Flagstaff stands at about 2,100 metres, higher than most Alpine villages, and it feels it. The air is thin and dry, the sky is a deep blue, and the town is wrapped in the largest ponderosa pine forest in North America, with the San Francisco Peaks rising to the north. The tallest of them, Humphreys Peak, is 3,851 metres, the highest point in Arizona, and it holds snow into early summer. The peaks are volcanic, the remains of a huge cone that blew out long ago, and they are sacred to many Native nations, including the Hopi and Navajo.
Route 66 runs straight through town, along the railway, and the old motels with their neon signs are still there. Flagstaff grew up as a lumber and railroad town, and then as a stop for travellers on the highway, and a lively downtown of brick buildings, bookstores and brewpubs has survived beneath the mountains. Lowell Observatory sits on a hill above town, and it was here in 1930 that Clyde Tombaugh found Pluto, a fact the city still celebrates. In 2001 Flagstaff became the world's first International Dark Sky City, and the stars on a clear night are astonishing. Northern Arizona University gives the town a young, outdoorsy feel.
For riders this is a place of altitude and of choices. West along old Route 66, the road runs through pine forest to Williams, then drops into desert toward Seligman, a classic stretch. North, the road leads to the Grand Canyon, about a hundred and thirty kilometres away, and to the Painted Desert. Nearby, the black cinder cone of Sunset Crater and the cliff dwellings of Walnut Canyon are easy short trips. Weather needs respect: summer thunderstorms build over the peaks in the afternoon, winter brings heavy snow, and mornings can be near freezing even in spring, though the valley below is hot. Cold-engine starts feel different at this height.
Flagstaff has seventy thousand people, so fuel, repair shops, motels and a good range of restaurants are all plentiful. Parking is simple, and the old downtown rewards a short walk, with coffee shops and a Route 66 mural or two. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with clear skies and moderate temperatures, and the aspens on the peaks turn gold in late September.