Sunday, May 27, 2018

A week in Prescott Valley and the Iron King Trail on Sunday, May 27, 2018

We have been enjoying our time in Prescott Valley - the weather has been sunny and pleasant with mostly gentle breezes.  One day, I walked to the local Safeway - it is a little more than two miles and passes by a large apartment complex which is nicely irrigated and landscaped - but it appears that the daffodils have came and gone, as only one blossom was left.


Among other things, I attended the local Habitat for Humanity Volunteer orientation on Thursday; Friday, Patty did yoga at Lotus Bloom Yoga Studio and I did the Silver Sneakers exercise class at the YMCA (three years ago when we were renting in Prescott, we did this class three times per week); Saturday, I volunteered at the Habitat for Humanity Restore while Patty went to the Prescott Farmers Market and to the library.  On Sunday we decided to hike the Iron King Trail, a four mile trail that runs west from the trail head.



Online and at the trail head, the map shows a four mile hike to the Peavine Trail where we hiked  a week ago.  Besides a number of train related things at the trail head, the maps and online descriptions talk about a number of railroad related items on display, at several mile markers along the trail - this is because the trail follows the old rail bed.  The trail head met the description.




We set out and went through a tunnel that passed under the Glasford Hill Parkway.  To our surprise, the trail did not seem to continue on the rail bed.  We asked some cyclists and found out that all the construction pushed the trail over to a paved trail for about a mile and half.  Besides all the home construction, there is a major storm water construction project.










Eventually, the trail returned to the original rail bed trail -  but it was fenced in to keep hikers and cyclists on the trail and out of the construction.


Besides all the trees being planted for the storm water runoff control, we did see a few wildflowers growing.



One of the railroad items is a bridge over what today was a dry gulch.  It has been modified for hikers and bikers, and is surrounded by construction for the rain water runoff control.



Finally we came to the end of the rain water runoff control construction on one side of the trail.  On the other side, it was the end of all the construction for buried utilities, streets and home construction.


Just past the end of the construction, we came to another relic from the rail road history.


While the trail continues in a rather unremarkable area, the trail soon begins to enter different topography and scenery.


There were cattle grazing on the north side of the trail.


And the trail continued to rise towards the hills it needs to pass through to connect with the Peavine Trail.




At that point, we had gone three miles, so we turned and headed back to the trail head.

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