Flagstaff, Sedona, and Prescott

[Spazz]

This will be my first summer in Arizona since I was a teen.

Prescott was highly recommended for its busking scene, and there are also supposed to be good food banks if the competition makes me look stupid, lol.

I'm not really the big city type, but I love busking, just switched domicile from Cali to AZ, and wanted to give higher elevations a chance this summer.

Solo femme presenting sixtyish person here with little dogs and a cat in an '07 DGC with >200K miles on it.

Any suggestions on what to avoid and what not to miss?

Life is short and we may never pass this way again.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Syadasti]

There's a ton of dispersed camping around Prescott. I preferred the Lower Wolf Creek area but camping just past Thumb Butte works in a pinch if you don't want to drive far. If you want to keep everything legit, move your camp every seven days and switch between the two ranger districts by going up towards Mingus Mountain (or elsewhere in general.) You're allowed 14 days in each ranger district, so you could feasibly cover a month with a little fudging. If you trust your vehicle on rough dirt roads, there's some spots going up Senator Highway toward and past Poland Junction, ~12 miles out of town and up 1400 feet in elevation. I point this out because it is significantly cooler and might be worth it.

As for free food, be sure to hit up the Salvation Army right off of the square. They serve breakfast & lunch M-F and have a food pantry in the afternoon. You can find out about all the other resources in town from there. I won't even try to list them all, but there's enough meals around town that you wouldn't have to spend a dime on food. With a little humility and planning, there's no reason to starve in Prescott. It's probably one of the nicest THURD crowd communities that I have ever run in to, as people are certainly not struggling for food. Also, check out St Vincent de Paul Society on Summit Ave if you're in a bind. They will help you out with a variety of services: at minimum, a monthly food box but bicycle repairs, sleeping bags and more have been offered. Catholic Charities on the same street used to give out gas vouchers at the beginning of the month, though that may be very scarce or nonexistent by now.

My only warning concerning Prescott are the police- they are aggressive toward our type and will make your life miserable if you do not dot your i's and cross your t's. It's a county seat and they have very little to do other than patrol downtown, including Granite Creek Park. They will take note of you & your vehicle and not hesitate to stop you for the most minor of infractions. My ex and I were pulled over once for a non-critical taillight being out and the officer tried to give me a ticket for not wearing a seat belt properly (which I fought and won.) I was pulled over on a bicycle FIVE times within eight years for silly things like riding on a sidewalk or being on the wrong side of a road. So yeah.. just pay attention when you're on the road or you will end up with a ticket.

 

[psztyblewski]

Wow that sounds like don't come here if you're the wrong COLOUR (Native American/Indian). I was in Gallup a few years ago but back then I still had my car, my teaching credentials, and the ability to get at least a teaching job; plus that's a different state. Even there everyone always told me that Arizona would be impossible. I'm looking at Flagstaff now because I can't get a job doing anything "remote" or "work from home" if Home is in California, so. Flagstaff because the train (Amtrak) goes there and I could GET there - I no longer have my car, long story but it started with me being pulled over in upstate New York for being the wrong colour behind the wheel and escalated from there. So now I have a "record" I still have to fight on "appeal" and so, no more teaching well not no more teaching CREDENTIALS but no more ability to pass anyone's fingerprint clearance. Not that I think for a minute that Arizona is the place to go in THAT situation, it's just that the "remote" "work from home" jobs won't take me if I'm in California and a lot of them include New Mexico and Colorado in that "states excluded" bullcrapshit list.

 

[Spazz]

I'm afraid so. It did not go well for me at all: Blanca at the Starvation Army threatened to call the pigs on me in 2024 for the "crime" of wishing Blanca (whose pronouns are Blanca, by the way) a happy Pride month and asking Blanca (whose pronouns are Blanca, by the way) what Blanca's pronouns are.

The holistic veterinarian seemed nice, but was very expensive, so that began an economic apocalypse that only resolved itself when an online friend sent me some gas money.

Fast forward to 2025 and I still was assigned the gender of "sweetheart" and informed of a Big Tent Revival meeting that was giving away "FREE*" healthcare screenings for the homeless, first come, first served, and the grand prize was a single pair of dentures.

I had $$ to pay for my own eye doctor, who was thorough, sweet, and left-leaning but still evangelical. When I explained that monotheism is a thing and I was praying for my friend's dying kid in Gaza, she genuinely seemed to believe that the Quran was the Torah.

I say all these things because, let's face it, browned skinned people and gender nonconforming people are both the scapegoats of this administration.

I did not busk this year because I absolutely did not feel safe.

There may or may not be a warrant out for my arrest for picking up my dog's poop with a Chick Tract, because I didn't have $$ for poop bags after Blanca Blancad me (if Blanca is so afraid of pronouns, wait until Blanca finds out about verbs), being physically unable to stop laughing, and ultimately giving up and affixing the Chick Tract on the "No Trespassing" sign on the Starvation Army with dog poop.

I feel your pain, fellow ex-Californian. I accept the fact that I will never work in education or childcare again either, but after being treated like a "useless eater", I was scraped up off the ground by the disability community so it hurts my heart that I will probably never work in healthcare again either.

Stay safe out there and try to keep to yourself as much as you can if you do have to go to Arizona.

Unfortunately, I am headed up to Flagstaff and am not hopeful about making it all the way to Colorado for Pride.

Fortunately, I got my five year tags in Quartzsite last winter so I don't have to go back if I do manage to reach escape velocity.