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By Brady Smith; Coconino National Forest - Sedona Red Rocks as seen from I-17 traveling south

I got on I-17 and headed south towards Phoenix. The beginning of the drive started with, as mentioned, snow in the pine tree forest that covered the mountainous terrain. It's beautiful. It wasn't long before I'm headed downhill and into a scenery like no other that I'd seen (and I've driven in 49 of our United States - still need Alaska). The mountain terrain is incredible.

About thirty minutes into my drive I see the red rocks of Sedona off to the west. The pines are starting to thin a bit. The highway drops down hill into Verde Valley which is tucked in between a couple of smaller mountain ranges. As I passed 6,000 feet above sea level, the snow just stopped. It was like someone had masked off the terrain and painted snow above the line. I'm now seeing stubby plants and shrubs instead of towering pines. I continue south on I-17 up and over the mountain ridge south of Verde Valley and it flattens out a tad. High desert surrounds me with mountains in the distance. The terrain is grassy with sparse, scattered shrubbery and trees here and there. At mile marker 252 is a rest area called Sunset Point. I had to stop and take in the scenery. It's pretty stellar and still high desert.

Right after leaving Sunset Point I-17 takes another down hill run as it snakes towards Phoenix. As I'm traveling along, there at mile marker 250, I get my first glimpse of the icon of Arizona and the Sonoran Desert. I see a Saguaro (pronounced "Swar-oh") standing proudly on the right side of the highway. Wow! I've seen these incredible cacti on nature shows and such but never in person.

I made my way on down into Phoenix and met a few people that I'd been talking to over the phone for quite a few years. They took me out on an off road ride and I was immediately hooked on the place. I've never had anywhere speak to my heart like Arizona does.

Tourist Alert: Do yourself a favor and start your adventure to Prescott/Jerome/Sedona/Flagstaff by driving out west on the Carefree Highway/State Route 74 to Wickenburg. It's beautiful desert scenery, filled with Saguaros, mountains and lots of really good off roading. It'll end at US 60. Turn right on 60 and head into town. Drive on through Wickenburg to the first round about and take the first exit onto 93. Follow 93 for about five miles and find 89A. It turns off to the right. 89A is a splendid road.

One word of warning, though. If you tend to get car sick or suffer from motion sickness at all you might want to skip this route and just head on up I-17 to 260 or 179. As stated, it is a splendid road for a twisties junkie like myself.

Grand Canyon South, Meteor Crater
Page, Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon
Grand Canyon North Vermillion Cliffs

I'll start with what seems to be everyone's "must go to" destination. We've been there enough that we'll generally hand the keys to a vehicle over along with a map and say "Enjoy your day."

Tourist Alert: Do NOT go to Sedona Friday through Monday. Those are the busiest days and the place gets crowded. Traffic is thick both on the streets and the sidewalks. Avoid holidays like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc.. Seems Robyn and I always managed to head up on these special days (not even thinking about it being a holiday) and it's crowded.

Just under two hours from our house, nestled at the intersection of Highways 179 and 89A Sedona was named after the founder's wife because their last name, Schnebly, wasn't accepted by the US Postal Service. He wanted a post office and they said that their last name wouldn't work so he submitted his wife's name and that was that.

Sedona is a pretty magical place. It's surrounded by the incredible beauty of the Red Rocks where hiking and mountain biking are world renowned. It has all sorts of art galleries, jewelry shops, restaurants, Pink Jeep tours, UTV rentals, hotels, more shopping, more restaurants. It's a tourist place after all.

It's also a very spiritual place. There are magnetic vortexes all around due to the high iron content in the surrounding rocks - hence the red coloring of them. Some people say it's voodoo and poppycock, others claim it has healing powers and puts them in connection with "the other world". I've been through/in a few of these and stand on the fence as to if there's something to it. There's a curios shop that has a seating area around one and I could actually feel something "different" when sitting in it. Can't really explain what I felt but it was a full body experience. If you're coming into Sedona from I-17, on 179, look for the big fiberglass chicken on the left side of the road. Stop in that shop and see what you think.

