Yesterday, my husband and I took a break from our work and went on a half-day trip to Prescott, Arizona. We’d been there twice before–once, 23 years ago and once, 15 years ago. This time we got to see parts of the area we’d never seen before.

We took the long scenic drive up, through Wickenburg and then north on Highway 89. We drove up through a mountain pass to Yarnell, which was a small town nestled among hills and valleys of the biggest boulders I’ve ever seen. I wanted to stop and take photos, but figured I could do that on the way back. Unfortunately, we took a different route home and I didn’t get photos of Yarnell.

After Yarnell, we continued on and climbed up another mountain pass, reaching an elevation of 6,000 ft. and driving through a forest. Prescott was nestled right up against the mountain and forest, and had at least one campground on the outskirts of town. Almost immediately we were driving right into the old downtown, complete with a large square where their courthouse was situated. Lots of people strolled around the town square, walking their dogs. o10061663

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We parked and then walked around the town square, visiting first a gift shop and then a coffee shop where we sipped iced coffees and split a warm cinnamon roll. o1006165D

We continued around the square and visited several antiques shops and some gift shops. We got a chuckle out of some of the cute names of businesses. o10061657

After we’d used up our two-hour parking limit, we drove to Watson Lake. Wow! It’s not a huge lake, but the setting–among large boulders and rock walls–was absolutely beautiful! I took a couple dozen photos. We saw a couple of lizards on the hiking trails and watched as some people canoed in the lake, while other people climbed down the rock wall face.

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Unfortunately, we didn’t plan ahead. My husband and I were both wearing sandals and did not bring walking sticks, so we didn’t do a lot of hiking–too much chance of encountering scorpions or snakes. We did, however, bring bottled water.

We drove home an easier route, through Prescott Valley and then over to I-17, stopping off for a late lunch at a factory outlet mall. What a wonderful day it was!

I hope you like my photos!