Well what was supposed to be a simple easy-going day trip turned into our first adventure in the new truck. First we made our way to Payson and turned onto Houston Mesa Rd. (the road that leads to Payette Draw). Eventually the road turned to dirt and we passed an area that had been the unfortunate victim of a wildfire. We soon joined back up with the 87 and made our way to the 260. Once there we moseyed into Camp Verde for some grub and headed north.
Immediately upon our arrival into Flagstaff those little white fluffy things began to descend from the sky. Feeling a sudden rush of excitement we decided to take the 180 to FR151 which treks along the entire north side of the San Francisco Peaks (which were completely shrouded in snow and fog). The road is very well maintained, and it didn't seem like it would give us too much trouble. Then the entire road was covered in snow/ice, making our progress nearly come to a halt. A pull on the t-case followed a little bit of goose and we were plowing along. A few hours and about 20 miles later we were out of the woods and nearing the 89. We decided not to waste what daylight was left and we made our way up to Lockett Meadow. Super easy climb even with ice and snow and wow, what a place. Nestled at 8600ft. i can see why there is a campground up there.
The sun had already set so we climbed down the mountain into Flagstaff. We got hit by some pretty heavy snow all the way down to about 6000 feet and then rain from there to Sunset point. Overall, fantastic day.
And I apologize for the picture quality. All I had was my phone. I'll member the camera next time (when we chop down our Christmas Tree:)=) )