Jerome has to be one of my favorite day destinations. About an hour and a half from us, Jerome is located near the top of Cleopatra Hill between Prescott and Flagstaff on 89A is the historic copper mining town of Jerome, Arizona. Once known as the wickedest town in the west, Jerome was born a copper mining camp, growing from a settlement of tents into a roaring mining community.

After its founding in 1876, Jerome was at one time the fourth largest city in Arizona with the population peaking at around 15,000 in the 1920's. (these two paragraphs are stolen from Jerome's web page)

Jerome is a really interesting place. It's haunted, it has some pretty wild history and is nestled in the side of the top of a mountain. Go check out the Jerome State Historic Park and learn about the mining that brought the town to life. Right next to the park is the Audrey Headframe which sits on top of a 1,900 foot deep mine shaft. The top of the shaft is covered in glass and you can stand on it and look down. The mine shaft is 650 feet deeper than the Empire State Building is tall.

Back in town, Jerome has some very eclectic shops to wander about. I'm always intrigued by Nellie Bly, Kaleidoscopes, Art Glass and More. This place is actually where I got the inspiration to build my kaleidoscopes. Just down the street from Nellie Bly is Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards which is owned by Maynard James Keenan of the band Tool.

Tourist Alert: The steps in Jerome Park are full of the ashes of many of the miners from a hundred years back.
It was easier to just cremate bodies and throw the ashes into the concrete as it was being mixed.

I'm actually sitting about two and a half hours away from home in the Circle Pines KOA Campground, just outside of Williams as I type up this page.

Williams is a pretty cool place. It's one of the many little towns that sits on Historic Route 66 and it completely embraces it. It's like dropping back sixty to seventy years in history when you wander around the place.

Downtown totally ebraces it's history and the little shops, restaurants and hotels all look like they just stopped being "in the present" years ago. If you're lucky enough, you'll come across one of the locals that knows all the history and is more than happy to share it with you. His point of view is very comical and entertaining. Quite the street corner storyteller, he is.

There's also a Zip Line and a single seat roller coaster (new to the place, it was crowded and we didn't feel like waiting). I'm sure Google-fu will find either of these places if you look.

If you happen to have any way to go exploring off road, say in a Jeep or UTV, there are miles and miles of trails around Williams. Most are Forest roads and smooth/easy to travel. Dogtown Lake and Bill Williams Campground are really nice (we've only driven through) and Spring Falls is absolutely breathtaking. You can follow the rail road tracks also. There are access roads that the rail companies use for maintenance and such and they make great cross country routes. Railroads get to see all the really good stuff that's not on the beaten path.

Below I've listed/linked two things that we've done in Williams that I think are definitely "To Do".

Bearizona is Arizona's Premier Wildlife Park (or so the web site says). You can't miss it, as it's right off the road heading into Williams. It's a nice, small zoo. They have animals from all over the area (many are rescue/rehab patients) on display. There's a drive through only area where the animals can come right up to the car and there's a walk around area with nice open displays where the animals seem to be pretty comfy.

There's a restaurant and a grill, a coffee shack, a creamery and a bar on the premises.

Tourist Alert: Don't feed the animal, please. Well... Unless you get the food they have just for them, there in the park.

The train runs out of Williams daily to the Grand Canyon's southern rim. The ride is a couple of hours each direction if I recall correctly.

It traverses the land, starting in the pine trees that surround Williams and then heads out over the high desert plains. You get to see all sorts of landscapes during your ride.

They pull into the Grand Canyon Village and let everyone off to wander around. You can make a day trip of it or you can make a full vacation out of it and spend a couple of nights and hike the canyon. We just did the day trip.

Tourist Alert: You may just be the victim of a hold up!

Relive 'Kaibab around Williams, AZ'

Relive 'Williams, AZ trail chasing to White Horse Lake'

Apache Junction has quite a bit of historical places in and around it. Elvis and John Wayne both filmed movies in Apache Junction. The buildings used in some of the sets, along with a church that still stands are quite interesting to take a look at. There's a lot of hiking and off roading in the area too. Bulldog Canyon offers some pretty rugged off roading. Rent a UTV or Jeep and go explore the area. Of course I have to mention food, and of course Mexican food. Go find Los Gringos Locos on Phelps Drive. Good stuff.

