Sedona and Flagstaff, then head west on Highway 69, winding around through thoroughly desert terrain, until suddenly you head out of Prescott Valley and begin to enter a more alpine area.
Prescott was the first capital of Arizona, so it is rich in history, but what I find most intriguing is it’s curious mixture of old and new, alpine and desert with a touch of “red rock” thrown in. Within a five-mile radius, you can travel to several small lakes, stroll along quaint old town streets, visit a handful of museums and go to the mall.
The Sharlot Hall Museum, named after and founded by the territory’s very influential woman, is a nice diversion, and explores the pioneer area of Arizona. There are other choices, such as the Smoki Museum, but we didn’t have time for all that was available.
Several of the town’s streets are tree-lined and hold little architectural treasures of their own, with both tiny and palatial homes that step right out of the past.
The downtown is built around a square, with the county courthouse at its center, a relic itself, and provides a wonderful variety of dining choices and enough shops to keep a shopaholic busy for most of the day.
My very favorite spot, which I will return to whenever I visit in the future, is Lake Watson, an idyllic laying down of water amongst gorgeous, awe-inspiring juts and valleys of red rock. Just sitting on a bench and staring at the lake brought my blood pressure down a few notches, I’m sure.
So, if you pass that way, take a trip to Prescott. You’ll find yourself slowing down and relaxing, in spite of yourself.
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