We have been staying at Point of Rock Campground, just north
of Prescott. The pictures on the internet intrigued me about this campground,
because I showed sites that backed up to large rock formations. I was able to
secure reservations for the 4 days between leaving our son’s house and meeting
up with the caravan.
I wanted to know more about the rock formations, the
pictures on the internet were breathtaking! I learned that granite is prominently featured
in the rocks around Prescott. The most visible are the Granite Dells along
Highway 89 on the north side of town, where for several square miles the land
is covered by large rounded cliffs and boulders of pinkish-grey granite.
These
formations are sandwiched between the man-made Willow Creek Reservoir and
Watson Lake. Similar scenery is found in several more remote sites nearby. The
Granite Dells are a unique geological feature north of Prescott. The Dells
consist of exposed bedrock and large boulders of granite that have eroded into
an unusual lumpy, rippled appearance. It is amazing, that once you get further north
on State Route 89, there are no more granite formations visible.
One day we took the trail from the campground to Watson
Lake. We took the Watson Lake Trail section, Northshore Trail and the Secret
Cove Trail. All were relatively easy to traverse, we were prepared with hiking
boots, water, hats and a camera! The entire trail, all the way around the lake is
approximately 5 miles.
We lived on the edge and left the marked trail to scale
to rock and head back to the campground over the rocks! Our climb covered some rocky
steep terrain, and we stopped for a few photo opportunities, actually it was to
catch our breath, but don’t tell anyone! We got to the top of the rocks and
noticed the tops of some campers, so we knew we were heading in the right
direction. We continued to pick our way down the rock formations, stopping
every now and then to be sure we were still headed in the right direction!
We came across a wider groomed trail and started to follow
it. We climbed rock formations to see if we could still see the campground. We
learned that we were on the Pea Vine National Recreation Trail follows the
former rail bed of the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway through the
Granite Dells. This winding portion of the railroad was known as the "Pea
Vine" because its twisting curves resembled that of a pea vine. However,
the trail started to veer too far away from the tops of the campers we were
watching. So, we took to climbing back down the rocks. It was a little nerve
racking, but not too bad … we made it to the trail, just outside the northern
most point in the campground. So, we did it, we found our way back to our site
without a compass or map!
Our neighbors in the campground, Connie & Louie, had
told us to climb the rocks. We were so excited to share our adventure with
them! They have been in the Prescott area for many years and have been a great
source of information for ideas on what to do in the area!
I climbed the rocks to catch a sunset. It was a spectacular view,
but not as mesmerizing as a sunset over water!
I convinced Charlie to wake up one morning at 5:00 am to
climb the rocks to catch a sunrise. Sitting on the Granite Dells watching the
sun rise, with the one you love, was an awesome early morning!
The Granite Dells are a place I would come back to again! I
would definitely stay at Point of Rocks again too! We learned that the
campground owns 80 acres in the Granite Dells!
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