Phoenix end of april

[Buzz]

Will Be in Phoenix on the morning of April 23rd and Have to be in Scottsdale on the morning of the 27th. We want to take a 4 day road trip but can't decide were. We are thinking of San Diego, Tucson,Nogales but don't think we can fit all that in in 4 days any suggestions?

[Robert Schaller]

You've got about 15 driving hours, 1019 miles for Tucson, Nogales, San Diego and Scottsdale. That leaves you roughly two days plus a little to do what you want to do in these locations. That's enough for an "overview." Driving between these points is pretty quick -- these are mostly 75 mph roads. If you drop San Diego, you can do a very LEISURELY tour of southern AZ. Either way, I think you won't run out of things to do. Bob

[Buzz]

Bob: if we drop San Diego and go for the Leisurley road trip Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks
Buzz

[Robert Schaller]

&gt; Bob: if we drop San Diego and go for the <BR>
&gt; Leisurley road trip Do you have any <BR>
&gt; suggestions? Thanks Buzz <BR>
<BR>

[Robert Schaller]

Tucson: Arizona Sonora Desert Museum; Old Tucson Movie Studios; Pima Aviation Museum and Minuteman Museum; Mt Lemmon scenic drive (an alpine ski area above the city); Kitt Peak Observatory (daytime tours); San Xavier del Bac Mission;

South to Nogales: Tumacacori Mission (ruin); Tubac (historical "presidio," now arts and shopping; Madera Canyon (riparian scenic area, bird watching and hiking); Guevavi Mission (ruin); Shopping in Mexico (Nogales).

Nogales to Bisbee: Patagonia Lake State Park; Santa Cruz Winery (@ Patagonia); Ghost town of Harshaw; vinyards around Elgin. This is a very beautiful drive -- the movie musical Oklahoma was filmed in the Sonoita area. Parker Canyon Lake for fishing; Buffalo Soldier's Museum at Ft Huachuca. Coronado National Memorial; Lavender Pit Mine tour at Bisbee (also the Copper Queen Hotel). I also recommend the Inn at Castle Rock in Bisbee, or the Shady Dell Trailer Park motel. My personal choice would be the Shady Dell.

North to Willcox: Tombstone (tourist trap but fun); Middlemarch Rd to Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mtns; Amerind Foundation Museum at Texas Canyon (on I-10); Rex Allen Museum and Arizona Cowboy Museum at Willcox.

Willcox to Chiricahua Natl Monument: Fort Bowie National Historic Site (hike 1.5 miles each way to visitor's center and ruins of old fort and other historical sites along the trail including the tracks of the Butterfield Stage Line road and a ruin of the stage staion at Apache Pass); Chiricahua Natl Monument -- take the drive to Massai Point (a wonderland of rocks). One thing you WON'T be able to do this time of year is drive over the Chiricahuas to Portal on the other side. The National Monument will be open, but the mountain pass (FR42) will be closed for winter.

On the way back to Tucson, near Benson, be sure to include Kartchner Caverns State Park. Another attraction nearby is the ruin of the Santa Cruz de Terranate presidio on SR82 south of Benson. The presidios were Spanish cavalry posts -- a failed experiment in dealing with the Apaches.

Don't pass ANY historical markers. This area is not only beautiful, it is rife with Spanish and American history, and unique in flora and fauna in the United States. For example, a few years back, some undiluted pure stock Spanish horses were found near the Patagonia area -- their ancestors had escaped the remuda of Coronado in 1540 on his exploration of the SW, and they were the forebears of the horses that were the foundation, through Apache trade with Plains tribes, of the Great Plains horse culture. Without them, there'd have been no "buffalo culture" as we remember it today -- and no "cowboys and Indians" in the ways we think of them, which was erroneous to begin with, but still part of our popular culture!

This is way more than you can do in 4 days! Good journey!

[Robert Schaller]

Try Rancho de la Osa guestranch near Sasabe, for a unique Sonoran Desert experience. I suspect reservations will be hard to get, but I hear it is well worth it if you can get in. You can find their website on the internet. Bob

[Quebec Gen]

Hey Bob, lots of great infos in that post! I'll sure use some of these tips myself during my next tripS to AZ!


Gen:-)


Ps-I put an "S" because I hope there will be many others to come!

[Gerald Thurman]

Moderator Bob did an excellent job offering up
ideas about visiting southern Arizona. Here
is a Phoenix-based three day/two night <a href='http://azfoo.net/places/az/south/'>
roadtrip writeup</a> that includes some of
Bob's suggestions.

If you are driving I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix,
<a href='http://azfoo.net/places/picacho/'>Picacho
Peak</a> offers good hiking with many scenic views.

[RoadTripper Brad]

Like I have stated in a post on another thread... you can always just opt for a aimless road-trip. I have done one or two with my buddies (we usually just drove around the state for 2 days, and stayed in a motel 6 overnight)just driving around, and it was lots of fun. We'd usually see a road and just say "hey, want to try that road and see where it goes?" But Bob does have lots of great suggestions, and these guys here really know thier stick!

Happy Trails
Brad M.
<i>(The AAA guy)</i>