Goldfield Ghost Town

Goldfield Ghost town looks like it's still stuck in the beginning of the last century. It was a thriving gold mine in the 1890's until they hit an underground spring that ended up flooding the mine out. There's still some mining going on there.

Tourist Alert: Watch out for the town drunk and the gun slingers. You may just get caught up in a shoot out. I also highly recommend taking the little train that circles around the town. The conductor is a character and tells of the history of the town.

The places listed next need more than a day to really enjoy them. Lots of them are Parks, both National and State.

Tourist Alert: We have a travel trailer that our RZR UTV fits in it so we go camping and exploring often. I highly recommend renting an RV and exploring with that.
This site looks like it might be the hot ticket for renting stuff - RVezy or give Cruise America a try. You'll have a dog staring out of the door window as you 'Cruise America'. Woof, woof.

Called one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters) as it snakes through the north western corner of Arizona.

I can only comment about the South Rim at Grand Canyon Village and North Rim observation points, as that's all I've been to. I know there's a sky walk somewhere on the south western side but we've not had a chance to explore that yet.

The southern entry is about an hour and a half from Flagstaff. Hop on 180 out of Flag and head north to the Grand Canyon Village. You get to take in the vast views of the high desert with its hoodoos and table mesas. The northern entrance is out of Lees Ferry 89A to 67. Turn south there. Pay attention to the change in landscape. It goes from incredible views of the Vermillion Cliffs, which are rocky and almost devoid of any foliage to thick pine forest. It's odd to drive along in the woods and come to the north rim. It's almost hidden as you approach, which is hard to believe.

There are quite a few things to do at the Canyon. You can hike, you can ride a donkey to the bottom and spend the night, you can white water raft the Colorado or fall to your death if you're not careful.

Located about two hundred and thirty miles (375km) from the R&R and about four and a half hours (if you hit good traffic on I-17), Page is another world compared to the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix). On the drive you'll start at about 1860 feet above sea level in the Sonoran Desert. From there you head up I-17 to Flagstaff, at about 7,000 feet above sea level and in the pines. The change is quite surprising. You head on up 89 and about forty miles or so the scenery makes another incredible change. It goes from green pine to open high desert and the northern section of the Painted Desert. The scenery is right out of the old Coyote, Road Runner cartoons. If you ever seen Forrest Gump, where he decides to stop running, that's on the way to Page. The Hoodoos and Mesa are spectacular.

Page is at the base of Lake Powell where the Glen Canyon dam stops the Colorado River and feeds the top of the Grand Canyon. It's similar to Flagstaff in that it's a pretty good place to base yourself in and travel out of to go see the sights.

There are plenty of places to stay in and there are quite a few really good Mexican restaurants. The busier they are, generally the better the food is.

We've not stayed in Page directly. The couple of times we've been there we've stayed at the Wahweap Resort. Our first time was at the camp ground, the second time in the resort. It has a really good restaurant.

Tourist Alert: Be warned, parts of 89 are like a roller coaster. If you're pulling a trailer or camper, be prepared for some bouncy times. Also, it's only two lanes with a passing lane fairly often. Be patient and wait until you have ample time to make a pass on someone. Emergency services are a LONG way off. Oh, it's also a myth that you can blast across the reservation lands without the fear of getting pulled over. The cop was REALLY cool, though...

These two places are on the Colorado River. The Glen Canyon Dam is just out of Page and there's a parking area where you can stand on the old bridge and look down over 700 feet (220 meters) into the canyon to the water.

Lees Ferry is 42 miles (61 km) from Page via Hwy 89 south and Hwy 89A west. It is 85 miles (125 km) from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon via Hwy 89A and Hwy 67. The Lees Ferry Junction and Park Entrance is in Marble Canyon, just west of Navajo Bridge Interpretive Center. A paved road leads 5 miles (8 km) to the Ferry area.

Lees Ferry is the only place within Glen Canyon where visitors can drive to the Colorado River in over 700 miles of canyon country, right up to the first rapid in the Grand Canyon. A natural corridor between Utah and Arizona, Lees Ferry figured prominently in the exploration and settlement of northern Arizona. Lees Ferry is now a meeting of the old and the new.

