Born to Be Wild

Mars Bonfire, Phoebe Esprit

Carolyn and I have been making a conscious effort to get out and explore Arizona through different activities and road trips and Born to Be Wild is sort of an ultimate road trip song. This past weekend, we had Jordyn along for the Father’s Day Road Trip so we jumped in the hybrid and hit the road for new adventures.

The Mile High Brewfest in Prescott, AZ was destination number one. http://www.milehighbrewfest.com/ On our way to Prescott, we head into Camp Verde for some Starbucks Coffee located along I-17 and the place is always busy. But we do it because I can’t use any of my acquired free Starbucks rewards except at the corporate stores. Some coffee and back on the road we go. First stop, Costco. Fill up the gas and fill up the car and even fill up the stomachs as the samples were simply amazing. They even had some thick style peppered bacon that I managed to eat about six samples and would have eaten more but the girls wouldn’t let me.

Toasting our good fortune

We roll on into Prescott, park, and head over to the Courthouse area and buy our tickets for $35 each with a cup and 10 samplings a piece for Carolyn and I and Jordyn, as the designated driver, gets to hangout for free. We arrive just after open and lines are short initially. Close to 30 different breweries plus multiple selections from the breweries make for many beer tasting opportunities. We are are quite concerned that we will run out of tickets since there is only three ounces or so in each sample. We should have never worried as we learned to play hide the ticket when they turn to pour your sample. Actually some didn’t care if you had tickets or not.

Lunchtime on Whiskey Road

We took time out to eat some good food at a deli located on Whiskey Road and that was a good thing to do. We ran into some folks from Payson who were enjoying the festival as well. Now back to the beer festival. We had a great time as we searched for the ultimate craft beer. Personal favorites for us included the Watermelon Wheat from Mudshark Brewery in Lake Havasu. http://mudsharkbeer.com/ The Strawberry Blonde from That Brewery http://thatbrewery.com/was available and is a favorite of Carolyn’s and Sweet Devil Stout from College Street Brewery http://www.collegestreetbrewhouseandpub.com/ was a good choice for me. Being it is summertime, very few stouts available and mainly ales from IPA to Pale were plentiful.

Several stations were set up where you could sample a large range of various craft beers that were distributed by a specific company.

Carolyn and Tim run out of samples

Big Daddy

The Big Daddy IPA would have been a great choice if the tap was working but we were out of luck. I sort of thought that Big Daddy and Father’s Day would be appropriate together since we saw some real big Daddies at the festival.

I talked with the marketing rep from That Brewery and he told me they are growing like gangbusters. Most interesting to note that Payson missed out on them as the town failed to help in a major way. Now brewing and distributing out of Cottonwood. What a great event and we will be back.

That Brewery line for tasting

Chillin’ on the patio

All good things have to come to a close, so we jump into the car and Jordyn drives us to Williams, AZ where we are going to spend the night. We rock on to some U2 and Third Day just enjoying the ride. We love Williams in the summertime and pull into our “motel” which Jordyn immediately thinks is the coolest thing since these are not luxury rooms. She thinks this just adds to the road trip experience and she might be right. The place appears to be clean and we walk in to the town and the place is hopping. We stop in for a craft brew and some guac and chips at Pancho McGillicuddy’s and sit out on the patio and enjoy life as it passes by. Nice sitting area for a summer time.

We eat some Midwestern type dinners at another café the Pine Country Restaurant and call it an early evening since we have made big plans to hike up Bill Williams Mountain. It is most interesting in Williams as they serve up many craft beers from the Historic Brewing Company located in Flagstaff but they own a variety of restaurants in Williams. http://www.historicbrewingcompany.com We were disappointed as they all were out of the “Undercover Cucumber” beer. It is quite refreshing so if you find it, try it!

Nighttime is the right time to sleep and we sleep. We miss out on John Carpino’s performance but we are exhausted and tomorrow is another day for adventure.

Looking east from Bill Williams

Bill Williams Mountain Hike awaits. We get started at around 8:00 on Father’s Day morning and it is something that Jordyn likes to do, hike and push her father to the limit. Onward and upward, we climb, and we climb, and we climb. We gain about 2500 feet in close to 4 miles. High altitude and my breathing is labored but we make it and the views are incredible. What a tremendous way to spend Father’s Day with my girl Jordyn and my wife. It is fun, spiritual, emotional, just a cleansing hike as we talk and just enjoy each other’s company. I’m so grateful that we do these “bucket” list type of events that involve family and outdoor activity.

The Southern View from Bill Williams

Carolyn and I on top of ole Bill

So back down the mountain we go and you really notice the elevation changes. Since the hike is on the north side, it is green. Knowing that the trail is not used that much, we are not disappointed as we only encounter one other hiker on the trail.

Simply an amazing time. Before heading home we roll through Safeway (to satisfy my bargain shopping) stop and say hey to John Carpino who is playing in Williams. On to Flagstaff we head and we eat up. We stop by the new location of the Historic Brewing Company on San Francisco St and next we get to enjoy Five Guys hamburger and fries and then we take in Pita Jungle. Of course we have to have Dunkin Donuts coffee for the ride back to Payson.

What an amazing trip and adventure. When we arrive home I step on the scales to see what damage has been done and sure enough 4 additional pounds has been added to my frame. Those craft beers pack the calories and of course all that not so good for you food adds a few pounds.

As I go to bed, I am so thankful for my wife and two daughters. My daughter, Caitlin who is on a honeymoon somewhere in the French Riviera started my Sunday off at 3:00 am with a happy Father’s Day text and of course I got to spend the day with my youngest and the mother of my children. It reminds me of a picture that was posted on Facebook from Pat Johnson. I think it is a constant reminder of the great responsibility that we have as fathers. I have accepted the challenge and for Father’s Day, this is most appropriate. I hope to have raised the standard and so far so good. As Caitlin told me about Bryan when she started dating him, “Dad you will like him. He’s a lot like you”. That really sobers you up quickly.

So I started out with Born to Be Wild, looking for adventure and might as well end with the song. Oh and by the way, my girls tell me that this coming weekend, we are hiking to the top of Mt. Humphreys. Something like 4.5 miles one way with an elevation gain of over 4000 feet. I might have been born to be wild like a true nature’s child and I can climb so high that I never want to die but really? Yep another bucket list road trip straight ahead.