Just a few thoughts (and photos) on Flagstaff...

This was the view into the Coconino National Forest, which was directly behind the campground we stayed in while in Flagstaff:



Eugene and Meika really enjoyed their walks in the forest:



They had an odd variety of squirrels in Flagstaff (Abert's squirrels, according to those that know these things), and they about sent Meika through the roof. I think she thought they were a combination of two of her favorite woodland creatures: squirrel and bunny. Their tails were huge and looked as big as their bodies, and their tufted ears gave the appearance that they heralded from the planet Vulcan:





A sign in the store at the campground warned that any shoplifters would be fed to their "funny looking squirrels."

There are a few microbreweries in Flagstaff, and we made it to two of them: the Flagstaff Brewing Company and Beaver Street. Flagstaff brewing was a little "rustic," shall we say? They're the type of counter-culture place you'd more expect to see at the corner of Haight and Ashbury, which translates to a bit of a lackadaisical approach. The ales there were OK, and they had quite a good ESB, but they had no growlers to fill for me. Not only that, but our server didn't even know that they had no growlers left, although the service was otherwise quite good (particularly the hung over but efficient college-age bus girl who seemed to materialize mysteriously every time we had an empty glass or plate and would swoop in and remove it even as we were pulling our hand away from it). The food was good as well, so it seems that the only thing holding them back would be their lack of motivation (although, perhaps that's the way they like it...)

Beaver Street was clearly the class of the Flagstaff brewing community, and had some excellent offerings, both in the food and the beverage arena. I enjoyed most of the beers they had on tap in our sampler, but particularly their Hop-Harvest Amber. It's a nice flavorful amber, but with a hoppy kick created by dry-hopping with the hops they harvested from their own beer garden. I would have loved to have left with a growler of that, but it was Laura's turn to pick, and she really liked their Bramble Berry Brew with it's raspberry flavoring (and I have to admit, albeit reluctantly, that it was one of the better fruit beers I've had). All things considered, definitely worth the stop if you're in the area.

Next edition: Sedona