Here at the very start of the Grand Canyon, adventurous river runners launch their boats for trips down the canyon. (I stole these three paragraphs from the National Parks web site.)

Tourist Alert: If you're not into heights, you might not want to look down. It's a looooong way to the water.

The Vermillion Cliffs show some of nature's ability to do the unbelievable. Huge rocks stacked on top of little stands. These are all along 89A as you drive towards Jacob Lake and the north entrance to the Grand Canyon. The mountain range and cliffs are spectacular to look at as you drive along 89A. They're about an hour out of Page and something you'll see on the way if you go to Utah.

There's The Wave and Vermilion Cliffs National Monument that you get to off of 89A. My understanding is that there's a 30 mile dirt road that takes you to it. We've not been there (yet).

Tourist Alert: Take a look at all the rock formations and cliffs as you drive along 89A. The sights are pretty incredible.

Saguaro National Park is actually two districts. One about 90 minutes and the other is about two hours from our place. The Tucson Mountain District/Saguaro National Park West which is west of Tucson just a few miles and the Rincon Mountain District/Saguaro National Park East located on the eastern side of Tucson. The Eastern District is about twice the size of the Western District. Both have visitor centers where you can enter.

Both districts of Saguaro National Park offer scenic drives around the cactus forest. Each invites new sights and experiences, as well as an incredible number of saguaros.

Rincon Mountain District (east):
The Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive is a paved road that lacks parking for RVs and larger vehicles. The Loop Drive features several trailheads, scenic vistas and pullouts in a total of 8 miles (12.9 km).

Tucson Mountain District (west):
The Scenic Bajada Loop Drive is a popular way of exploring the district’s foothills. This unpaved, graded dirt road offers scenic pullouts, picnic areas, and hiking trailheads in a 6 mile (9.7 km) loop. High clearance or four-wheel drive is not needed to drive the loop.

The Loop begins at Hohokam Road, 1.5 miles west of the Red Hills Visitor Center. Leaving the visitor center, turn right onto Kinney Road. Follow Kinney Road 1.6 miles (2.6 km) to the loop’s entrance on the right.

The Loop ends where golden Gate Road meets Sandario Road. To return to the visitor center, turn left onto Sandario Road. Continue 0.2 mile to the junction with Kinney Road. Turn left. The visitor center is 2 miles (3.2 km) ahead.

Biking is permitted on both the Bajada Loop and Cactus Forest Loop. Keep in mind the difference in terrain between districts, as Cactus Forest (east) is paved, and Bajada (west) is gravel. (these five paragraphs are borrowed from the Saguaro National Park website)

Tourist Alert: Keep an eye out for wildlife. There are all sorts of animals, birds and insects to be found in our beautiful desert landscape. Spring is an excellent time to visit the park too. It's not too hot and a lot of the plants, including the Saguaros are in bloom.

Kartchner Caverns is about three hours away and just under 200 miles (320km) from the R&R. It's well worth the drive and I highly recommend getting a cabin at the state park so you can spend a couple of days exploring the caverns and the land around them.

In November 1974, Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts were exploring the limestone hills at the eastern base of the Whetstone Mountains. They were looking “for a cave no one had ever found” and found it. The two kept the cave a secret until February 1978 when they told the property owners, James and Lois Kartchner, about their awesome discovery. Since unprotected caves can be seriously damaged by unregulated use, they knew the cave had to be protected. Tenen and Tufts spent several years looking into the possibility of developing the cave themselves. Some members of the Kartchner family lived in Tucson and were very impressed with the development and operation of Catalina State Park by Arizona State Parks. They decided to approach State Parks to see if the agency was interested in acquiring this outstanding resource. (stolen from the web site)

The park has very nice facilities and the cabins are quaint but comfy.
Cabin guests provide their own linens or sleeping bags and pillows.
Cabin features include:
Queen bed and two twin bunk beds (sleep a maximum of six people)
Electricity and air-conditioning/heating
Microwave and mini fridge
A table to sit around, playing cards and enjoying company
Restrooms and showers are within walking distance

Bisbee has a lot to take in. I highly recommend going to the Bisbee Restoration Museum as the history of the little town is fascinating. One example is that Bisbee had electricity running through out the town before places like New York City and street cars before San Francisco did as they supplied a vast amount of copper to the country from the mines that surround the town. In fact, there are approximately 2,200 miles (3,542km) of workings under the mountains between Bisbee and Douglas, AZ.

