Arizona Scenery: The Drive to Young AZ

 


After a few months of staying home and only going to a grocery or hobby store, Sharon and I were able to take a road trip/vacation. We decided to go to Young, Arizona because it wasn’t far and they had a vineyard I was curious about. The vineyard is Bruzzi Vineyard and I saw it as a sign that we needed to go there because my Mom’s maiden name is Bruzzi. I just had to find out the family connection and go to a wine tasting. I will be doing posts on Young AZ and Bruzzi Vineyard following this one.

Arizona has so many different sceneries depending on where you are at. We had to drive through Payson to get to Young and the scenery changed a few times. We started out in Mesa, where I live, and the landscape is very desert looking. There are cacti dotting the land, desert foliage everywhere and dirt. As you drive further out, you will come across large boulders, red soil, red rocks, and green vegetation. Sadly, many acres of land were dark and dead from the massive fires that consumed everything in its path. You could see the destruction as far as the eye could see.

When you get to Payson, you start to see a forest of Ponderosa Pines. Those trees were all along the highway until we got to Young. The turnoff to Young was where many camping spots were located among the trees. As you go past those, the asphalt road becomes a dirt road. The road is maintained, but there were areas where it got a bit bumpy.





Once you get into Young and back on paved road, the area is wide open with rolling grassy hills. You can see far in many directions. There are many homes and farms dotting the land. No more forest trees in town but they do surround the entire valley.

The first day we were there, you can see the large fire brewing near Globe on the other side of a large mountain. It was scary to see that much smoke. The locals said as long as you don’t see flames, they were not worried. When we got up Saturday morning, the whole valley was covered with smoke. We were freaked out about it, but none of the local residents seemed concerned. By the time we went in the museum and before checking out the cemetery, the smoke was gone. Apparently the winds blew it away. I will be doing posts on the museum, the Pleasant Valley War, and show pictures of the cemetery. I also took pictures of the gorgeous sunset and some abandoned buildings which I will share later in more posts.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

26 Bar Ranch (John Wayne Ranch)

Historic Downtown Payson

Cowboy Mummy Found in Desert