Arizona Mad Map Ride # 20

Today's ride was inspired by my Arizona Mad Map, ride #20....Since i do not know the area, these maps are a great place to start.
So i gear up this morning, luckily in warm clothes, thinking i could peel off some layers after an hour or so.  I head right out my door and onto hwy 179...which takes me over to 17 which i only need to be on for a short 8 miles or so to get to hwy 260....this is where the fun begins....i ride through a few miles of dual carriage way....and not for long it goes down to single...and heads right into the mountains, climbing in elevation rapidly...getting up to over 7000 feet...so much for peeling off the layers..it is quite chilly even though the sun is smiling into my visor.  Up on the mountain plateau I ride through rows and rows of Ponderosa Pines, the smell is intoxicating, the traffic is light and the silence is perfection.
Then following the route to hwy 87 North, which is at this T-turn, surrounded by snow, the roads are clear and surprisingly smooth...
I stopped to take some pics of these cool rocks that had lots of snow on them, and when i peeked over the edge, i see down below a picture perfect creek, babbling through the wood....i hike down as far as i can manage in my moto boots....to sit and ponder and enjoy the water...what a lovely find.
Then before you know it County Road 3 pops up so to the left i go!  It is still quite cold and  most of the road is smooth high mountain plateaus, covered with snow...going through Mormon Lake Village, most of the area was closed up due to snow still on the ground...a few campgrounds where getting ready for the upcoming season...From here there was wonderful views of the San Francisco Peaks, covered in snow and towering over the horizon.
Winding my way smoothly past Lake Mary and through Flagstaff....connecting to hwy 89A, which is a beautiful scenic route to enter Sedona...the grade down is fairly steep and the road is in terrible condition...so be careful!
Most of the road is parallel to a strong flowing river, that you can see often through the trees...
into the main touristy part of Sedona, watch out for pedestrians and traffic is quite bad here...back to the 179 and home!
Wow, what a gorgeous place i live...