Speaking of Mines, make sure you take in the Copper Queen Mine Tour or maybe an After Dark Ghost Tour or get in a Jeep Tour while you're there. The landscape is, like the rest of Arizona, really pretty.

Bisbee has a lot of places to stay. Considering it's size, there are quite a few places from rather humble on up to quite nice. There's a trailer park hotel that consists of older RVs and travel trailers that looks like an absolute hoot to stay in. I can't find a link to it unfortunately.

There are also quite a few restaurants in town where just about anyone will be able to find the food they like.

Tourist Alert: We found Bisbee to be really fun. We need to get back and explore it more. I'm not sure when "season" is but I think it's probably best to go then (winter). When we went the town was pretty quiet. Especially since we like to go on week days and avoid the crowds.

Tubac is one of our favorite destinations as it's a place to just go, sit back, chill and watch the world go by from. It's about 150 miles (240km) from our place. Takes about two and a half hours to get there. It's a direct drive down I-10 until you get to Tucson, then just hang right on I-19 and head south another forty five minutes. Stop in Green Valley and stock up on supplies, as it has pretty much everything you need there.

Tumacácori National Historic Park is well worth visiting. It's one of the two oldest missions in Arizona, dating back to 1691 by Padre Eusebio Kino. San Xavier Del Bac Mission, which is about 35 miles (55km) north it the other one. We've visited both and found them quite interesting. Definitely old and historic.

Being that we camp with a toy hauler, we always stay at the De Anza RV Resort which is just a couple of miles north of Tubac. It's a really clean, well laid out, pet friendly place. It also has access to a lot of off roading, like venturing to Patagonia for pizza at the Velvet Elvis as La Mision (plan on an all day drive and make sure you have the correct trail marked - ask us how we know...). You'll go past the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. As we understand, the observatory is open to the public once again. It was not when we were there in February of '23. I'd like to go see what we can see there.

Tubac is an artisan town. The town's plaza also has a lot of art galleries and a few restaurants too. We've headed to Tubac during the art festival in February and have enjoyed the sights, sounds and food. In the plaza, towards the back at the corner of Cam Otero and Burruel Street is Soto's Outpost Mexican Restaurant. They have a mariachi band that's a lot of fun. Ask them to play some Elvis or even some modern song. They have a blast converting them to Mariachi style and do it quite well.

Parker is situated on the Arizona California border on the Colorado River and it is definitely a snowbird destination. I get the feeling the town dries up when they head back north away from the heat. Parker gets HOT in the summer. Temps above 115F/46C are not uncommon June through August. That whole strip along the Colorado River from north of Lake Havasu on down gets "Africa hot". (points if you know where that reference is from)

It takes us about three hours to travel the 166 miles (267km) to get there. You can take I-10 out of Phoenix but since I truly despise I-10, I recommend taking the Carefree Highway (SR-74) to Wickenburg (about an hour's drive) finding US-60 and enjoying the scenery. When you get to Hope, AZ, look for AZ-72 (which turns into AZ-95) on the right and head down that on into Parker. While it's only two lanes, the traffic is light and there's so much more of an "Americana" feel to it. This route only adds about fifteen minutes to the trip and the lack of I-10 stress is well worth it. We've made it a bit of a tradition to stop at Ruperto's Mexican Food, a little shack of a place on the left one block after turning right onto Riverside Drive by the Terrible Herbst Convenience store. This is pretty much the main intersection in town after you enter it. There's also the Tierra Caliente Meat Market on South Joshua Ave and W 9th Street. You can get cabrito there! YUMMY STUFF! This is truly an authentic Mexican market. If you're not familiar, give it a look and get some cultural education. BTW, cabrito is goat and if prepared correctly it's delicioso. Muy Bien!

