Farley, Down by the River: Farley Heads for the Desert, Day 5: Who Knew Flagstaff Had Good Beer?

This morning we left camp with the intention of heading to Sedona after finding showers in Flagstaff. After a quick detour in Williams to see Route 66, we drove on to Flagstaff (not knowing that Route 66 goes right through it).

We worked out at Anytime Fitness and took much overdue showers, then headed to their historic downtown. Turns out, it's really cute.

They had several taprooms (and even a beer trail), so we asked at the visitors' center which one was best if we had time for only one beer. The guy said he couldn't show favoritism but, if I rephrased my question, maybe he could answer it. I asked, "How could I better ask my question to get the answer I'm looking for?" He said maybe I could ask which was the oldest brewery. So I did, and he recommended Flagstaff Brewing. We headed there, where they had maybe 10 beers on their menu. But they didn't have the wheat, nor the porter, nor the stout at the moment. I think they had five on tap today. So I had a crappy amber and Marc had a crappy IPA.

We really liked the vibe of the town, so we decided to skip Sedona--we've already seen plenty of red rocks this trip, and the shops would probably be more upscale than we'd be interested in--and spend the afternoon in Flagstaff. With the extra time, we found better beer, at Historic Barrel and Bottle House. Next door was Proper Meats and Provisions, where we got a link of homemade sausage to grill for dinner and some homemade chorizo for Marc for breakfast. After scouting out the rest of their very walkable downtown, we hit the interstate toward Phoenix.

Tonight we're camping at Agua Fria National Monument, which is the place we stopped for our very first Farley night bringing him home to Montana from Tucson. We're drinking my homemade aged oak Manhattan cocktail in a jar, eating Lulu's chocolate made in Flagstaff, and listening to music while playing yet another game of cribbage. Tomorrow we head into Scottsdale to meet up with my Aunt Karen and Uncle Dick for a day at Arizona Bike Week and the Social Distortion concert.