Day 14: Meadow (Adjacent to Cove Springs Campground)

Yet more great cycling. The road to Sedona from Prescott is, and then from Sedona up through the valley towards Flagstaff is exceptional in terms of scenery, ascending and descending. However, the roads are rather narrow with little or no shoulder for most of the route but, thankfully, heavy goods vehicles are not permitted on these roads because of the steepness of the gradients and tight curves.

As for Sedona the town, my advice would be to simply pass through it because it is an expensive tourist trap: $9 for Cappuchino and Muffin!

So, instead of having a rest day in Sedona I opted to ride up the valley to a campsite, which would then make for a short ride into Flagstaff the following day. However, when I got to the Forestry Campground I discovered it was full. Oh dear what now?

So I thought okay I can see plenty of spare ground surely a solo cyclist with a one man tent can be accommodated? But oh no the Ranger said "the rules is rules, so you'll just have to move on". To where? I asked. We'll it transpire that tomorrow I wouldn't have a problem as the Forestry Services open additional campsites. But don't think of going to one of these tonight or wild camping because if and when you get caught you'll get ticketed, which apparently means I'd be a violator (consequences unknown).

Anyway, eventually he said that I could try Pine Flats Campground some six miles up the road (i.e. uphill). So I eventually arrive only to find that this campground was also full! However, this Ranger was more helpful in that he suggested a workable solution, but one that he never told me about! Thanks.

So I spent my first night of wild/free/dispersed camping in the USA. It took me a while to find what I thought was a good site away from where I'd likely be seen, and saved myself 20 bucks in the process!

There is much more I could say on "Rules is rules", but is it going to change anything? No. So I'll say nothing more on the subject here.