Parker is a little river based town retirement village. There are bars and cafes all along the water. You can rent jetskis and boats and enjoy the Colorado. There's also the par three . The Parker Dam is fun to take a quick trip over too. Built between 1934 and 1938 by the Bureau of Reclamation, it is 320 feet (98 m) high, 235 feet (72 m) of which are below the riverbed (the deep excavation was necessary in order to reach the bedrock on which the foundation of the dam was built), making it the deepest dam in the world. The portion of the dam above the foundation stands 85 feet (25.9 m) tall, making it the only dam in the world that stands more underground than above ground. (the dam info is stolen from Wikipedia)

Desert Bar

The Desert Bar, Nellie E Desert Bar, Nellie's - I've heard it called all of these - is a destination. If you're not off roading, you can turn off of 95 on Cienega Springs road and get there with your car. It's about five miles of dirt road. If you're off roading, there's a few ways to get there. As mentioned before, we head north on 95 until we see the River Island Market. The chicken I mentioned sits on top of the canopy over the gas pumps. Stop in, grab some water and then head off down the trail.

We discovered the Desert Bar completely on accident. We'd decided to go off roading and were told to go to the chicken and then head right into the mountains. The terrain is really rugged. I'd not try going in unless I had a vehicle set up for off roading. It's about ten miles (16km) of dirt road to the Desert Bar. It goes past a few abandoned copper mines and the mountains surrounding the area make for some really pretty landscape. As I was saying, we found the Desert Bar accidentally. We're out off roading following what is a pretty well defined trail and as we come over a rise there's what looks like a small town sitting in the middle of nowhere. We ventured on to the place and found a little desert treasure. It's only open October through April. They have live bands, three eating facilities, and a couple of dance floors. It's built on the site of an old mining camp named after the mining claim, "Nellie E".

Relive 'Desert Bar tour with Jess. From Buckskin to the Desert Bar and back through Parker'

Mountain View

We didn't think these were real until they moved

One of the mine entrances

Looking out of the mine

Happy Campers!

Tourist Alert: Don't go near Nellie's property during off season. They're NOT nice about it. We just stopped to ask the guy a few questions and he was really quick to chase us off.

Also, don't ask for cheese at the grill right inside the back entry.

Havasu sits at the base of Lake Havasu and it's claim to fame is the London Bridge.

Havasu is about a forty five minute drive north of Parker on 95, more or less following the Colorado River. You can get there off road if you're up for an adventure.

One can find everything "recreational" in Havasu. The lake is large and pretty. It has some spectacular rock formations along the banks. There are beaches where one can swim, boating, watersports, fishing, golfing, hiking, off-roading and cycling. (I stole this info from the Havasu web site).

There's a shopping/eating/tourist area at the base of the bridge and we usually hit Papa Leone's Pizza when we did our annual Jet Ski trip years ago. They make good stuff there. Actually, there are good restaurants on both sides of the bridge. We also enjoy Angelina's Italian Kitchen when in Havasu. Take a look at the comical stuff outside of Camel Towing right next door.

Tourist Alert: If you're really up for an adventure, start out REALLY early in the morning, rent a PWC and take a 65 mile trek up the Colorado to Laughlin/Bullhead City. It's an all day affair. We used to do it from Laughlin/Bullhead City, down to Havasu, eat pizza at the base of the London Bridge and then head back up to Laughlin. Talk about FUN!

Also, stop at the Human Bean on the way back to Parker and snag some coffee. Just be warned they serve it HOT, HOT, HOT! It's at the last intersection just before you leave Parker on 90 at the corner of McCulloch.

The Swansea Mine is very interesting. You can get there in a car but it'll be a really rough ride, especially the last four or five miles. An off road vehicle or pickup truck will do just fine but once again, expect it to be rough. We always go in our UTV - and that last few miles is still rough...

Swansea was settled in 1909 as both a mining and smelting town where they pulled copper out of the ground and then processed it for shipping. There are quite a few of the original structure foundations still present and some of the living quarters are still in surprisingly good shape considering the place was abandoned in 1937.

The off roading around Swansea is pretty good too. There's a canyon to the north east that has some really pretty slots and an area where the water has polished the rocks into large, smooth ridges. The power to cut the granite like it has is immense and you'll be surprised at how smooth it's polished the mountain as you stand there in the ridges.

Relive 'Swansea Mine Run'