Yarnell, Arizona is located northwest of Phoenix at an altitude of 4,800 feet. Not many people live there, and the ones who do have been devastated by the recent Arizona wildfire that has burned many of the houses in the town. In addition, 19 firefighters have been killed in the line of duty. Because of this catastrophe, Yarnell, which few people had ever heard of, is now part of history.
I walked from Los Angeles to Denver over a period of almost 18 years from 1978 to 1996. Since this is supposed to be a blog about writing, I will tell you that the story of this walk (and many other walks and hikes) is contained in my book, Walking the World: Memories and Adventures, available on Amazon Kindle.
In December 1986 my wife, Bonny, and I stayed in a motel in Yarnell while I walked part of my route. The area is so sparsely settled that I wrote in my book about a stretch southwest of Yarnell: “The part of 71 south of US 93 was uninhabited. Literally. I mean, there was nobody there. And we think the earth is overpopulated.”
I read that some people have moved to Yarnell to get away from the expense and the crime associated with living in cities. Unfortunately, they couldn’t escape Mother Nature. I suspect these are tough people, however, and they will survive. We need more people like them.
Mother Nature does provide them with some benefits. Here is another quote from my book: “Yarnell is at 4,800 feet and on the final stretch I coasted down the mountain from Yarnell back to the previous day’s finish. The sun finally came out and with it a never-ending view.”
I wish the best for the residents of Yarnell.
